Day 4: A Mammoth Day

Day 4 has been a day of Mammoth proportions. We’ve made the decision to trek out to Devil’s Tower tomorrow so we jammed a lot of stuff into today. Here’s some highlights:

7:30 AM – At breakfast, we run into a couple from Rochester. It’s a small world.

9:20 AM – We’re off to Hot Springs. We spot our first buffalo along the way. It will the first of many we see today.

10:40 AM – We arrive at The Mammoth Dig site. Big hit with the family. The tour is extremely interesting and the exhibits totally awesome. Best of all, it’s educational too! We get a picture of Trina hoisting a replica of a mammoth thigh bone over her head. Connor loves the skeleton of the dwarf elephant.

12:10 PM – Lunch is at Dale’s Family Restaurant. One of those great local dives again. Food is good; the people watching better. Many people know each other and are sharing tips on who has a boat for sale, who is looking better after being sick, and who has been restricted from the salad bar.

1:00 PM – We go to Evan’s Plunge. Kids love it, but thought the water should be warmer considering it comes from hot springs. Katrina goes down the slide about 20 times (and Jon caught her that many times). The cutest is when she would be just about down and say “catch me.” Connor attempts to cross the rings spanning the pool. He never makes it past the second ring, but has fun trying. Kids don’t want to leave and proclaim this the best part of the trip. Katrina wants to know when we can come back again.

3:20 PM – Off we go to Custer State Park to see the wildlife loop. Along the way, we see buffalo again including one walking along the side of the road. We stop and it walks right outside the passenger side window. Being a middle school student, Connor notices it’s a bull. After a stop for gas and snacks, we continue on to Custer.

4:00 PM – Custer State Park. The wildlife loop does not disappoint. Highlights are tons of buffalo, prong horns, and wild burrows. We have lots of buffalo picts. Katrina gets the chance to pet the wild burrow. We have dubbed her the burrow whisperer. A wild burrow visits the car behind us and gets very “excited.” Yes, it was a male burrow and we got to see him in all his glory. Connor thinks this is absolutely hysterical. Katrina wants to know what’s happening. Jon snaps a picture. As we leave the wildlife loop, we decide to do Needle’s Highway. But first, Connor needs to make a quick pit stop at an outhouse after drinking close to 44 ounces of pop (it was on sale. Still doing a great job with nutrition on this trip). After driving through more forest and seeing many deer, we see what the big deal is with Needle’s Highway. The scenery at the top defies description. So glad we took the time to do this. It starts to rain heavily on the way down, including some pea-sized hail. It’s rained every night we’ve been here. We are so glad to not be camping! We see a mommy duck and ducklings trying to cross the road to get to some better shelter. Jon attempts to snap a picture but gets the side mirror instead. Oh well, tons of cool wildlife pictures already.

7:15 PM – We are back in Hill City looking for someplace to eat. We end up at Elm Street Pizzeria and a private dining room, because no one else is eating there. Pizza is OK, but the owners are extremely friendly. Says the streets were getting dirty and we needed a good “gully washer.”

Tomorrow, we’ve decided to make the trek to see Devil’s Tower. We’re also hoping for no rain tomorrow so we may be able to see the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore.

Day 3: Reptiles, the Heads, and Meltdowns

Day 3 of our Black Hills adventure started quite well. Although I’m having some issues adjusting to the new time zone: I was awake at 5:55 AM Mt time (which is 6:55 AM CST). After lying in bed for an hour, listening to the rest of the family sleep, I decide to get up and take a shower. By the time I’m out, Trina and Connor are awake. We venture down for a hardy breakfast compliments of Holiday Inn Express. Sausage patties and pastries are the big hit for the kids. As you can see, good nutrition is non-existent on this trip! After packing up, we head to our first destination for the day – Reptile Gardens. (Betty, our trust GPS, thinks that Reptile Gardens should be at the Ranger Headquarters for the Black Hills National Forest. We decide to ignore Betty.)

Reptile Gardens is a hit. The kids love the alligators, exotic birds, prairie dogs, but most of all, the giant tortoises. We’ve decided Connor is a bit of a reptile-whisperer having charmed a black mamba (from behind glass) and making friends with one of the giant tortoises. Maybe he would be placed in Slytherin at Hogwarts? Katrina loved the bird show, but was disappointed because she was not chosen to be one of the volunteers. However, both kids got to hand a bird a dollar bill. Katrina was also underwhelmed at the Komodo Dragon. I think she was expecting more than a giant lizard.

Reptile Gardens was also the site of our first meltdown of the day. Katrina decided she was thirsty, but did not want to drink out of the water fountains because the water was warm. Finally, after much whining, she and I went to the car to grab her water bottle. Mom lesson learned – bring the water bottle right away.

Travel Hint for Reptile Gardens – you can get a season pass for the same price as your daily pass (thanks for that tip Mary!). We may go back!

Since it was so close to lunch when we finished at Reptile Gardens, we decided to venture back to Rapid City for lunch. We choose that great Black Hills specialty restaurant, Arby’s, for lunch. Katrina had just curly fries. After a stop to get some drinks for the kids, we head off to Mt Rushmore. (Surprisingly, Betty the GPS did not know where Mt Rushmore was located, but certainly would have been able to direct to us one of many Mt Rushmore t-shirt shops).

Of course, I’m loving the scenery on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Katrina is more interested in playing her game boy and Connor is trying out his teenager attitude: “Yeah Mom, look at those trees.” I spot “the Heads” and excitedly point them out to the kids. Connor believes it is not Mt Rushmore because he can only see two heads from the road. Ah. . . .gotta love the attitude.

As we enter the park, the kids are very impressed. They have heard tons of stories about Mt. Rushmore from their Grandparents (who yes, come to see it EVERY fall). We see “the Heads” from all the angles, visit the sculptors display seeing the model of what the finished monument was supposed to look like, and climb what seems like hundreds of stairs. Jon notes that Mt Rushmore is really a failure to finish a project (he’s joking of course). Connor decides he has seen enough. I want to look at the Lincoln Borglund museum. While there, we also watch one of the movies being shown. It turns out to be a 12-minute video on the wildlife at Mt Rushmore. I would give a neutral review, but it was nice to sit down for awhile. We then make the trek up to the gift shop to look at all the souvenirs. The kids both decide on some Mt Rushmore merchandise to remember their trip. We then decide to grab an ice cream cone. And here’s where we have another meltdown. Connor is not happy with the ice cream choice he makes – cookies and cream. We gently (OK, forcefully) point out that for $3.50, he can enjoy this ice cream. After some pouting, he proceeds to devour the cone. As we are leaving Mt. Rushmore, there is talk about going back for the lighting ceremony. We head to Hill City to our headquarters for the rest of our trip. Jon and I joke about the various road signs including warnings about big horned sheep and tipping semis. Jon hopes to see a tipping semi while I crack that we shouldn’t feed the semis as they will become dependent on human food and may become aggressive. (These signs are all over the parks.)

The hotel here in Hill City is not quite the hit the other ones have been, mostly because of the lack of wireless wi-fi in the room. This causes another meltdown because the iPod Touch will not be able to connect to the internet. (It must be because we aren’t in Rm 209 anymore). After some swimming in the pool, it was time to venture into downtown Hill City for dinner. I remember eating at the Alpine Inn when I was here about 20 years ago. They serve only filet mignon at a great price. As we are waiting for our table, we explore downtown Hill City. We run into the town marshall who tells us outlaws are taking over the town (we hear the gun shots). He predicts a gun fight/showdown at 7 PM right across the street from the Alpine Inn. I go to wait for our name to be called while Jon and the kids wait for the gunfight to start. They get to see about half the show before our name is called. It shows every night so we hope to catch the entire gunfight later this week.

While we were eating, a thunderstorm settled in. Our waitress tells us that in the Black Hills, weather can be different 5 minutes away so we decide to chance a trip to see the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm is raging at Mt. Rushmore as well. We do get a chance to see both a wet and lighted Mt. Rushmore, but we don’t stay for the ceremony. Maybe another night.

Tomorrow, the Mammoth Dig and Evan’s Plunge. There is also talk of a side trip to see Devil’s Tower in WY (yes, you read that right). One of Jon’s favorite movies is “Close Encounter of the Third Kind” so the draw is pretty strong.

Day 2: New City, New Hotel, Same Room Number

We have completed our trek across the great state of South Dakota and arrived at the gateway of the Black Hills, better known as Rapid City. To get here, we stopped at the Badlands and that mecca of tourist traps, Wall Drug. Here are today’s highlights:

9:55 AM – We get a later than expected start due to an slow iPod application update. We did have a great breakfast at the Oasis Inn including make-your-own waffles - more accurately, Mom makes the waffles. Even after yesterday’s frustration with the GPS, we decide to trust it again. It is, afterall, a new toy. We are a bit skeptical after it estimates we will arrive at the Badlands in about 35 minutes. Jon calculates we would need to drive around 400 mph’s in order to accomplish this.

11:00 AM (10:00 AM Mt Time) – We pass into a new time zone. Our trust is re-established in our GPS and its estimated arrival time.

10:45 AM – Gas/pit stop. Sticker shock at the gas price. And who knew gas stations could have prairie dog colonies? After giggles and pictures of the prairie dogs, we continue on the Badlands

10:55 AM – Badlands ROCK!!!! The kids enjoy the amazing view and unique geography. Connor makes it his mission to climb out to every point possible, giving his Mom a bit of a heart attack. He also discovers the only mud for miles. Both Jon and I climb up to some points to see the view. Mother Nature makes some amazing scenery. The kids rave about the awesomeness of the Badlands.

11:20 AM – Katrina tires of the scenery. She begins to review the pictures on her digital camera. Soon, the rest of the family begins to loss interest as well. It’s still pretty spectacular and everyone agrees – very worth the trip.

1:00 PM – Wall Drug! Our trusty GPS leads us on a very backroads route, but we find a parking spot right outside entrance #3. We see the cowboy band and other mannequins performing songs. Katrina decides they are creepy. Connor finds a rattle snake ocharina and South Dakota themed rubik’s cube. Score for him. Katrina wants a cowgirl holster/gun set. I say we can find that anywhere. She settles for a bike license plate with Wall Drug. We see the back alley including the dancing water, jack-alope, and the T-Rex. Connor and Jon decide the T-Rex is lame; Katrina wants stay another 12 minutes to see it again. She’s out voted. Since we haven’t had lunch, I request (OK, demand) something to eat. Lunch today is homemade ice cream at Wall Drug. YUMMO!!! I tell the kids that’s one of the coolest parts of vacations – we can have ice cream for lunch. Wall Drug gets eight thumbs up.

2:00 PM – We set off for Rapid City. We are pleasantly surprised to see it’s not a long trek. Man, there are a lot of RV’s towing cars and cows. The terrain is changing. I point out the Black Hills to the kids. They are unimpressed and continue watching their electronics.

2:40 PM – We check into our hotel. They give us the same room number as the hotel last night – 209. I’m sure this has some significance in numerology, but we all think it’s just a cool coincidence. The kids think the hotel is awesome, mostly because the pool is bigger. We unload and relax a bit. Katrina is so excited to be here she can hardly contain herself. In other words, she is literally bouncing around the room.

4:00 PM – No lunch – we’ll all hungry. We jump into the van to make a quick stop at Target to pick up some toiletries and snacks. Jon discovers he has left his wallet in the hotel, so we stop back there before heading to an early dinner (which to us, feel pretty much on-time). Our trusty GPS (I’ll call her Betty) leads us to a great, local Chinese buffet. Yummy.

5:45 PM – We get back to the hotel. Swimming is on the minds of the children. I change into my suit as well. The pool is FIGID. After about 15 minutes, most of which is spent in the hot tub, Connor announces he is done swimming. Trina and I swim for about another 40 minutes before moving to the hot tub. Katrina notes a weird yellow-looking film on the top of some of the bubbles. She concocts a story about a baby who peed in the hot tub. I tell her that’s really gross. We head back to the room. After showers and the discovery of fresh cookies in the lobby, we veg in the room.

Tomorrow, we hope to visit Reptile Gardens and Mt Rushmore before moving to Hill City, which will be our headquarters for the rest of our stay.

Day 2: New City, New Hotel, Same Room Number

We have completed our trek across the great state of South Dakota and arrived at the gateway of the Black Hills, better known as Rapid City. To get here, we stopped at the Badlands and that mecca of tourist traps, Wall Drug. Here are today’s highlights:

9:55 AM – We get a later than expected start due to an slow iPod application update. We did have a great breakfast at the Oasis Inn including make-your-own waffles - more accurately, Mom makes the waffles. Even after yesterday’s frustration with the GPS, we decide to trust it again. It is, afterall, a new toy. We are a bit skeptical after it estimates we will arrive at the Badlands in about 35 minutes. Jon calculates we would need to drive around 400 mph’s in order to accomplish this.

11:00 AM (10:00 AM Mt Time) – We pass into a new time zone. Our trust is re-established in our GPS and its estimated arrival time.

10:45 AM – Gas/pit stop. Sticker shock at the gas price. And who knew gas stations could have prairie dog colonies? After giggles and pictures of the prairie dogs, we continue on the Badlands

10:55 AM – Badlands ROCK!!!! The kids enjoy the amazing view and unique geography. Connor makes it his mission to climb out to every point possible, giving his Mom a bit of a heart attack. He also discovers the only mud for miles. Both Jon and I climb up to some points to see the view. Mother Nature makes some amazing scenery. The kids rave about the awesomeness of the Badlands.

11:20 AM – Katrina tires of the scenery. She begins to review the pictures on her digital camera. Soon, the rest of the family begins to loss interest as well. It’s still pretty spectacular and everyone agrees – very worth the trip.

1:00 PM – Wall Drug! Our trusty GPS leads us on a very backroads route, but we find a parking spot right outside entrance #3. We see the cowboy band and other mannequins performing songs. Katrina decides they are creepy. Connor finds a rattle snake ocharina and South Dakota themed rubik’s cube. Score for him. Katrina wants a cowgirl holster/gun set. I say we can find that anywhere. She settles for a bike license plate with Wall Drug. We see the back alley including the dancing water, jack-alope, and the T-Rex. Connor and Jon decide the T-Rex is lame; Katrina wants stay another 12 minutes to see it again. She’s out voted. Since we haven’t had lunch, I request (OK, demand) something to eat. Lunch today is homemade ice cream at Wall Drug. YUMMO!!! I tell the kids that’s one of the coolest parts of vacations – we can have ice cream for lunch. Wall Drug gets eight thumbs up.

2:00 PM – We set off for Rapid City. We are pleasantly surprised to see it’s not a long trek. Man, there are a lot of RV’s towing cars and cows. The terrain is changing. I point out the Black Hills to the kids. They are unimpressed and continue watching their electronics.

2:40 PM – We check into our hotel. They give us the same room number as the hotel last night – 209. I’m sure this has some significance in numerology, but we all think it’s just a cool coincidence. The kids think the hotel is awesome, mostly because the pool is bigger. We unload and relax a bit. Katrina is so excited to be here she can hardly contain herself. In other words, she is literally bouncing around the room.

4:00 PM – No lunch – we’ll all hungry. We jump into the van to make a quick stop at Target to pick up some toiletries and snacks. Jon discovers he has left his wallet in the hotel, so we stop back there before heading to an early dinner (which to us, feel pretty much on-time). Our trusty GPS (I’ll call her Betty) leads us to a great, local Chinese buffet. Yummy.

5:45 PM – We get back to the hotel. Swimming is on the minds of the children. I change into my suit as well. The pool is FIGID. After about 15 minutes, most of which is spent in the hot tub, Connor announces he is done swimming. Trina and I swim for about another 40 minutes before moving to the hot tub. Katrina notes a weird yellow-looking film on the top of some of the bubbles. She concocts a story about a baby who peed in the hot tub. I tell her that’s really gross. We head back to the room. After showers and the discovery of fresh cookies in the lobby, we veg in the room.

Tomorrow, we hope to visit Reptile Gardens and Mt Rushmore before moving to Hill City, which will be our headquarters for the rest of our stay.

Day 1: We Are Officially Tourists

We’ll, we have survived day 1 of our Black Hills vacation. For those who are unfamiliar with the significance of the Black Hills within the Davis Family, Jon’s parents make an annual pilgrimage to the Black Hills every fall. Yes, EVERY fall. It’s actually a running joke in our family, but that’s beside the point. This year, we decided to make the Black Hills our first, official family car trip vacation. So far, things are going quite well. Here’s the highlights:

9:23 AM – we pull out of the driveway 23 minutes later than planned. But that’s OK because we aren’t running on a schedule. I’m driving so Jon can do the PB puzzles from the last week. I get carsick anyway so it make sense for me to drive.

10:15 AM – I already have to stop at the bathroom. What can I say? I’ve had two kids.

11:30 AM – We get to Fairmont and decide to stop for lunch. We ask Samantha (actually, our new portable GPS) about local restaurants. We decide on CK’s Family Restaurant. Samantha leads us directly to this family diner. We are immediately pegged as visitors. In fact, the people at the table next to us move to another table after we sit down. Hmmm. . . so much for small town friendliness : ) Food was great and we are back on the road.

2:00 PM (approximately) – We pass over the Minnesota/South Dakota border. Kids found it to be no big deal. I think they may have been expecting more of a hoopla.

2:30 PM – I wonder how the Brady Bunch did a car vacation the Grand Canyon in just a station wagon. We are travelling my mini-van with multiple electronic devices to help pass the time – portable DVD player, MP3 players, iPod touches, Gameboys, DS’s.

3:00 PM – I’ve decided that this part of the country has interesting names for their gas stations. We’ve seen Whoa N’ Go’s and Kum N’ Go’s. What was the true intention of the person who named their gas station Kum N Go?

3:30 PM – We arrive at the Mitchell Corn Palace. Kids think it is awesomely lame. Connor also thinks the sun is way too bright to be taking pictures. This year’s theme is transportation. I agree with the kids: it is awesomely lame.

4:30 PM – We are back on Interstate 90 towards our overnight stop in Chamberlain, SD. Taking the advice of our tour advisors (Mom and Dad Davis), we have booked a night at the Oasis Inn. Samantha, our GPS guide, let’s us down. We take the wrong exit and take an unintentional tour of Chamberlain. It doesn’t help that the main bridge over the Missouri River is out. We finally find our hotel (we should have just followed the signs).

6:15 PM – We decide to venture out for dinner. We have chosen a local place called Charley’s. Once again, Samantha lets us down. She doesn’t know the bridge is out. We change to Karen, who takes on a very backroad route to the restaurant. Charley’s lives up to its reviews: dark, small town supper club feel. Again, we are pegged as visitors but this time, no one moves. There are lots of locals having dinner including an older rancher with a very loud voice and colorful language. Charley’s doesn’t promise a “family” dining experience, I remember. Our server is friendly and the food is good. Jon comments how we have had both our meals today at local places.

7:20 PM – Connor is dying to stop at a park he saw on our journey to find Charley’s. We stop. Both kids sprint out of the car. Connor makes a dead stop and decides he doesn’t want to play on the equipment. Eventually, he does. They had honest-to-goodness teeter-totters at this playground; or as I like to call them – teeter-totters of death. Connor convinces his sister to try it out and much to my surprise, does not jump off while she is at the top.

8:00 PM – We get back to the hotel and decide we are weary travelers. That doesn’t stop the kids from wanting to take a dip in the pool. The adults decide to observe.

Tomorrow, we journey to the Badlands and Wall Drug.