Day 4 Custer State Park

So here's the view of the back of our campsite. That's a lake back there.

Kids having breakfast Tuesday morning.

Cakes on the griddle. Life ain't nothin' but a funny, funny riddle.

Off to Rushmore. This was our first glimpse as we approached in the car.

We stopped at a lookout point and Chase was, of course, wanting to climb all over the place. He was trying to reassure me that there was a ledge there that he could walk on, but it was a huge drop off there and I wouldn't let him go out. If you look close at the bottom left of the picture you can tell. It doesn't do it justice though.

One lane tunnel with a view of Mt. Rushmore just on the other side. Too many cars following or I would have gotten a picture.

View as we're walking in.

There it is in all it's glory. Freaking amazing!

Notice the glasses?

Looks like President Lincoln was having the sniffles.

We can look right up their noses!

Here's the Michigan pillar.

Now we're at Custer State Park on the Wildlife Loop at dusk. Prong-horned deer.

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam...

This little guy was right next to the road.

These young ones are next to the road too. Mamma was right there too, but I couldn't get a good picture of her.

Big daddy was takin' his sweet time crossing.

This day was packed full to say the least. We finished the Wildlife loop and went straight to The Crazy Horse Memorial to watch the laser light show. I have one picture of that but will have to post it later. We got back to the campsite around 10:30pm, it was like pulling teeth to get the kids to brush theirs...they were so tired they just wanted to fall into bed. This is our last night at Beaver Lake. Tomorrow we leave for Cody, Wyoming where we'll stay one night in a hotel. It's a long drive and I don't want to set up camp late. Plus, in Cody there's a gunfight in the street and also a rodeo that I want to see. Yeehaw!

Day 3 Badlands and Such

We packed a ton into this day. Got up early and went to the Middle Border Museum which had this giant statue of Meriwether Lewis. My great grandmother was a Lewis, somehow related to Meriwether Lewis. My grandfather was James Lewis and now my boy is Chase Lewis. Chase loves history and wanted to see this statue and museum of his great, great uncle (?). See any resemblence?

This is in Mitchell as well, near the world famous Corn Palace.

It was truly a corny experience.

Next stop, the Badlands. Truly awe-inspiring.

Um...a little help here.

Had to make a stop at Wall Drug. We counted 62 signs for Wall Drug between Mitchell, SD and Wall, SD. Wall Drug is famous because the store remained opened through the Great Depression by giving away free ice. Today it's a monstrosity of a place filled with outrageously expensive trinkets which no one really needs.

Final stop, Custer, SD and our campsite which had just been used by our friends the Varlands a few days earlier. Can you believe that? It was a long day and we were plumb tuckered out. So we ate dinner, made 'smores and hit the hay.

Jayme's pics

On our third day we traveled through the badlands. It was so awesome. We got to climb around on some of the rocks.

The badlands were beautiful! But they were also hot.

On the second day on the way to Mitchell we saw tons of huge windmills.

The windmills were everywhere.

(Janice's interjection: This was the Adair Wind Energy project in Adair, Iowa. It was quite impressive to see how they are harnessing the wind for energy. These folks are going green and we're not just talkin' crops.)

Day 2: Little Town on the Prairie, The Laura Ingall's Wilder Homestead

Today we drove 6 hours and arrived at the Ingall's Homestead around 2:00pm. We spent 2 hours there. It was totally amazing to me, standing there on the 160 acres that the Ingall's family actually lived and farmed over 200 years ago. The buildings were not the originals of the Ingall's family, but they were original buildings from the area that resembled what the Ingall's family lived in over the years that Laura was growing up.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Jayme is her biggest fan.

This is a view of the farm with a shanty type house on the left which is a replica of what the Ingall's family lived in while farming here.

Jodie was most interested in the farm kittens.

Here's the house. Looks similar to the one in the Little House on the Prairie series.

Chase is learning how to operate the wood stove.

Jayme washes clothes on a washboard.

Chase wrings them out.

There were a few new foals.

Chase is learning to make rope.

This is Mallory, a college student who works here. She drove us in a wagon around the property.

This was an actual school from the area that was in operation as a

one-room school house until 1961.

Jayme puts on her prairie girl dress. Doesn't she look excited about it?

The kids are getting a lesson.

Time to return to the wagon.

The team.

This is an actual dug-out house, or sod-house. It was dreary and extremely small. Can't imagine living in it.

It was a great afternoon. We left there and ate supper at a local restaurant called The Oxbow. Then we drove 2 hours to Mitchell, SD where we are now...and get this....we're watching Field of Dreams. Very appropriate after driving through cornfields all day.