One of my cousins called me this morning as he was driving to pick up a piece of equipment for his business. The equipment was in MN and he lives in SD. He said his route was going to take him by our house, so he was going to try to stop to say hi and give me a hug before heading back home. It was a long day on the road for him – I’m so grateful he stopped to say hello.
Shecklet #1 is on a week-long trip with his grandparents visiting his uncle and aunt in NV as well as seeing some additional sites in CA and AZ. He’s been taking lots of pictures and enjoying seeing a different part of the country. We’re looking forward to hearing more about his travels when he gets home.
Day 2 of summer break. Time to go through papers and projects from the school year. It is so much easier now that the kids can do the initial sort on their own. Then mom has an easier time with round two.
Shecklet #3 spent two nights with Nana while Papa was out of town. Part of their time together was spent at the stable visiting Rio and riding Kid. The cowgirl also got a new pair of sparkly boots 🙂
We met one of the Shecklets’ cousins and aunt at the park this morning.
From the park, we grabbed lunch and went to the office for a bit so I could catch up on work. Then we stopped over at Nana and Papa’s house where he kids helped Papa wash the Kubota and then got to drive it, played in the backyard, and had a picnic dinner on the front yard. Perfect summer day!
Part two of the drive home. We left Mitchell and went to Sioux Falls to check out the Butterfly Gardens and Aquarium.
We grabbed a quick lunch and then drove to Marion to visit some of my extended family. It had been four years since our last trip to see them – Shecklet #4 was only a few months old and my cousin Josh was getting ready for his deployment. It was really good to spend time catching up with family. Hopefully it won’t be another four years until we can do it again.
Gassed up in Sioux Falls and heading home!
Loaded up and ready to make the two day trip back home!
Since we weren’t rushing to get to Mitchell, we drove back through the Badlands. This time we stopped and hiked on a different trail. Shecklets 1, 2, & 3 went with me on over half of the Notch Trail. We went as far as climbing the ladder before turning around. They’re not joking when they recommend hiking boots, which is part of the reason we turned back after reaching the top of the ladder.
On to Mitchell where we had dinner at The Depot, checked in to our hotel, watched the last half of Shrek, and went to bed.
Bear County was the first stop of many today. As we drove through the park we saw elk, mountain goats, bison, bobcats, wolves, and of course, bears.
After driving through the park, we walked the 1/4 mile trail and got to see badgers, a porcupine, lynx, skunk, groundhog, beavers and bear cubs. The cubs were my favorite – so mischievous and playful.
Lunch was at the Firehouse Brewery in downtown Rapid City.
We picked up a few bottles of Mythical Beast wine at the Firehouse Winery nextdoor before heading to our next tourist stop…Dinosaur Park.
And then a longer stop at Storybook Island. The Shecklets enjoyed running around and checking out all of the character statues and posing for pictures with many of them.
The rest of the day was spent at the water park connected to our hotel. Four and a half + hours of running around, climbing steps and flying down water slides makes for one tired bunch of Shecklets. (Each of then went down the red and blue toilet bowl at least one time with Jake – it was pretty amusing to watch!) Goodnight!
Two stops were on today’s itinerary- Reptile Gardens and Fort Hays (for a chuckwagon dinner and show.)
Reptile Gardens was full of so many animals we were busy for hours. We took in the three shows they offer- the bird, alligator, and snake shows. Each one had engaging presenters who informed and entertained the audiences. In between the shows, we toured the grounds to see the world’s largest collection of reptiles (according to the Guinness Book of World Records a few years ago.)
After leaving Reptile Gardens, we headed up the hill to Fort Hays.
There we found old town shops including one where they make rope and another where they make tin plates (like the ones we used for dinner.) The Shecklets were able to help make a three-strand rope that is strong enough to hold 2 tons before giving way.
Watching the tin plates being made.
For the second day in a row, we took shelter from the rain/hail – this time in our suburban. It didn’t last long and thankfully the hail was only pea-sized. When the storm passed, we saw a full rainbow.
At 6:15 pm the doors to the chuckwagon dinner room opened and we found our seats.
The 400 in attendance were all served dinner in 22 minutes! The meal was eaten from a tin plate (made in the tin shop.) We each received a baked potato (semi-flattened so it didn’t roll around,) baked beans, meat (chicken or BBQ brisket), applesauce, and then on top of a sheet of wax paper, a biscuit and spice cake. Lemonade was served in a tin cup as well. The food was tasty and the musical entertainment by The Wranglers was great!
