Lake Pactolus

Today was supposed to be a quiet day. As luck would have it, we found a lake with pontoon boats. And with Mom Mon growing up on the Chesapeake and driving boats, we went for i t. We waited out a massive rain delay..but we finally boarded and headed out. The boys had a blast …

Badlands

Well, we confirm why they call it the Badlands. This place is hot, as in over 100 hot. It is also very barren. We still had fun. The boys climbed hills And we did a Men of the Badlands shot And of course, a Women of the Badlands. To me, this place reminded me of …

Mammoth and Wind Cave

We started the day at Mammoth of Hot Springs, where we got to see fossils of mammoths. Mainly the males would enter a drinking lake but got caught because it was a deep bowl. Bad for them. Lucky for us, because it allowed for near perfect preservation. We then headed to Wind Cave National Park. …

Mount Rushmore

I really lost internet connection in the Black Hills and it became nearly impossible to post. I’m going to try and step back and recreate what we did. First up was a trip to Mount Rushmore, which did not disappoint. Incredible to see in person. Pop Pip, Cam, Mike and I did the trail up …

Lake Pactolus

Today, we started off with a long walk on the Mickelson Trail. Turns out the trail is an old railroad track. Pretty trail, we found lots of interesting rock. I’m always looking for my hearts from Larry and I found two. Next we headed over to Lake Pactolus, intending to paddle board. When we got …

Badlands

Today we headed to the very hot Badlands. It was 96 degrees. Incredible pictures of pink and yellow hued rocks. The boys climbed up to the top of yellow mound. Zachary finished another junior ranger program and earned his badge. We had lunch at the visitor center where we watched a woman driving a tour …

Mount Rushmore

Today, we visited Mount Rushmore. We came away impressed with how they were able to carve them out of the mountain side. 450,000 ton of rock was removed. Dynamite was used to help sculpt. Precision drilling was performed to ensure a life like impression. It truly is remarkable and a national treasure. Zachary has been …

Hill City, SD

We arrived here yesterday. Internet is very slow and no tv, that might kill grandpa. Nonetheless, the vacation moves on. We traveled most of the day after a breakfast nest Devil’ Tower. The boys and I walked Mickelson Trail to stretch the legs. Pretty flat one. No bears, thank goodness. In fact, the owner laughed …

Hill City, SD

This morning, we leave for Hill City. Lucky for us (sarcasm included) the Sturgis biker event starts this Friday not far from where we will be. Bikers, bikers, everywhere. We may need to get ourselves some biker gear to blend in…does anyone have a Harley available? We spent our last night at a small town …

Devil’s Tower

Today, we visited Devil’s Tower. Our RV park overlooks it. Looming presence throughout the area. We hiked up the trail for 1.3 mikes, up and down various hills. It was a pretty walk We watched several climbers scaling the tower. We caught one on his way back. It took him 2 1/2 hours to do …