More Summer Recap

So we left De Smet, SD and traveled across the state heading to Rapid City to see our main attraction. We tried to break up the driving so Jackson would not completely rebel against us. The big kids had enough to entertain them with DVD players and Nintendo DS but Jackson was another story. So we needed a place to stop across the great state of South Dakota. But there was a problem, there is nowhere to stop across South Dakota-- NOWHERE!! I have never seen so many wide open spaces in all my life. While they are beautiful, after 4 hours of seeing the same thing, the beauty fades and you just want OUT! We found a small town that had a big drug store...Wall, SD. They are famous for their drug store. The motto is the "Ice Water Drug Store", the man that opened the pharmacy many, many years ago made that his claim to fame. He would offer weary travelers a cold glass of ice water to refresh them on their trip. They still offer ice water today. They also have a restaurant and shopping around but that is about all there is to do in Wall, SD.



We left wall and drove through the Badlands National Park. If you have ever been through the Painted Desert in Arizona it looks about the same. Pretty scenery but a long drive. We enjoyed the morning and stopped for lunch in the park and then headed on to Rapid City to church that night and then we drove up to see the Mt. Rushmore lighting ceremony that night.



The Family photo shot in the Badlands National park.



On Thursday morning we drove back up to spend more time at Mt. Rushmore. It was a beautiful clear morning and the weather was PERFECT! It was a nice 70 degrees and no humidity. Couldn't believe how great the weather was in July! We told the guys that any National Park sign was a photo op and they were to stop at any and all that we passed. A nice guy stopped behind us and offered to take a picture of us. He was traveling by himself, from New Jersey! We took his picture too, so he had proof that he was there.



And here it is in all it's glory. This really was impressive. It was nice too that Austin could understand the history of these great men and what they did for our great nation. It was also amazing to see the videos of them actually working on it with dynamite and jack hammers. To have the vision that these men did to take a jagged mountain of granite and turn it into this was truly amazing!



So stay tuned for more...we're not done yet! Our trip was winding down but there was still a lot of ground to cover!

Better get off of here and get some more done while Jackson is napping. Bathrooms to clean and laundry to be done. Have a great day!