South Dakota

Another family adventure. Patrick and I have been talking about seeing Mt Rushmore since moving to Colorado (being so close to it and all). Aren't we glad we did?!? Who knew that this trip would be so family friendly?

Dinosaur Park, Rapid City:
After walking up a boat load of stairs, wayyyy up a large hill, we hung out with the dinos. This park had been there since the 1930's which we thought was pretty impressive. We had a good time and the view of Rapid City was amazing!

Reptile Gardens:

This place was crazy! We caught a live snake show but I didn't get my camera out in time to snap a shot of Caroline touching a massive boa. I'm so bummed. Next we moved onto the huge tortoises which you could walk around with and touch. Maggie did eventually warm up to them.

Bear Country U.S.A.:

This was one of those drive through "zoo" type places. We expected to see a bear off in the distance or something but this place did NOT disappoint! We saw something close to 100 bears and not just from a distance. These bears were just walking around just feet from the cars. We also so elk, wolves, cougars, etc. After the drive through portion of the park they had a spot where you could get out and walk to see the bear cubs in a traditional zoo like setting. I loved this place.

Mt. Rushmore:

I did not expect this mountain to be so much...fun! First, it totally looked fake to me. Weird, huh? It looked like it was carved out of Styrofoam or something. The mountain was amazing. The walk to get up there (with all the flags) was super cool. And the museum--wow. Maggie and Caroline were kind of done with the whole thing so we didn't get to spend nearly as much time as we would have liked reading each plaque, looking at each display, etc. We could have done two days here rather than just a short afternoon.

Back At The Hotel:

Snacking and playing on the bed.

In the parking lot. I just thought Caroline's expression and the way she's holding her hands were funny.

We stayed in Keystone. Here is Maggie (and me) eating the biggest ice cream cone ever on the boardwalk.

Everyone should do this trip. Well worth it!