When we told people our 2018 family vacation destination was South Dakota, they looked at us like we were a little odd. Only South Dakota? Not traveling on to any other states?
We weren't quite sure what we would find and our expectations weren't super high. We were just looking forward to getting away for a few days and relaxing as a family. My, were we in for a treat! :)
We left at 1am on Tuesday morning - as close as driving through the night as we've ever gotten as a family! With more older kids now it seemed a little more feasible to drive in the night like that and it really worked well! Aside from the fact that apparently because of our half asleep state when we left the house, we locked everyone out... including ourselves. Thankfully, we have the best neighbors ever who never fail to get us out of whatever pinch we get ourselves into...
We arrived in South Dakota and made a little pit stop mid-afternoon at the Badlands. The vast desolation makes for a unique kind of beauty!
After the Badlands, we made a second stop at Wall Drug which has become a big tourist attraction over the years. It was interesting to walk through. We also enjoyed some ice cream and oh yes, the free ice cold water :)
look at them... sitting here so innocently. Let me tell you, however, that a few of us let our ornery side show a little bit while we paused here at the outdoor splash pad. :) There were several spouts that would shoot up here and there... very sporadically. Dad dared Jared to step on every single one... you know, one of those things where if Jared did it, Dad would do it. Jared was up for the challenge and stepped on the first hole. Dad did the same right when it decided to shoot up :).
We were thankful to arrive at our house situated quaintly in the rolling hills just in time to unpack and prepare some supper!
Oh yes, meet Cash - the neighborhood dog. Let me add the friendly neighborhood dog. Now our family isn't really the type that just loves and dotes on animals. We aren't wired that way. Poor Cash probably found us very unfriendly compared to all of the other guests in the vacation house...
beautiful patio for morning devotions!
hearty morning breakfast before hitting the trails.
On Wednesday, we experienced Mount Rushmore. It's neat to be able to see it in person!
After scoping out the place a little bit, we walked a little ways to a hiking trail. It was a good trail, although it did go all the way down on the way there, which means all the way up on the way back. But it was beautiful!
Later on in the afternoon we drove through the tunnels! We had a hard time getting that perfect picture with Mount Rushmore framed in the tunnel... if you look really close, you can see it in this one...
We then traveled on to a Chuck Wagon Supper! We enjoyed walking around the setting a little bit first with all of the antiques.
It was a bit musty in there...
piles of good food!
our favorite song from the night was 'On the Road Again' :)
Last on the agenda was to head back to Mount Rushmore for the night show. This was one thing about the trip that did disappoint a little bit, just because our expectations were a little bit off. But it was still a good program!
It was great to get back to our house after a full day of adventuring! Stay tuned to hear about the rest of the trip :)
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