Pictures

After we left Jewel cave Bug was excited about her newfound camera privileges and took about a dozen pictures of scenery and the inside of the car on our hunt to find some lunch.  I thought this one was cute of Peanut playing peek-a-boo.

There weren’t too many fast food options in the little towns, but there was a Dairy Queen in each one.  Here’s K’s documentation.

“Smile Mommy!”

We took our food to a park and let the kids play after we ate.

I sure wish I had their boundless energy!

Peanut is starting to get brave enough to go down slides by herself, but usually needs a little nudge the first time.

We never went to the Crazy Horse exhibit but we could see if from the highway every time we went by and we listened to the radio information station they had.

We headed back to the hotel for swimming (for the big kids) and a nap (for Peanut). It was a small pool but just the right size for the kiddos.

We had bought the girls snorkeling masks before the trip for the nose piece part and it really helped them improve their swimming.

K and N were trying to jump in at the same time, but K was a little faster. :)

There she is!

And Boo giving evidence that she should have laid down for a nap as well. :)

Next up: Needles Highway

Jewel Cave

Our first morning in South Dakota found us at Jewel Cave, the third longest cave in the world! It has over 170 miles of mapped and surveyed passages!  The kids were excited to get going!

Since I do all my scrapbooking digitally now I didn’t need to save the tickets, but I got a picture. :) We chose to do the Discovery Talk which was only 20 minutes.  We figured that would be about right for the kids.  I found it fascinating and would loved to do the 1, 2, or even 3 hour tour, but they definitely wouldn’t have made it!

While we were waiting for our tour, one of the park rangers was doing a fur demonstration.  She had everything from squirrels all the way to a grizzly bear!  And the kids got to touch each one!

I think this was a raccoon.

And a coyote.

Black bear.

Elk?

The kids were pretty good, but definitely full of energy. :)

Here they are, aghast at the (fake) scat. Haha :)

Peanut loved the interactive displays…not for their educational value, but for their fun hinges. :)

There was a little cave they could crawl through that occupied them for several minutes.

Then we had to go over to the tour area.  Me and my mini-me. :)

The cave was SO amazing!  I really wished we could have gone exploring!  But Peanut was squirmy and antsy in about .5 seconds.  I had forgotten that they require a backpack or sling for anyone 3 and under so I made a makeshift one out of K’s blanket to pack her around.  She was NOT happy that I wouldn’t let her down, but most of this big room had no railing, and you couldn’t see the bottom or end of the tunnels in places!  Fascinating!

This is the opening where the first explorers found this huge room.  They were crawling along when suddenly it opened up.  The woman almost fell into it but her husband pulled her back.  The guide told us that that same woman had just come the previous month and done the 3+ hour tour (with almost a thousand stairs) with a group of family and friends.  She is now 93!

These pictures DO NOT do the cave justice.  It was so amazing.

You can kind of see in this one where it just goes on past where you can see, hundreds of feet down. 

My glasses kept Peanut occupied for a few minutes.

This picture cracks me up.  Boo was pouting because we let K take a picture but wouldn’t let her.  She is not the most careful with expensive objects. :P

Then she was happy when we grabbed a family picture before we left. 

What a neat place!

Mt. Rushmore!

We had read that Mt. Rushmore had an evening lighting ceremony so we decided to go the night we arrived in Hill City.  We made the drive up the mountain as the sun was starting to set.  Everything was so pretty.

We had to stop and get a picture with those famous faces!

Silly Peanut cheesing to Daddy as we walked in. :)

Me and my girls!

Kiddos!

Vacationing with friends is SO much better than going alone!  So fun to spend time with each other and have built in buddies for the girls!

We found some seats quickly as they were filling up for the ceremony.

Peanut was a little pistol after being in the car all day.  She climbed up and down the seating area, fell, cried a few times, and was generally wild. :)

Love the expressions going on here.  Bug was so excited about her Mt. Rushmore snow globe. 

We got the kids ice cream to help them sit still during the show.

One of the park rangers did a little talk, we watched a video, then they lit up the mountain.  Then there was a very moving ceremony where they had anyone who had been a member of any of the branches of the military come forward.

They each said their name and branch and then helped put the flag away for the  night.  It was very inspiring.

The kids were antsy after sitting still once again. 

We headed down to the displays where they got out some energy by “blowing up” the mountain. :)

What a beautiful place.  It definitely made me proud to be an American and have all that history swirling around me.

God bless America!

Hill City, SD

On our 3rd morning we woke up and ate a nice breakfast before checking out.

Miss L helped the kids run off some energy with a little red light: green light.

We hit the road, letting the kids go back and forth between cars (when we stopped) to prevent boredom.  We found a big statue of a TATONKA at one gas station so the kids had to take a picture with it. :)

We made it to our destination for the week by late afternoon.  It was a cute little “mom and pop” hotel run by a nice older couple.  There was a little playset for the kids which they used every day.

It was great for burning off a little steam after sitting still all day!

For only $5 more a night we were able to get an extra room.  The girls loved having their own space!

Peanut wanted to sleep on the bed with her sisters but got relegated to the pack n play. :)

We got unpacked and settled and then were off for our first South Dakota adventure: Mt. Rushmore!

Pictures tomorrow!