South Dakota Vacation

This is the first "real" vacation we have taken as a family.  Erin and I did spend a week with his family in Lakeside Ohio before kids and we have gone to the North American Christian Convention a couple of times but mostly vacation days have been spent at home or traveling to Grandma's house.  It's not that there is anything wrong with those kinds of vacations but this family has been through a lot the last few years and it was wonderful to just get away for a week and enjoy each other's company in a brand new setting, just us exploring a whole new to us place.

Day 1: Travelling
We left the house by 6:am and arrived at our destination 14 hour later.  The trip would have been faster but this was vacation and we wanted to add vacationy things to even our travel day.

We ate a picnic lunch at a rest stop not to far into South Dakota.  South Dakota visitor centers are nice.  They know how to treat their travelers.  They have shaded picnic areas and lots of them, air conditioned visitor center that is staffed with friendly people ready for all kinds of questions, and lots and lots of travel info available to take with you.

Next stop was Mitchell and the Corn Palace.  We toured the unique building filled with artwork made of grain.  Then we got some candy to nibble and hit the road again.

Next stop was Wall Drug.  We did a little shopping, a lot of sight seeing and picture taking, and ate dinner at this well known tourist spot.

We ended our day at Day's Inn in Spearfish.

Highlights of the day:

• The T-Rex at Wall Drug - JJ spent the next several days reminding us that she DID NOT like it.
• Dakota Chocolate - We let everyone pick out any candy they wanted within a price limit.

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Day 2:  Touring Spearfish
We started our day at North Point Church it was fun that we know people who know people at the church.  We then ate lunch at Subway near our hotel, did a quick change of shoes, hairstyle, whatever, packed up water and snacks and headed out to Spearfish Canyon.  What a beautiful little trip.

We hiked, viewed beautiful sites and cooled our tootsies.

While we were in the area, we took a quick trip up to Belle Fourche to see the geological center of the U.S.

Now we can say we've been there.

Highlights of the Day:

• Spearfish Creek - feeling the chilly waters 
• Spearfish Falls - feeling the spray
• Spearfish Canyon - Beautiful, there are no words to describe.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 3: Devil's Tower
We drove an hour into Wyoming to see this magnificent sight.

We took the longest most difficult trail offered by the park, The Red Beds Trail.  Signs warning to look out for rattle snakes and narrow trails along the mountain side made me nervous but the sights were worth the effort (though I didn't always think so at the time).

We ate a late lunch at a little diner in Hulett, Wyoming.  It was a little pricey for the quality of the food but we were hungry and there wasn't much else around.  We headed back to our hotel and decided to call it a day sight seeing wise.  We decided to end our last day in Spearfish with a nice dinner sampling local fare.  We tried bison steak, elk steak, and walleye at Bay Leaf Cafe.  We ordered three dishes to share among us and it was still too much food but it was a delicious ending to this portion of our trip.

Highlights of the Day:

• The views:  It was amazing how far out we could see as we hiked around the base of Devil's Tower.
• The Red Beds:  The red dirt bluffs on areas of the trail were a beauty of their own.
• Dinner:  Sampling wild game.  The Bison was so tender and delicious.

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Day 4: Underground
It was about a 20 minute drive between our hotel in Spearfish and our hotel near Black Hawk but we drug it out by doing some activities in the area in between.  We drove a little south and the curvy roads really made the journey much longer.

First stop Broken Boot Gold Mine

We let the kids pan for gold.  I didn't get pictures because we were both busy helping our little two.  This was authentic gold panning.  We got a bag of gravel and a tin pan, dip, swirl, dip, swirl, let slide, collect your gold.  Each kid ended up with a little flask of gold flakes.  I'm not sure what they thought about it but I thought it was cool. Next we toured the mine.  It was a small one but full of history and a fun tour.

A long winding drive later we were at Wonderland Cave.  It was a little pricier than we expected but later we found out that cheaper cave tours were farther away or listed as strenuous.  This was a very nice tour filled with lots of formations and easy to navigate walkways.  It was a long tour in a nice cool setting.

We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Red Lobster then let the kids swim at the hotel.

Highlights of the Day:

• Being underground on an above 100degree day.
• Dinner: a yummy seafood dinner for free (gift card).
• The Mine: learning how it was built, the history, and the different minerals there.

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Day 5: Mt. Rushmore/Keystone
When we booked this trip it was with the thought of seeing the fireworks over Rushmore on Independence Day.  Little did we know that the event had already been canceled.

 We also did some shopping and lunch in Keystone.

 We ate at the Bumpin Buffalo Bar and Grill in Hill City because we had seen a referral for it on a travel site before leaving home.  Then we headed back to Rushmore for the evening show.

Highlights of the Day:

• Pink Cowgirl Hat:  JJ found and made her big purchase.
• Patriotism: The night program at Mt. Rushmore included recognition of all Veterans in attendance. They were given a long, and touching ovation. Singing the Star Spangled Banner was also a moving experience.
• Wildlife:  Mountain goats walked right past our car.
• Iron Mountain Road:  pigtail curves,single lane tunnels framing the four faces, mountain views, need I say more?

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Day 6: A little bit of this and a little bit of that
We started our day at Storybook Island.  It had lots of things to see, climb on, and play with and it's all even better because it's free.  JJ did not want to leave.

A quick Jimmie John's lunch and we were off to Bear Country USA.  I think we would all agree that this was one of the best stops of our trip.  It is a drive though zoo of sorts.  At the end there is a walk through area with smaller animals including adorable baby bears.

We could have watched them for a lot longer, they were so so cute.

The one thing we had scheduled before we left for vacation was a Chuck Wagon Dinner in Custer State Park.

There are many Chuck Wagon opportunities offered in the Black Hills.  I'm glad we chose this one.  When we arrived we got cowboy hats and bandanna souvenirs.  We took an hour long wagon ride through the park. If it hadn't been raining we probably would have seen some wild life.  No worries, the wagon had roll down sides to keep us dry and an entertainer on board playing old cowboy songs and telling jokes.  When we arrived there was a pavilion to keep us dry as we ate our steaks, cornbread, beans, and more off of tin plates. Everyone of us enjoyed this experience and it was a great end to our last night on vacation.

Highlights of the Day:

• Baby bears:  Running, chasing, wrestling, climbing, swimming....all adorable.
• Storybook Island:  JR loved the maze.
• Singing on the hayride:  "Don't Fall Off The Wagon"  JD is still singing it.

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Day 7: Starting home via The Bad Lands

What an interesting part of God's creation.

We took the loop through the Bad Lands and then headed up to Pierre for the night.

Highlights of the Day:

• Multi-colored dirt:  JJ called it rainbow field
• Climbing:  It was windy and more rattle snake warnings but we did a little anyway.
• Expedia credit:  We had a hotel mishap in Pierre that led to a long hot sit in the van while Erin worked it out on the phone but ended with a credit to our Expedia account. Way to go Expedia!

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Day 8: Home again
We took a long drive through South Dakota with little to see but corn fields, wheat fields, and small (population 50ish) towns.  The kids watched a few movies.  We found an Applebee's for lunch (yeah because we had a gift card we'd saved from Christmas).  We drove and drove.

Highlights of the Day:

• Arriving home and sleeping in our own beds.