Trip to the Wild West - Days 1 & 2

I always start out with good intentions to capture everything on camera, but it is usually hit-or-miss.  Most times I just forget to bring my camera or I am too busy to pull it out and use it.  So on our trip, there were a few days that I took a lot of pictures, and several days that I didn't take even one.  Oh well, hopefully our trip will be remembered anyways :)  I clearly did a good job the first few days, so I'll just start with those and add the rest in another blog.

DAY 1:  Drive to Rapid City

Tim and I got up early on Saturday morning, finished packing up the car, loaded up the kids and took off on our adventure.  Our first stop was 3 minutes away. . . for a delicious, fuel-loading breakfast at McDonald's.  Do you know how much it costs to feed a family of 6 for breakfast at McDonald's? $30!!!  Good thing we had a gift card . . .

Driving brings out the artists in my boys:  Levi demonstrates how to draw.

Although it is hard to see in this picture, Caleb drew whiskers on his face so he could be a cat.

We made several unplanned stops along the way including emergency ones on the side of the highway.  On one such occasion, Tim unloaded several items from Josiah's carseat and carefully placed them on the roof of the car.  You can guess what happened.  As I pressed the pedal to the medal, I hear a large clunk, look in my rearview mirrow, and see something flying from our car.  We back up along the shoulder of the highway to discover Josiah's Leapster Explorer.  And it still works!  An hour or so later, we stop for gas and discover that Josiah's water bottle has somehow managed to travel on the roof without moving an inch.

We drove through the Badlands and stopped to hike and take a few pics.  We also discovered that one of Josiah's shoes must have been placed upon the roof of the car as well, but it did not have quite the same lucky fate.  Poor Josiah was shoeless and unable to hike around.

Yes - that is Tim, Joel, and Caleb at the top of that hill!

We finally arrived at our friend's cabin in the Black Hills around 8:45pm.  We unloaded and headed for bed.

DAY 2:  Nature & Mount Rushmore

We quickly made ourselves at home at the cabin.  It was so peaceful!  Tim made a fire for us to sit around and enjoy our breakfast.

The boys quickly discovered the stream and tested all sorts of ways to cross it.

The boys loved running around in the woods, throwing rocks in the stream, and collecting all the shiny rocks.    We also visited Mount Rushmore which was only a short drive away.

The boys took "notes" along the way.  

My favorite was one of Joel's regarding our Mount Rushmore visit:  "Lots of steps".  

We ate lunch and enjoyed some icecream in Keystone before heading back to the cabin for some much needed naps. 

 EVERYONE took one.  A miracle!  After naps, we met some of our "neighbors", drank water from a fresh water spring, and rode the ATV. 

 For dinner, we roasted hot dogs over the fire.

We put the boys to bed and then Tim and I snuggled up in a hammock until the stars came out.  Now THAT was relaxing!