A Day in the Life of a Campbell Family Road Trip. Day Four.

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!

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.

A Day in the Life of a Campbell Family Road Trip. Day Three.

11:30AM - Kids slept in until 9:00AM. We played in the pool with the pirate ship

and giant water slide.

Then we were back in the car. Noah liked making pillow forts in the car.

Abby just smiled when the camera was out.

11:40AM - Arrive at the Corn Palace.

What is a "Corn Palace" you ask? A building decorated in corn, of course, celebrating corn and it yumminess with a giant gift shop.

There are giant corn cobs on the floor to follow on the tour.

And, who wouldn't want their picture taken with Cornelius?

(Apparently, it is also a building used for basketball games, although we never found out what team plays there. We are thinking of moving our family when we find out so our kids can play for that team.)

1:25PM - Finished at Corn Palace. Hot dogs and corn-on-the-cob for lunch.

And, corn suckers for dessert.

On to Mt. Rushmore! Daddy is doing some driving now. We are on I-90. He asks if he will ever need to turn the steering wheel. Mommy assures him when he gets to Seattle, he should do it then.

6:15PM - Rapid City. 78. Dark, dark skies. Lightening in the distance. Mt. Rushmore is getting close! Side note - the mystery has been solved! Christopher is always astounded by the number of people that ask when given our name, "Is that P-B?" He wants to know when they have ever seen it spelled that way. Well, we just passed "Cambell St." Now he suspects everyone he has ever spelled his name for hails from Rapid City, SD.

6:30PM - RAIN STORM! BIG MOUNTAIN RAIN!

7:00PM - Mt. Rushmore KOA. Rain is letting up.

We set up our tents while the boys play "baseball in South Dakota."

8:30PM - on to Mt. Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony. Mommy thought she would introduce another Randolph family favorite, "A quarter to the first one to see...."

Whoa, boy, she should have known better... (Whatever you do, do not ask Benjamin who got the quarter!) We had been telling Noah all along that Mt. Rushmore would be the perfect spot for our license plate game. We were not wrong - as we drove up and down the aisles, every car was from another state. So tell me, how did this happen? We end up parking right next to a Johnson County, Kansas car!

As we were walking up to the monument,

Abby said, "Mommy, look! Look what it is! Just like on my clipboard!" (She had had a Mt. Rushmore picture to color during the drive.)

She even called it Mt. Mushmore once - just for her mom.

Due to the rainstorm, the evening's performers could not set up. We missed out on "Tops in Blue", an Air Force singing group. They still sang a couple of songs for us, but without lights or microphones. Our children would not sit still. But they did manage to pose for some cute pics.

There is no pomp and circumstance to the monument lighting - it just happens.

What a beautiful site!

11:15PM - Back to campground. We are only 3 miles away but the boys are asleep within seconds. Abby still going strong. Daddy transferred the boys to the tent - they never woke up. It didn't take Abby long to go out. Beautiful, cool night for sleeping under the stars.

A Day in the Life of a Campbell Family Road Trip. Day Two.

11:00AM - Omaha, NE. At the zoo.

4:58PM - A wonderful, but hot, day at the zoo. A BIG hit! We stayed a little longer than we might have intended but there was so much to see!

Abby's favorite - the tigers and the fish. Noah's favorite - the roadrunners (although this changes every time you ask him about it). Benjamin's favorite - the turtles. Now it's time for another detour adventure. 103.

5:08PM - Benjamin is asleep.

6:55PM - Rest stop near Blencoe, IA. We are right in the middle of the flood zone - well, the unclosed part, that is. The highway is lined with 4 ft. sand bags all around us. The water comes right up to them but the rest area is clear. For now. Probably the fastest dinner we have ever had. Gnats! They were everywhere!

8:00PM - SOUTH DAKOTA! Beep! Beep!

9:35PM - 30 miles east of Mitchell, SD. Windshield is too dirty so we are stopping on the side of the road to clean it. LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN IN THE CAR! There are so many mosquitoes, someone could get carried away!!

11:00PM - Lights out.