Our first stop was the famous "Corn Palace" in Mitchell, SD. As a kid I remember it being so big and a bit boring. As an adult it's small and still a bit boring. :) I think the kids were expecting a real palace(too many fairy tales perhaps) and were a bit disappointed when they saw it. The only exciting thing for them was the magnetic rocks at the gift shop. :) This years theme was "American Pride". The girls spotted the Freedom Riders mural and thought Grandpa Tom would appreciate it.
After the Corn Palace we headed to our hotel in Murdo for a good nights sleep. The next morning we headed to the Badlands. I had forgotten how beautiful the landscape of western SD was. The last time I was in that area was when I was a kid. Before entering the Badlands we stopped to see the Prairie Dogs. Natalie didn't know what to think of them! Caitlin tried really hard to get one to feed out of her hand but the dog just wouldn't do it.
We were pretty excited (or at least I was) to enter the Badlands. I just awe at what God has created. We had fun climbing some rocks and having a picnic lunch and just enjoying our surroundings as well as the wild life. The one "rock" that Brian, Caitlin and Rachel climbed was so high I was sure that one of our children or Brian would die if they fell. It was a bit windy that day so I wasn't completely out of my mind thinking this way. Emily was smart and stayed with Natalie and I and we tried not to look at the "brave" climbers. When Brian got back down with the girls he even mentioned how he was a little scared heading up there. Caitlin said she was a little freaked out too. As we continued thru the Badlands we stopped occasionally to check out anything we thought would be fun to see. Well in the "prairie" end Brian noticed a herd of animals off in the distance so Caitlin and I looked first thru the binoculars and saw hundreds of buffalo. This made everyone in the car excited so everybody took their turn to look and Brian who waited so patiently looked last. He actually got out of the car to look though. After he looked for a while he shook his head and looked back at the car with a funny smile. He got back in the car and I asked what was so funny and he says "those animals are cows, not buffalo". Oops!
Natalie had to climb by herself! "me do"
Caitlin cautiously climbing back down the mountain-do you see the straight shot down off to her right?????????
Brian's perspective looking out at the road and our car in the parking lot
If you can see, that is Emily, Natalie and myself seen from Brian's perspective from the big mountain.
This is the mountain they climbed. It's the dark brown one in the way back!!!After our adventure in the Badlands we headed to Reptile Gardens (about an hour car ride) I was super excited to see the big tortoise I had ridden as a 4yr old. I'm sure its the same one since they live to be 120! Her name is Methusula. What a gentle giant. We took in an alligator/croc show which was cool and the girls even got to touch a little one. We also went to the bird show which wasn't quite as intense. :) We ended our day with ice cream of course! Its a must when you're on vacation!
What Brian and I would look like if we were little people.
Em and Natalie in the Prairie Dog bubble. The prairie dogs weren't real interested in people when we were there.
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