Sunny South Dakota

Caleb was lucky enough to go spend 2 weeks in Oklahoma with parents this summer.  It was a great chance for him to have some one-on-one time with them and get a break from all of us girls at home.  :)  I am so grateful to my mom and dad for making it happen and for giving him that special time.

While Caleb was gone, "us girls" teamed up with my friend Debbie and her three kids for a road trip to South Dakota!  Are we crazy?

You betcha.

Our first stop after a long, long - but beautiful! -  day on the road (12 hours or so?) was Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota.  Deb has a cousin that lives there and allowed us to stay with him and his wife.  They are empty-nesters now, and were so kind to all of our busy little bodies!  Like a bonus grandma and grandpa.  The kids called them Uncle Mark and Auntie Norma, it was so cute.  (Except Tannin, who thought it was Auntie Norman.  haha).
Of course we had to visit the town's namesake, Sioux Falls!

 

 

 Might as well climb and tree, right?

 ...or lay on the ground.

 ...or climb the tree!

 

 The view from the visitor center tower.

 After the Falls, we walked downtown to see the art sculptures, and found a fountain to play in!  Which was wonderful because it was HOT outside!

 "Mom, I really love this water because it is so WET!"

 Apparently it was Crazy Days in Sioux Falls!  I didn't see anything crazy though...

 Rachel in front of her favorite sculpture.

We went to the zoo, did a little hiking, went swimming, got up close and personal with a herd of buffalo.  No big deal.  Lol! :)

Hello, Mr. Giraffe.

 And hello, Mr. Camel!

 At the end of the zoo was a little museum of sorts, and here are Ella, Rachel and Bella being moose.

 Done!  Everyone is tired and ready for food.

 After a McDonald's stop, we made it to the USS South Dakota Battleship memorial, which was very cool.

 ...and clearly meaningful for the kids.

 Then, same day,  we hit a short hike.  McKinley was pooped!

 Either King or Queen Rock, I'm not sure which.  The other was directly to the right of this photo.

 Throwing rocks in the water, while getting eaten up by mosquitoes.

 The beautiful hydrangea bush at the home of Debbie's cousin, where we stayed.  Love it!

 McKinley was my bed partner on the trip.  She is not the best bed partner...

 But she was a happy swimmer at the splash park!

 The girls and Tannin sunning to warm up.

 Gorgeous day at the pool in Sioux Falls.

Also, we stopped in Mitchell, SD at the famous Corn Palace which was not super inspiring but had a great photo op.

 AND...drumroll, please...MOUNT RUSHMORE!  I had been there many years ago when I was a kid, but mostly all I remembered was this massive hailstorm that hit our campground right after we pitched our tent.  We went running to our van, and after it passed we had a pile of ice in our tent and a bunch of decapitated flowers around the campground.  This time around, no hail; just lots of sunshine and great views!  It was fun.

 

 

 

 Remember the buffalo I mentioned?  Here they are.

 Past Mt. Rushmore, we stopped one more time on the way home, in Hot Springs for a little leg-stretching.  It was a cute little town boasting an old jail...

 ...a large spider web, turtles in the canal, and little walk to these falls:

 (thanks to google for making that picture look all fancy-nancy).  The real attraction on the walk was this natural spring, one of the springs for which the town got its name, although this one was not hot. It just flows right out the side of the hill there.  The kids cooled off by playing in it for a long time on the way to the falls, and again for a long time on the way back. 

Whew!  We had a grand time, but were exhausted and ready to be home at the end of the week.  Yay for summer vacation!