The drive took us about 13 hours each way (including stops). It was a long drive, but we survived. Carter claims that the drive was his favorite part.
Our first stop in South Dakota was at the Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave got its name from all the calcite crystal that is found throughout the cave. We hiked around the Visitor's Center for a while and then Josh and the older two boys went on a 1/2 mile, ~700 stair step tour through the caves. They took some pictures, but Josh says they don't do justice to how cool the cave was. They said that during the tour, they learned that the cave spans over 150 miles of space within the mountain.
I took the two youngest kids on a really short "Discovery" tour. It became basically 20 minutes of embarrasment and shame for me. Mallory was crying because she was scared, and Wyatt screamed and threw tantrums half the time because I wasn't letting him climb the rails that were there to keep people from plunging to their deaths. Consequently, I didn't really learn much about the cave, but it SEEMED pretty cool.
Our next stop was to the cabin that we rented for two nights. It was the cutest cabin ever- and it even included a swimming pool and playhouse for kids.
The next morning we went on a beautiful scenic drive through the black hills. We found a lookout spot where we could see Mt. Rushmore in the distance. It was awesome!
Along our scenic drive, we passed a lake where they were renting out paddle boats, so Josh took the oldest three on a paddle boat.
Our next stop was to the Crazy Horse Monument. We were a little disappointed that we couldn't get very close to the mountain (without paying a $4 per person bus fee), but it was worth seeing. There was a very interesting film in the visitor's center that told all about the construction of the monument. We're convinced that the monument will never be finished in our lifetime. It has been a work-in-progress for 50 years, and you can see how close they are.
Our last major stop was Mt. Rushmore. We went on the Presidential Walk and took some great pictures. We also attended the evening show where they light up Mt. Rushmore. The program was very touching and was both mine and Josh's favorite part of the entire trip.
 |
| Josh was trying to get the kids to face the same way as the presidents. Other tourists got a kick out of it. |
 |
| This was the best we could get. |
 |
| The entrance to Mt. Rushmore |
 |
| Mt. Rushmore lit up after the evening presentation. |
Here are just a couple other random pictures from the trip.
 |
| From the base of the mountain, along the Presidential Walk. |
 |
| An uncanny resemblance... |
 |
| We broke down on Allen Ave. in Wyoming. Here are the boys trying to look sad. |
2 comments:
Looks like it was a really fun trip. You are Josh are such fun parents!
I'm glad you had such a fun family trip! I like all your pictures, especially the ones of your kids posing as the presidents :)
Post a Comment