Bear Country

Driving through Bear Country was also a recommendation from another friend and it did not dissapoint! We had bears walking around our van and it was so cute to hear Oliver go "rawr" at them. Once we finished our drive through there was more for us to get out of the car and see.

Deadwood

Day 2 we drove to Deadwood and started out seeing a museum by the old train station where we parked at. Then we went walking around the town where the boys got to see there first saloon!

Crazy Horse

While they still have quite a ways to go to finish the carving of Crazy Horse it was still incredible to see. The picture of the white plaster Crazy Horse it what the carving will look like when it is complete. This was our final site of the day. We then headed back to Rapid City for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. We went back to the hotel where Dan, Caleb, and Elton went for a swim. When they got back I went for a soak in the hot tub!

Big Thunder Gold Mine

The next thing we decided to do was to stop at the Big Thunder Gold Mine and take a tour. We all had to wear miner hats as the took us down into the mine.

Mount Rushmore - Amazing!

After we left the Reptile Gardens we made out way to Mt Rushmore and let me tell you that it was amazing! We walked the presidential trail and picke up a cold slush as we left. Elton made a few people look as he had his new slingshot he got at the Reptile Gardens and looked like a little Dennis The Menace even when he had it tucked in his back pocket of his jeans!

The Reptile Gardens

The Reptile Garden was our first stop on Friday based on someone we know who had gone there family last year and it did not dissapoint! The boys were able to pet the huge tortoises, look at more snakes (they were enclosed) than I could ever imagine that were both venomous and non-venomous, see tropical birds, alligators and crocodiles. The weather was sunny and in the mid 80's.

Setting A Record

It has been 2 1/2 years since we took a family vacation, 3 years since Caleb, Elton, and I were up to Canada, and 4 years since Dan was to Canada to visit my family. Therefore it was time for a trip which combined a vacation and coming to Canada to see family and friends. Also, I might mention that Oliver had not yet met his Great Grandma Edgar who is 92! This meant that our family was about to embark on the longest road trip we had ever taken. So on Thursday, May 27th we set out. Our first day we left at 6:15am and drove over 800 miles (until 10pm) to get to our first destination, Rapid City, in South Dakota. Wow! I can't believe we drove it in one day and that was not our original plan. Travelling with 3 small children we thought it was much more realistic to plan frequent stops. Those frequent stops turned out to be quick trips to the bathroom, a 45 minute lunch break at McDonalds, and a one hour break for dinner. It was at about 4pm that Dan decided with the time estimation of our GPS that we should go all the way to Rapid City as this would mean more time there for site seeing and less unpacking the van and packing back up again. While the boys were completely exhausted when we arrived, I totally agree with Dan that the extra time to spend there was worth it. Dan drove the whole distance that day! Are you ready to see some posts with pictures of the great things we got to do?