South Dakota Trip: Badlands National Park and Happy Birthday Justine!

Day 4: 

We spent my birthday at the National Park I was most excited to see - Badlands. I knew if we went for my birthday, we could get in all the hikes I wanted and no one could complain! The pictures do not even begin to do the badlands justice - they are amazing in person! There are so many colors in each formation. Here's a professional shot that gives you an idea: 

I decided my new favorite way to spend my birthday is hiking in a National Park. I may have to make it a tradition. 

Badlands is a long group of formations, so the park is set up for visitors to drive along the top of the badlands with overlooks and hikes along the way. Some of our favorites included: 

 

These cliff swallows. The kids loved watching them come and go from their nests. 

Our long hike to this stunning overlook! This hike led us through a canyon between formations, up the wall of the canyon, the over a ledge on the wall to the overlook. Going down you had to climb down this big log ladder. It was a challenging hike, but well worth it! Lenora said it was one of her favorite parts of the whole trip. 

It was a really long ladder! I was glad Conrad wasn't any shorter because he had a hard time going down some of the rungs. 

Further along the way, we found lots of little formations that the kids could scramble up. They loved it! In one area there were also a variety of fossils. 

One of the coolest formations are called the yellow mounds. The colors are so vibrant! 

After a really fun day exploring the Badlands, we had to stop at the famous "Wall Drug." We were told this was a not-to-be-missed stop. It was a huge drug store, curio-shop, western wear, book store, etc, etc, etc store. I've never seen anything quite like it. We decided to have brithday ice cream while we were there. As we were paying a sweet woman came up, told me what a beautiful family we had, and insisted on buying our ice cream. Afterwards I thanked her and told her it was my birthday. She said she had just wanted to bless someone's life today. She was so kind! She and her husband were headed to Montana to begin a mission trip, so I hope it's going very well for them. 

We found Qdoba for dinner (yay!) then finished off the night with a swim in the hot tub. It was a perfect day to ring in my 35th year. 

South Dakota Trip: Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park

 Day 3: 

We started the day with a visit to Mt. Rushmore. While it is an incredible site, and we really enjoyed the museum portion, it was probably our least favorite stop of the trip because it is very touristy. That being said, I definitely recommend visiting at least once in a lifetime. 

From Mt. Rushmore, we made of the most incredible drives I've ever experience through the Black Hills. Winding roads through incredible scenery, "pig-tail" turns and bridges, and these narrow tunnels were all amazing. From many of the tunnels, there was a perfectly framed shot of Mt. Rushmore in the background. 

We pulled off at several turn outs for short hikes to some incredible views. The Black Hills are stunning! 

When you ask Conrad to smile, sometimes you get this! 

We spent the afternoon enjoying a picnic lunch in Custer State Park and a drive through the wildlife loop. There were SO many buffalo! Michael was in heaven. 

At one stop, we spotted the wild donkeys that live in the park. They're super friendly and even let the kids pet them. Eliza  named this one Hershey 

Further down the loop, we found the male buffalo. I think this guy was Michael's favorite. He was HUGE!

At about this point in the trip, we knew there was WAY more we wanted to see of Custer State Park. So we changed our plans of spending our 6th day up in North Dakota, to add an extra day and night in the Black Hills. We wrapped up the day with a delicious dinner cooked over the fire and swimming for the kids (I refused since it was only 60 degrees outside!) 

South Dakota Trip: Martin's Cove and Wind Cave

Starting on Memorial Day, we left on the most wonderful road trip to South Dakota. We packed a ton in to one week and loved every minute of it! 

Day 1: 

We drove through snow at the top of Parley's summit on our way to Martin's Cove. It was NOT the warm start to our summer vacation that we imagined, but we bundled up to enjoy it anyways. 

After touring the visitor's center and helping the kids learn the significance of Martin's Cove, we grabbed a handcart and hiked up to the cove. The views were stunning! We also had the entire trail and cove to ourselves! We didn't see a single other person the whole 5 mile trip. We did see a pronghorn and a badger that warned us not to get too near. 

 

The weather forecast called for rain that night, but the kids still insisted they wanted to camp at the church owned site near the cove. We went ahead and got all settled, cooked dinner over the fire, and enjoyed the incredible calm and quiet. Then the rain started. It rained ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Not just a drizzle - it downpoured! Did we get wet? Yes. Very wet in Hazel and Michael's case. Did we get a ton of sleep? No. Did we end up all crammed into the three most dry sleeping bags by the end of the night? Yes. However, did we gain a much deeper appreciate for all the pioneers sacrificed at Martin's Cove? Absolutely. Did we have a wonderful conversation about what we learned from our experiences? Yes! We had kids sharing how blessed we are with modern conveniences. We also had kids making connections that the hard things we face today are much less physical, but much more spiritual. Would I change one minute of that day? Not for anything! 

Day 2: 

We woke up soaked, but got changed in to dry clothes and warmed up with some hot cocoa. As we packed wet sleeping bags and tents in to the car and loaded up in search of a warm breakfast, we realized the car battery was dead. Thankfully, there was ONE other person in an RV at the camp who kindly came to jump our van. We also got to see a bald eagle nest with momma, dad, and their fledglings! 

When we stopped for lunch, we found a laundromat and threw the wet clothes and sleeping bags in the dryer. A kind woman exchanged my $20 bill for two rolls of quarters when I realized there was no change machine! She saved us a trip to the bank and was a second tender mercy from a stranger in our day. 

By afternoon we made it to Wind Cave National Park for our first South Dakota adventures! We were able to grab a quick hike to a buffalo herd. Michael's biggest hope for the trip was to see buffalo. We were not disappointed! 

We then went on a tour of the Wind Cave. We learned that the site is sacred to the Lakota and other tribes as they believe men and beasts first emerged from the cave. This tiny hole is the only natural entrance. You can hear the cave "breathing" hence the name, Wind Cave. 

We had requested and ASL interpreter for Michael, but instead of an interpreter, they had a ranger that signed. He wasn't highly skilled, but he was very kind. Instead of trying to keep up with the other tour, he took just our family on our own private tour! The kids had lots of fun taking their time and enjoying the cave. 

That night we settled in to our nice, warm, dry cabin near the Black Hills. More adventures to follow...