Vacation: Crazy Horse Monument 6/20/07

At this point on our vacation, we had already driven by the Crazy Horse monument a few times. It's pretty difficult to miss, and clearly visible from the highway. After all, they're making the ENTIRE MOUNTAIN into a rock sculpture. To put the uninitiated into a proper prespective of the size of this, all of Mt Rushmore would fit on the head alone of the Crazy Horse monument. That hole in the mountain is as tall as a 10-story building (about 100 ft). That's BIG.

The entire site and project is privately funded, and there are no estimates when it will be completed. I can only hope it will be completed in my lifetime, but that's pretty doubtful.

I learned a lot at this site, and I think the kids did too. I found myself leaving with two deeper realizations: 1) that the Indians got totally shafted by the white man, and 2) the man Crazy Horse is far more significant to not only Indian culture but to National Culture as well. Overall, it was a sombering experience, but I think it's better that way.

One cool thing is you are able to take rocks that have been blasted from the mountain during the project. I picked one that has lots of colors in it. I'll keep it on my desk as a reminder of how I ought to treat others fairly and as a reminder of what Americans have done that frankly cause me embarrassment and shame.

We went in the evening so we could all watch the light/lazer show on the mountain after going through the video presentation and museums. My camera had a hard time focusing on something so far away in low light conditions, so I wasn't able to take many pictures. The second picture has the 1/34 scale model with the monument in the background. The last 2 pictures are blurry, it was a LOT of tweaking just to get those. For more pics and info, here is the link to the Crazy Horse memorial.

Vacation: Buffalo Sighting 6/20/07

On our travel to/from Hot Springs, we passed through Windy Cave National Park. The herd was on the move, right next to the road (and in the road on a few occasions).

I wish I could have seen the herds with thousands of buffalo roaming before the white came and them to near-extenction. Thankfully, these wild buffalo now number 14,000+ in the Black Hills alone.

Vacation: Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD 6/20/07

This is probably the only place we visited on vacation that my wife and her family hadn't visited before on any of their previous trips to the Black Hills.

My wife found out about this place when she was doing to vacation planning. They have a Jr. Paleontologist diggin program where they teach you how to dig and then you dig for mammoth bones. We though it would be a good idea since Karsten loves to dig. (as the holes in our yard, flower beds, and perimeter of the sandbox attest.)

The dig went well (Karsten found a mammoth Rib, and Kiera found a 4ft. mammoth femur bone.)

This site is pretty impressive. So far they have found remains of at least 55 mammoths (110 tusks have already been discovered.) They expect to find at least that many more as they continue to go further down into the ground.

How did so many mammoths get here? Well, the site was originally a huge grassy plain. Some underground cave collapses caused a giant sinkhole about 60' by 120'. Over time, the hole was filled by a natural hot spring. This was significant since the hot water never froze during winter and also kept surrounding grasses growing year around. Thus the site became an oasis for the mammoths. The problem was getting to the water: Since mammoths are big, the would cause the ground to collapse and/or just fall in trying to hydrate and eat. Despite being strong swimmers, the mammoths would drown due to either starvation or exhaustion, then drown.

The site was discovered in 1974 after the sinkhole became a mound due the hardening to the remains and erosion of the surrounding area. A bulldozer attempting to level the site scraped a tusk, they called out a paelontologitst, and the rest-as they say- is history.

Hopefully these pictures give you a good idea of what's there. Admittedly, it's hard to tell the bones from the dirt in most of them. If you'd like more pictures and info, you can check out the Mammoth Site's web site.

Vacation: Sunset at Lake Pactola 6/18/07

On our way to Circle B Ranch, we drove past Lake Pactola, a resevoir in the Black Hills. I don't recall why, but for some reason, we didn't stop to take pictures. Since the chuckwagon show got out around 8pm, we ended up driving back past Lake Pactola just as the sun was setting behind the mountains.

Admittedly, it's difficult to make out all the shadows, but I love the way the sun comes over the mountains and outlines the clouds. This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.

Vacation: Circle B Ranch 6/18/07

For dinner and the evening entertainment, we did a chuckwagon dinner show at the Circle B Ranch. I've never been to one, but it's an experience one needs to do when in the Black Hills. I guess there are a couple other chuckwagon/show options, but this is supposedly the best.

The picture above is on the ranch on an old prairie wagon.

I wish Papa's hearing was better (for many reasons), since he really likes the type of western music that was performed during the show. The group is pretty good: a father, mother, and 3 boys. It's not the kind of music I prefer to listen too, but it really helped immerse me into the "cowboy experience" that is prevalent in the Black Hills.

None of the pictures I took during the show turned out well, but if you'd like to view the Circle B ranch's website, you can click here for more info and pictures.

Vacation: Mt. Rushmore 6/18/07

I have to confess that I don't think there's ever been a better day to be at Mt. Rushmore. After a couple of days with temps in the 80's, this day was in the 60's with a nice breeze. Long sleeves were needed for a little bit of comfort, but the weather felt refreshingly cool.

I also must say that I've NEVER seen a sky that's more "blue" (or is it "bluer"?) It brought to mind the day Nikki and I were at Heart Castle in San Simeon, CA - but this sky at Mt. Rushmore seemed even more amazing.

These pictures are unedited...judge for yourself.

Vacation: New Methods of Transportation

This vacation allowed our family to unleash two massive forms of transportation. Our household had just picked up a Burley SUV - er - child transport device. In other words, a glorified stroller that you can also connect to a bike and pull behind us. We hope to get a lot of use out of it. The thing is massive, and looks like a giant lady bug. The kids all seem to like it. Remarkably, it's pretty easy to maneuver and almost effortless to push.

This was also the first big trip for Papa's new electric scooter. As you can see by the picture, our stoller is higher, wider, and longer than Papa's "go-cart." At least the stroller weighs considerably less...

Both proved to be helpful aids to getting all of us around...especially at Mt. Rushmore.

Vacation: Father's Day 6/17/07 - the 1880 Train

We wanted to catch the 10am train that departs from Hill City, but it was sold out, and the next train at 1:15pm had a few seats left. Thus, we ended up spending a couple hours wandering around the shops in Hill City. Kiera and Nikki each got a new pair of Keen sandals - meaning that our entire family (with exception of 6 mo. old Ava) now have Keens. (I'll write about that later.) We also stopped to get a bite for lunch at a local cafe. The food wasn't exceptional by any means, but they had an all-you-can-eat buffet for only $5 if you were a dad. I wasn't that hungry, but since a hot dog was the only item less than $5, I went ahead and did it anyway. One trip was plenty for me.

The 1880 Train was both Karsten and Kiera's highlight of the trip. It's an old, turn-of-the-century train that runs the rails between Hill City and Keystone, SD (approx. 10 miles). It wasn't a dramatic experience, but a nostalgic experience nonetheless.

Somehow amidst everything...I never managed to take a picture of the actual TRAIN itself. I'll have to check Nikki's camera if she had enough forsight...

You can also click here for more information (and pictures) on the 1880 Train website

Vacation: Our Cabin for the Week.

We arrived at our cabin around 6:15pm MST on Saturday night. Mema and Papa had already checked in, so we grilled some 'dogs and brats and had a great dinner.

The name of the cabin is the Good Shepherd Lodge, and it's owned by a family in Sioux Falls - and they rent it out when they're not there. It's very reasonable for all the amenities, and served us well. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer & dryer, and full kitchen all came in very handy. The location was great as well as Hill City is centrally located to hit all the tourist stops in the Black Hills. I highly recommend anyone going there to check them out.

Here is a link to the Good Shepherd Lodge website for more photos of the cabin and other info. If you can contact them, let us know we referred you (not that we get a finder's fee, but I try to help people out when I can.)

Random Observation on Vacation

I'll get back to vacation bloggin shortly, but I wanted to post something that I noticed while away...

Before I explain, I should note that I am a bit biased toward Nissan vehicles. I've had 4 of them in the last 10 years. (97 Altima, 99 Maxima, 03 Altima, 05 Pathfinder) More than likely I'll get another one next time around too.

So anyway, Nissan just updated the Altima - and I noticed a LOT of them on vacation. The car has only been shipping for a few months, but without exaggerating, I saw more Altimas than either the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord by a ratio of 4:1 or 5:1.

With looks like this, wouldn't everyone? Seriously, it makes the Accord and Camry look like as stale as an Oldsmobile.

Vacation: Almost to the Cabin

The kids were holding up great after all the time in the minivan.

Vacation: Badlands National Park 6/16/07

We left Brookings at the time we (ok, I) wanted to by 10am. It looked to be about a 5-6 hour drive to our cabin in Hill City, SD. On the way, that meant a trip past the Badlands

I should mention here that I've been out this way before for work, but I've never stopped to visit (including the other tourist sites around Rapid City).

We made it to the Badlands in good time, around 1pm MST. The weather couldn't have been better. Sunny skies, hardly any clouds in the sky, and warm temps but not too hot.

We had a great time climbing around the formations, and the kids definitely want to go back.

Vacation: First Night - Stop in Brookings, SD

We stopped by to see my grandparents (my dad's side) which are conveniently on the way to my brother's house - our destination for the first night on our vacation.

We had a great time spending a few hours with my grandparents. It's tough for them to travel the 3.5 hours to the Cities to visit us, so we try to visit with them whenever we can. Unfortunately the time went by all too quickly.

About 30 minutes past my grandparents is Micah and Gretchen's house in Brookings, SD. After getting there in time for dinner, it was time to (attempt to) put the kids to bed so we could get an early start the following morning. We tried to get a picture of the littlest girls (cousin Kaitlyn was away and cousing Emma was taking a nap), but this is the "cutest" one I could manage of them in their matching outfits.

Heading out on Vacation: 6/15/07

The kids have their sunglasses, the van is packed, and we're ready to go. (We're just waiting on Ava to finish her hair before we go... :-))

Family Vacation: Overview

We just got back from family vacation in the Black Hills, and I couldn't be happier (save for the fact that I start work again tomorrow).

Here are a few basic stats...
* Miles Driven: 1486
* Number of Emergency bathroom breaks: Only 1!!!! (still room for improvement...)
* Number of McDonald's that got our business: only 1!!!! (very last meal on the trip - Kiera's choice...)
* Number of speeding tickets: 0
* Number of cops seen on trip: at least a dozen
* Number of animals hit: 0 "large animals", but more bugs than I care to think about (big bugs too - especially on the windshield)
* Number of Wall Drug billboards passed: infinity + 1
* Numbers of stops at Wall Drug: 2
* Number of heart attacks: 6 - one each time I had to refill the minivan with gas
* Number of dates alone with my wife (thanks to Mema and Papa going along on the trip): 3
* Number of times we used the private hot tub at our cabin during week: 1
* Number of times I ate buffalo meat on vacation: 6 (buffalo burgers, buffalo ribs, buffalo steak, buffalo ribs, buffalo chili, and buffalo bratwurst)
* Number of souvenirs bought for family: a billion
* Number of souvenirs bought for me: 0
* Number of days I wore my ball cap without touching my hair: the entire trip
* Number of times all 4 kids slept the entire night without us having to get up: 1
* Number of digital pictures I brought home from vacation: 205 (doesn't include about as many pics taken on Nikki's camera)

the best welcome to my hotel ever...

As I was driving to my hotel in St. Louis last night, I noticed a welcome that I had never had happen before: a fireworks show just for me. When I got to my room (on the 12th floor), they started the grand finale - so I thought I'd take a few pics to prove it.

Rainbow

Sunday night we had a full rainbow all the way across the sky. Since I had my camera handy, I figured a pic would be worthwhile.

Karsten and Cousin Jake

I took this picture of Karsten and Jake across the street from Mema's house this past Sunday. I thought about taking a picture of the moss on their nice shorts, but opted not for obvious reasons...