Memorial Day Vacation: South Dakota

Cory planned our entire vacation and I just had to go along with it.  I'll admit I was skeptical about driving to Mount Rushmore, thinking there wasn't anything to see that I haven't already seen on TV.  This was our family's first time driving this far east.  South Dakota and Nebraska were new states for all of us.  It was great to see a new part of the country.  Black Hills country really is beautiful.

We climbed 72 stairs to see these dinosaurs.  It offered a pretty cool view of Rapid City.

Storybook Island was my favorite part of the trip!  There were characters from fairy tales, movies, and nursery rhymes incorporated into the play structures.

Brady has been learning about manners for many years now, and I've often taught him from Raggety Ann and Andy's "Please, Thank You, and I Love You Book" that I kept from my childhood.

This is a free park and not city-owned.  It is maintained by donations from the visitors.  They also offered a magic show, which was actually very entertaining and impressive for the meager cost of $1/person.This was the next stop on our trip.

Aside from the zoo, we had never seen bears before.  (I just re-read that and realized we probably just like most in that regard.)  They were just walking around freely with no concern for all the people watching their every move.  The walked right by the car at one point.

This black bear had an awkward itch that wouldn't stop.  Oh, the giggles we heard from the back seat.

We also saw deer, buffalo, and mountain lions.  At the end of the drive we got out to see all the babies.  There were about 8 little bear cubs gathered in the limited shade, climbing on top of each other trying to find the best spot for an afternoon nap.

Next we went to see these guys...

I really like this pathway with all the states' flags.  The park was so clean and the weather was perfect!  There were nature walks and tours going on.  I would definitely recommend a visit to Mount Rushmore, especially if it's only a 6-hour drive like it was for us.

Brooke decided she would be the photographer while Cory and Brady went on a little hike.

We were told we should also check out Crazy Horse, the Native Americans' version of Mount Rushmore.  Because it's not government-funded, the cost for us was almost 3 times what Mount Rushmore cost and not nearly as interesting.  Nothing against the Native Americans, but Crazy Horse is LAME and I do not recommend it.

I'm glad Cory planned this trip.  We left on Sunday afternoon and came home Tuesday evening.  If we were into hiking we would have stayed longer.  Since we're not, 48 hours was the perfect amount of time devoted to this little family vacation.  It should be obvious, but we stayed in hotels.  Maybe that's what made our vacation so much more enjoyable.

This water slide was one of the highlights of Brady's trip.  He spent more time on it than he did in the pool.

We got this 1000-piece puzzle as a souvenier thinking it would take Brady a month to finish.  We got home on a Tuesday night and it was finished on Friday.  Turns out we all wanted in on the puzzle-making.