Give us wide open spaces....It's sure to put smiles on our faces!
09 August 2009
We're going Pro!
Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Breven is pointing to the window that he almost broke. Oops! And that's my second "hole in one!"
Hole in one on par 5.
Bryce's hole in one par 11. And for the record, we played mini golf more in one week than in the 13 years we've known each other.
Evan's Plunge
We found this plunge that has been around for 100 years in Hot Springs, SD. It has fresh mineral water pumped in constantly straight from the Hot Springs! It was a little stinky like boiled eggs, but the water was warm, the slides were fast and the alligators didn't bite!
Bryce tried to make it from ring to ring across the pool. He said that wet rings were a bit difficult to cross.
Poo Happens
Anyone for a buffalo chip? Breven found some fur too. The fur made it back, the poo stayed in South Dakota.
Jewel Cave
On the surface of one of the largest caves in the world. Let's head down to check it out.
This cave was HUGE!
Over 700 stairs to climb.
Can anyone see the bacon? That's what this particular formation is called? Now where are the eggs?
Stalactites and Stalagmites
Four-Mile Ghost Town
This place was a hoot! We carried around a tape player, (I didn't realize those were still around) and took a self-guided tour through old barns, graveyards, barber shops and more while listening to the voice on the tape filling us in with all the fun info from the place. This was a great stop on the trip.
Circle the wagons.
Howdy Sheriff!
This place was a ghost town......we were the only ones there.
Exploring Sylvan Lake
We started with a walk around the lake....which lead to a swim in the lake of course.
We had to drive through a half a dozen of these one car tunnels to get there.
"Quick dad, pull over! We see a cave."
Paddle boats would've been more fun if Bryce and I could've sat in the back seat! Breven needs to grow a few more inches before he can reach the pedals.
Mini Golf and Massive Treats
Why not? We had to golf to burn off the 600 calorie frosty!
Belly up!
This was the home of the greatest banana cherry shake EVER!
Lovin' the Lodge
K Bar S Lodge was great! We stayed here our first night and our last two nights. It was by far our favorite. It was off the beaten path so it didn't feel so "touristy." We enjoyed amazing breakfasts every morning on the deck with waffles that were bigger than our heads!
The boys loved taking the hike from the lodge to the creek! No shirts, no shoes......no problem!
Wild turkeys roam the lodge......no not my boys, REAL wild turkeys.
Always exploring.
Kicking back after the hikes.
Yes, ANOTHER CAVE!
The boys had to see just one more! I opted to stay back at our hotel and read while enjoying beautiful views above ground! You've seen one cave.....you've seen 'em all! The boys loved it though! It was a good adventure for just the boys!
Hangin' on!
It's not every day that you get asked, "Mom, can we ride a buffalo?" And only in South Dakota would my answer be, "YES!" Of course it was stuffed and stationary, but what the hay!
This was the Dinosaur Park? Really?
We'd heard all week about a great dinosaur park in Rapid City that the kids would love! This is it! Really! Breven had to pose for a couple of shots, but Brad and I were not very impressed. It did give us few more laughs.
Our Final Hoorah in South Dakota
We decided to start our own band! Check out those boots.
During the show I was picked to "join the band!" Lucky me!
I didn't realize that I would have a stylist too! These hats are native to South Dakota.
Eating our last supper at the "chuck wagon supper show"One of the only things left to do was to eat chuck wagon BBQ supper. Who knew we'd get a show too? We had a delicious dinner of buffalo, baked beans, baked potato (served firmly so it wouldn't roll off) biscuit with honey and spice cake for dessert. Did I mention that it was all served on a hot metal plate? The supper was served at 6:30 sharp with a bluegrass band that played 'til dark thirty. Does life get better than this. Of course my loud laughter and knowing the words to every Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard song they played made me a perfect target to be picked from the crowd to join the band. More laughs, more singing, and a great way to end our trip! Till next time South Dakota!
PaPa's Not Too Old to Fly!
Birthday Boy in Flight!
Since the boys are already seasoned fliers they decided that it would be a great birthday present for PaPa's 60th, just to make him not feel too old, you know. He did great and so did the boys! Now let's see if we can get him to fly out of a plane instead of in a tube!