Black Hills-Day 3 Crazy Horse, Bear Country & Mount Rushmore

We set up camp in Custer at the Holiday Inn Express, which was lovely because we had a two-room suite. Girls in one room, Brian and I in the other. Well, at least for a few hours and then Natalie decided she'd be more comfortable between Brian and I. Not a big deal cause both beds were King size! We had a hearty breakfast, packed a lunch and headed out to our first stop, Crazy Horse.

The Crazy Horse memorial hadn't changed much from what Brian and I remembered from the last time we were there as kids and don't expect it to be finished in our lifetime. :) The highlight from this leg of the trip wasn't the memorial but instead the gigantic temper tantrum Natalie threw. All I can say is the kid is very stubborn.




As you'd expect, Natalie was exhausted from her tantrum so we headed to the car in the hopes she'd fall asleep and we would find a nice peaceful picnic area. We headed out of the parking lot and found a nice shaded spot perfect for our lunch. That took about 30 seconds and Natalie was fast asleep, missing lunch, which none of us cared about. :) After lunch we headed to Bear Country (about an hour drive-perfect for a quick nap)
Big Horn Sheep

Bears that were "wrestling" each other ;)



The bear cubs got birthday cake for a treat
After Bear Country, we headed to Mount Rushmore in the hopes we could mark off our remaining states we were missing and of course to see "The Heads". Oh, did I mention that Natalie had a temper tantrum at Bear Country too? How could we forget! She didn't want to ride in her stroller, she wanted to push it herself. And when that didn't happen she let us know she was not happy. Two year olds.....

So back to Mount Rushmore. We were able to find New Hampshire which was almost impossible to find. So we were starting off the trek on a good foot. Things sure looked different to Brian and I. It's amazing how close you can actually get to the memorial now. We started on a quick tour but found Natalie was not really into the facts of Mt. Rushmore so we meandered off on our own for the remaining tour. Back at the museum part, we watched a short video, which Natalie didn't feel like staying for either. I took her out but she was not happy and threw an even bigger fit than at Crazy Horse. Ok...this is her 3rd tantrum of the day. Starting to really wear at my nerves. But I stayed calm and brought her out by the amphitheater and let her scream. It must have annoyed the two ladies closest to us because they made a short glance my way and proceeded to move to the other side, which didn't matter because I'm pretty sure people back in MN could hear her! About that time Brian and the other girls came out and figured it was probably a good time to leave. We were getting hungry and obviously tired so we headed back to Custer. As we were almost out of Custer State park we saw a huge Buffalo on the side of the road. Pretty cool!

Black Hills or Bust-Day 1 & 2

We left Tuesday (21st) for our trip to the Black Hills as one big happy family. It would be our first big vacation far away from home, in the car for numerous hours... A couple hours into the trip Natalie showed signs of what the car ride could end up being. She wanted "out". The one thing that kept all of us sane was the fun in finding cars from different states and marking them down on our US map that I printed off for the girls and me. We had well over 30 states before we even got to Mt. Rushmore.


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.

Natalie-Diva

One day last week I found Natalie dressed up and ready to hit Beverly Hills-Rodeo Drive. She is such a nut! Cute though! :)

Father's Day at the Lake

We spent Father's Day out at Brian's mom and dad's lake home and had a great time. Almost everyone from the Salfer side was there. The girls LOVED playing in the lake with their cousins, hunting turtles, paddle boating, tubing and playing in the rocks/sand. It was nice to rest and relax either on the boat or in a lawn chair. We tried a little fishing but the fish I guess weren't biting or we weren't patient enough to stay in one spot for very long. :) Caitlin was very persistent though-she didn't want to give up and was the last one off the dock. After an evening boat ride we roasted marshmallows for s'mores and Uncle Dave and Uncle Rob launched a few fireworks.