7:30AM - Boys wake. Noah - "What are we doing here [in the tent]? I thought we were in the car." Benj - "Look, Noah! We slept in our clothes, but daddy in the only one with pajamas!" The boys had time to use the bathrooms and play a round of mini golf before Abby woke up.
These tents heat up FAST in the bright, sunny skies! Abby showed us the only spot left on the front of the car that was not covered in dead bugs.
10:30AM - back to Mt. Rushmore. The 3 mile drive between the campsite and the Park is just beautiful! We had to stop 4 or 5 times to take pictures. 
Promise you'll be surprised if you see this picture again in December. 
The boys filled in their Junior Park Ranger books 
and became honorary Park Rangers - even got the badges (and patches) to prove it! 
We also took in the Sculptor's Studio and the "How they did this" movie. We opted not to do the hike under the faces - we weren't sure the kids were up for it and it was so hot!
Promise you'll be surprised if you see this picture again in December. The boys filled in their Junior Park Ranger books and became honorary Park Rangers - even got the badges (and patches) to prove it! We also took in the Sculptor's Studio and the "How they did this" movie. We opted not to do the hike under the faces - we weren't sure the kids were up for it and it was so hot!1:00PM - In the car headed to Hot Springs. We blindly chose the way out of the park. It took us one hour to drive about 10 miles. It was a very pretty drive - up, down, one lane bridges, tunnels,
(can you see The 4 Great Presidents in the distance?), hairpin turns. We ended up in Custer State Park. Actual buffalo walked right in front of our car!
(No zoom here, friends.) We also drove through sections of Wind Cave National Park. Along with the buffalo,
we saw elk, prairie dogs,
mountain goats,
deer, and butterflies.
1:30PM - Abby's long days are starting to catch up with her and she is having a melt down. Mommy suggests she take a nap and she actually does it.
FIRST TIME EVER!
2:45PM - We stop for lunch on the side of the road in Custer State Park. We are in the midst of a prairie dog field.
Their chattering sounds like birds. They pop in and out of their holes.
3:15PM - back on the road.
4:00PM - The Mammoth Site. An actual digging ground of mammoth bones!
They were discovered accidentally in the 70's when some ground was being excavated for a subdivision. They unearthed a sinkhole that caught up about 150 mammoths some 25,000 years ago. How amazing is that? Our little dinosaur lovers, and one not-so-little dino fan, totally dug this place!
5:30PM - back to our campsite. This time around we are foregoing the scenic route for the interstate. Only takes about 40 minutes.
6:30PM - Our evening is spent in our fabulous campground. Water park,
giant jumping pillow,
mini golf,
volleyball,
and the water slide.
(We were terrible and didn't feel like carrying the camera with all the pool stuff so these pictures were all taken after the fact - and no shots of the kiddos. You'll just have to use your old- fashioned imagination.) Noah was the one that wanted to try it but we all ended up going down a few times. Benjamin (with daddy), of course, smiles ear to ear. Abby (with mommy) giggles the whole way down. Noah had some trouble staying on his mat and getting any speed so daddy rode with him the last time. He loved it.
9:00PM - We brought s'more stuff but opted to forego any campfires
and just put the kids to bed.
3 comments:
Great pictures. Glad the kids got a couple new patches for Grandma to sew on their sweatshirts!!
See? THAT is the kind of campground I'm talking about!
Love those buffaloes! We had prairie dogs in a field next to our apartment in Flagstaff. I loved sitting outside watching them.
These pictures rock! I think I'm adding this to our list of vacation spots!
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