Bagels & Nutella. What a delicious way to begin our road trip
Saturday: Rapid City, South Dakota
Cherry Pie, Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie
We stayed the night in Rapid City. In the morning we got dressed in our Sunday clothes and found an LDS chapel, but the doors were locked, and a note on the door said they had Stake Conference somewhere else. So we decided to listen to Book of Mormon Stories in the car and drive on to Devils Tower.
Sunday: Devils Tower and Billings Montana
After hiking around Devil’s Tower, we drove to Billings and spent the night with my Aunt Lillian and Uncle Doug. Uncle Doug showed my kids a fun game called FlowFree, which became a family favorite
Monday: Rexburg Idaho
All the pies
It was my dad’s turn to be in charge of the family reunion.
I’m really proud of the idea I came up with to put posters of family stories in the hallway. That way when we were waiting in line for a meal, we were reading the stories. That was a big win.
Katie helped us make a coloring book of the family for all the little kids. She also had a bunch of hilarious minute-to-win-it games for us to play.
I spent hours on a family tree chart in a binder- that was maybe less of a success- I didn’t feel like it was visually pretty or easy to follow.
But all in all, the family history focus was 👌
The lengths parents will go to to get kids to smile for pictures.Sammy, Cherry Pie, Cegan, Sariah, BertiePumpkin Pie, Cherry Pie, Eddie, Kaitlyn, and RowanI led Zumba in the mornings for those who wanted to sweat before breakfast. that was really fun.
This reunion was the first reunion in 9 years that I wasn’t pregnant at the reunion, so I worked really hard to be skinny for it. I did lose about 10 pounds, and I was looking pretty good!
Nate brought his slack line, and Pumpkin Pie spent a lot of time being awesome on it.Peach Pie tried it tooJim did archery for the little kids. Key Lime Pie is deadly with a bow and arrow.The Reed familyEddie, Kaitlyn, and Rowan looking good.
This year our skit was to the tune of “Follow the Prophet” but the words were “Hansens are Awesome”
We also played at the St. Anthony Sand DunesKey Lime Pie
After we left Rexburg, we visited Aunt Cheli and Uncle Ed in Provo.
Blueberry PieUncle Ed had all these sweet bikes in his garage, just waiting for kids to come ride them! Banana seats forever!
After that, we visited the Great Salt Lake with Linda and Jonathan
Antelope Island
Arches National Park and the Delicate Arch. Junior Ranger Badges for the win!!Mesa VerdeMore Junior Ranger badgesBaby Bean in the car.
First thing in the morning, we crossed Mackinac Bridge and started down the East side of Lake Michigan. This was the most beautiful countryside of the trip, I thought. We drove through lots of picturesque little towns and saw lots of fruit orchards. We reached our destination, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at about noon. We super duper lucked out and got the very last campsite available. It was a “hike in” campsite, which we have never tried before, but it turned out to be awesome. It was more secluded than drive-up campsites and closer to the bathrooms to boot. Plus the “hike” was less than 200 yards.
After Lunch, we headed to the beach for several hours of great fun.
I think I must have an affinity for water/beaches because all my favorite trips and moments include water.
This first beach was a 1.2 mile hike from our campsite. I’ve forgotten it’s name, but we were the only people there. It was so peaceful. The sand was so fine, it squeaked under our feet when we walked in it. A little old woman came along the beach picking up smooth stones. She stopped to tell our children the Legend of the Sleeping Bear.
Long ago there was a great fire on the far shore of the lake, where Wisconsin is now. The mother bear and her two cubs swam across the lake to escape the fire. There is the mother bear, she said, pointing to the beautiful sand dune cliff to our right. She is waiting for her cubs. You can see them just there, that little island and beyond it is his brother. The mother bear sleeps while she waits for her cubs.
After her story, she gave each of the children a stone from her bag as a special gift before she continued on her way down the beach. You can’t buy experiences like this!
Our second day at Sleeping Bear, we drove up around the scenic loop that was supposedly so good. it was 45 minutes of driving through trees. We stopped at overlook points and looked out at trees. Was there something beyond the trees that people used to be able to see? who knows. what i do know is that 6 children who have been inside a car for most of a week watching trees are not entertained by being stuck inside the same car yet again to watch more trees. there was much complaining and fighting and i have a special hatred in my heart forever for that scenic loop and the pArk planners who made such a big deal of it on all the signs.
We finally escaped from the hell of that scenic loop and drove over to the giant sand dunes. The kiddie pies and the DH ran up and rolled down the dunes for over an hour. I stayed down at the bottom in the shade with Banana Cream Pie. That was the kids’ favorite bit of the whole trip.
We tried out Glen Haven beach. It was super crowded and the water seemed colder. The girls buried each other from the waist down and spent hours creating elaborate mermaid tails with rocks from the lake. I have beautiful pictures of them trapped inside the broken computer.
We cooked dinner at the picnic area there and then started our journey home. We had planned to stop at a hotel for the evening, but none had vacancies, so we kept driving. We were tired and cranky and not at our best.
Finally at about 1 in the morning we found a hotel with an open room. I will not speak of the nastiness we found inside that room. I will only say that we did not bring any of our belongings inside, nor walk on the carpet with our bare feet. We showered and slept about 5 hours. Woke up the kids and got out as fast as we could.
The sun rose and miraculously everyone was cheerful and pleasant again. Home we drove past Gary, Indiana, and Chicago. I called ahead and ordered Pizzas from Pizza Hut for lunch, so they were ready to be picked up as we drove through some little town between Chicago and St Louis.
Attempting to avoid road construction landed us in East St Louis, yikes! But we managed to get out again without being shot at. If Matt and Cegan had been home, we would have spent the evening with them, but they weren’t so a few more hours driving, and we were home sweet home at last.
It was our most epic road trip yet. The DH drove close to 8 hours most days, longer on some, as we hurried to hit the next high point. I did no driving at all, just handed out snacks, navigated, and tried to keep kids happy and quiet.
As we were leaving town, we saw a large, dinosaur-like statue of a monster. Then we saw the monster again on the water tower. “What is up with this monster?” we wondered. I googled “Rhinelander monster” on my phone and we found out about the Hodag. The legend of the hodag was one of the funniest things we have ever heard, and we deeply regretted missing the opportunity to take a picture of the family with the hodag statue. We vowed to research local legends of the towns we stay in on family trips from now on.
After about a 4 hour drive on the highway and an intense hour of driving on unmarked logging roads out in the boonies of Northern Michigan, we reached the top of Mount Arvon. I wasn’t too worried because DH was doing the driving. We almost got the van stuck in a huge pothole/mud puddle at one point. I think Mt. Arvon should probably have a sign saying 4 wheel drive is needed or park and walk the rest of the way up. The “road” is extended from the parking lot most online sites describe, so you can pretty much drive to the top now. But like I said, consider walking the last bit if you are in a large vehicle or don’t have 4 wheel drive, especially if it has been rainy.
Mount Arvon
On the way down, DH had a headache from the worries of transporting the family through such unfamiliar territory with mostly unmarked roads. When we got to the nearest town, L’anse, I suggested we stop at a park to relax for a bit. We stumbled upon this little playground right on the shore of Lake Superior and spent 20 of the most glorious minutes of my life playing in the sunshine and breeze. Every time since, when someone says, “picture the perfect place” or “Picture yourself on a beach,” I imagine myself back in this little park.
Mom! Watch! aaand cue Chariots of Fire soundtrack: Dun Dun da-Dun Dunnnn daaaa….
We planned on camping at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We got there at about 5 pm and all the camping spots were taken. Online had warned of this, but we have always been so lucky to get campsites, that the DH assumed we would find one. We did not. After lots of frustrating driving around, we found a picnic spot, and I cooked dinner while the kids played on the beach again. We should have just gone ahead and visited the pretty places there at Pictured Rocks that we wanted to see, but we wasted all our daylight looking for a campsite. Hind sight is 20/20.
As our trip progressed, we learned the hard way that the Great Lakes are a popular attraction and you should book ALL of your campsites/hotel rooms 6-12 months in advance.
After dinner, we checked all the local hotels. No Vacancy. So we started driving along the route we had planned for the next day. I googled hotels all along the way on my phone and called ahead looking for a place to stay. We finally found a room in St. Ignace, Michigan and stopped to get some rest at 12:30 a.m. in a lovely little motel called Bay View Motel, right on the lake. It was low priced, clean, and rustic. I loved it. I also loved getting some sleep. It was our good luck spot for the trip.
Eagle Mountain in Minnesota was high point #6 for the kids and I, and High Point #7 for DH. It was a 7 mile hike and most places online say the difficulty of the hike is about the same as Harney Peak, South Dakota, which we hiked last summer.
I guess that is accurate. The DH and I were both in better shape for hiking this year than we were last year, so it was easier on us in that way. I have never hiked on such a rocky trail, though. And when I say rocky, I mean the trail was full of big rocks that you had to step from rock to rock–like crossing a stream, only no stream. The rocks were close together, but we had to watch every step carefully or twist our ankles and fall.
Cutie Pie was almost 5 years old and hiked much better than she did last summer in South Dakota–She motivated herself without much input from me for 2-2.5 miles before insisting on being carried. When the trail got very steep for the last mile, she climbed willingly. The DH carried 18 month old Baby Dumpling until Cutie Pie needed help. Then 13 year old Blueberry Pie carried the baby and DH carried Cutie Pie. I got out of packing an extra baby, since as you can tell from the picture, I was carrying one anyway.
We ran out of bug spray as I was applying it to the kiddie pies that morning, and the mosquitoes were fierce on the mountain. DH and Blueberry Pie swell a lot when they get bit, and they were really suffering. We bought more bug spray that evening, but the mosquitoes were never as bad as they were that day on Eagle Mountain.
We stopped at a Lake about halfway up to enjoy some scenery and have a snack. Some of the picture files on my computer seem to have become corrupted, so I no longer have those pictures of the lake.
Here we are at the top of Eagle Mountain. Blueberry Pie is letting us all know how hard he has worked, packing a baby halfway up the mountain.
While we were hiking, we passed several groups of other hikers. Often they had on sweatshirts or t-shirts that gave away what state, or at least what college they hailed from. It was really fun for me to know where people were from, and I’ve decided to get a Missouri t-shirt so people can know where we are from when we hike high points. I learned that the Minnesotan phrase of choice when greeting strangers on the trail is “How’s it goin’? ” This seems a little more friendly than the Missouri phrase of choice, which seems to be, “Hey.”
The day was fairly cool and I wore my most comfortable and most favorite maternity pants every– my old army maternity BDU’s.
First off, these sweet pants have pockets, a rare thing for maternity pants. Second of all, they stay where they are supposed to stay and do not require constant pulling back up when I am hiking, walking, and moving around. A second rare thing for maternity pants. Thirdly, they are very comfortable and fit me perfectly, something I have never encountered elsewhere in maternity pants.
I don’t wear them very often outside my house, because cammo isn’t really my style. But I knew they would be the hands down best choice for this hike. I have a dark brown maternity shirt that is about the color of those old army t-shirts and I was feeling like a fashion genius in my hiking boots, brown shirt, cammo pants, and pig tails.
pigtails
The DH seemed a little like he didn’t love my look, which is funny to me since he loves his own uniform so much.
As we were on our way back down the mountain, we passed a family who were just starting. The father and son were a little ahead and hiking in pretty normal, adequate hiking clothes. Behind them came the mom and little daughter. The mom and daughter were blinged out for a trip to the mall. Jewelry, cute hoodies, and sparkly manicures to match their sparkly flip flops. As I passed them, I was thinking to myself maybe I should have worn some makeup or something a little more girly–perhaps I had gone too far to the practical side in my choice of ensemble for the day
About 5 minutes later, I wanted to go back and warn that mom and little girl that there was no way they could make it up the mountain in flip flops. The flip flops would rip apart on those rocks and they would end up having to walk the rest of the way bare foot. I wondered if they had actually planned this hike, or if they had just been driving by and were like, “Hey, look, the highest point in Minnesota, let’s hike it. Sounds quirky and fun.” I really have no idea what they were thinking, and women who are that sparkly are very intimidating to me for some reason, so I didn’t go back. (Plus I was ready for the hike to be over and didn’t really want to add to my fatigue just to go back and try to talk sense to someone who thought hiking a mountain in flip flops was a good idea.)
To be fair, we have been on 4 high points that would be doable in flip flips: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Michigan. It is possible that there are several out east that would also fit in this category. So maybe that family was from one of those states.
After our hike, we went back to camp and ate something yummy and easy to cook, possibly it was Spinach Parmesan PastaRoni and fried Zucchini.
Then we went drove a little ways down from our campsite to the shore of Lake Superior and relaxed and let the kids play for as long as they wanted.
Baby Dumpling thought it was hilarious every time someone threw a rock into the water Blueberry Pie Pumpkin Pie finds a perfect rock. Cutie Pie cannot possibly narrow her collection down to one perfect rock. Peach Pie posing for the camera.
Baby Dumpling tries out rock throwing. DH has as much fun as the kiddie pies.
I found this friendly little leech attached to Pumpkin Pie’s pinky toe. After she was done freaking out and able to stand still, I pulled him off. Blueberry Pie and Cutie Pie went immediately into the water and got their own friendly leeches on purpose. After pulling the third leech off Cutie Pie, I announced that I would not remove any more leeches, so they had better not “catch” any more. Pumpkin Pie remained grossed out by the leeches for the entire trip. A point that Blueberry Pie capitalized on by “just happening” to mention the word leech constantly.
Cherry Pie shows the perfect skipping rock she has found.
We finished off the day with hot cocoa around the campfire. It was a good day.
Day 3 we packed up camp and headed down the shore of Lake Superior towards Wisconsin. We stopped at a lookout called P__ Point and the fog on the lake lifted enough that we had some great views and got some great pictures. This is the only surviving picture. The kids loved scrambling over the rocks.
Blueberry Pie sampling Betty’s Raspberry Peach Pie
Then, following the advice of DH’s online backpacking friends, we stopped at Betty’s Pies and sampled the world famous pies to be had therein. We tried Raspberry Peach and French Banana Cream. I come from a family of fabulous pie bakers, so I am always skeptical of pies which can be purchased. Usually, people say they are good because people have never had a good pie to compare it too. However, Betty’s pies really were good. The raspberry peach tasted as good as pies my Aunties bake, so I didn’t feel like my money was wasted. The French Banana Cream was one of the most heavenly things I have ever tasted. The “french” part was that the cream on top of the pie was like a whipped cream cheese cake. I just kept eating lactaid pills and pieces of pie all day long. (I paid for that later. Even lactaid pills can’t handle everything.) But Soooo tasty!
After about 6 hours, we got to Timms Hill, Wisconsin. We all hiked up to the top. It was like a steep hill.
Then the big kids and the DH climbed the lookout towers and I went back down with Baby Dumpling and Cutie Pie. We played on the playground at the bottom of the hill until everyone else came back down.
That evening, we stopped in Rhinelander, Wisconson, ate cheese curds at a Dogs -n-Suds and spent the night in a hotel. Ah! showers and soft beds for everyone!
The day after the last swim meet, we left for our 2013 family vacation.
I had voted for anyplace that included a beach (after last year’s mostly primitive camping vacation, I wanted cushy!)
The DH has that goal to summit the highest peak in every state. By visiting the Great Lakes, we could summit 3 state high points and spend lots of time on the beach as well. We were pretty excited. Not to mention that when people ask what your summer plans are, and you say, “We’re driving around the Great Lakes,” it just sounds exciting and impressive.
We drove straight from home to our first campsite at Tettegouche State Park, about an hour north of Duluth, Minnesota. That was a 14 hour drive and Baby Dumpling was not happy for a large part of it. I don’t know if she had a stomach bug or was just car sick, but we had to stop 3 times so I could clean her and her car seat and rid the car of vomit smelling things. Then she just got tired of being in her car seat and got downright fussy. Having a crying baby makes everyone in the car tense and cranky, especially DH & I. We finally stopped around the Iowa-Minnesota border, and I broke the Sabbath to buy her this barking doggy toy to hopefully help her be happy. She was happy for about 30 minutes. Beginning a road trip on a Sunday was not the best idea we’ve ever had.
Duluth was beautiful. Driving through it was like driving through a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I think DH would seriously want to move there if it weren’t for the mosquitoes. (More about those buggers later.) In Duluth I finally used my iPhone to play a Woody Woodpecker cartoon for Baby Dumpling. Ahhh, peace in the car. Next summer, we are buying DVD players for the car BEFORE our trip. No question, no argument, done deal.
When we finally got to camp, I sprayed everyone down with bug spray. Then, I fired up the camp stove and we had taco soup with chips ready to eat by the time the DH & kids had the tent set up. I’ve visited Minnesota once before in my life and I warned the DH about the mosquitoes–both their enormous size and sheer numbers. He thought I was exaggerating, but I think that night he began to believe I wasn’t joking. The next day would show him just how right I was. Something he should not have been surprised by, as I am always right….
Gateway arch and reflecting pool in St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Our trip to St. Louis was awesome! Friday was a whirlwind of packing because the DH decided to take a 1/2 day so we could leave earlier. I had to pack everything with 5 hours less time than I had thought to have. Then I found out he had Monday off because of the holiday and we decided to stay 2 more days, so I had to go back and pack more. But the trailer got packed with Matt & Cegan’s stuff and with some Little Caesar’s Hot & Readys to keep us company plus Jimmy & Tahnee & Morgan, we were finally St. Louie bound.
First thing Saturday Morning, Cegan watched all the kiddie pies so the rest of us grownups could go to the temple. That was wonderful and I may post more about it later. When we got back, she had even cooked lunch at the same time as taking care of 9 kids. It was so tasty! What a super woman.
saint louis zoo (Photo credit: paparutzi)
We loved the zoo, especially the penguin house, Herpetology House, and the zebras and camels. This big camel came right up to us and huffed and sneered. I think he was worried about us stealing his harem of lady camels.
I think the animals there were the most spectacular and up close of any I have ever seen at a zoo. The sea lion exhibit was pretty incredible too. The St. Louis Zoo is free admission. That’s something that really helps out a family of 8! We spent about 4 hours there, which was the limit for our feet and for the kiddie pie’s attention spans. My 4-year old decided that she didn’t want to ride in the stroller, but she didn’t want to walk. She wanted me to carry her. I was pretty hard-hearted and informed her that she could walk or she could ride in the stroller. She refused to do either, so she cried a whole lot. Too bad.
The crying stopped when we got inside the penguin house. I’m still amazed by how close we were to those cute little guys.
Giant Bugs! My Favorite
Back to Matt’s house for delicious dinner and vegging on the couch. We gave the kids Uncle Matt’s Ipad full of Micky Mouse cartoons and we stayed up watching the Bourne Legacy. It was pretty good.
Sunday was church and lucky for us, Cegan’s ward meets at 12:30. Everyone had plenty of time for washing hair and ironing white shirts. Plus Cegan has a whole bunch of Living Scriptures Cartoons so we even had Sunday appropriate movies to help the kids keep reasonable Sunday behavior.
Monday, we decided to visit the Arch. I’ve never been, so it was my first time to see it too! We rode the Metro also so the kids got to ride a train and see the arch. The wind was brisk and it was about 25 degrees outside, so we were pretty cold, but we walked down to the Mississippi River Front anyway. Cherry Pie spit in the Mississippi river just so that she could tell Grandpa that she had. The Arch is just miraculous. I could have just sat and looked at it for an hour, if I hadn’t had to keep an eye on kids. It just seems so impossible and beautiful that I could hardly believe what I was looking at.
There is a museum of westward expansion at the base of the arch full of really cool exhibits and moving animatronics. (And the museum is freeeee.) Riding the tram to the top of the arch is not free, but we did it anyway. The kids enjoyed the tram to the top as much as looking out the windows to see all of St.Louis. I did not feel afraid of how high up I was, amazingly, but I did feel very motion sick. I’m not sure if that was because of the tram ride, or because the arch sways a bit in the wind, or because it was rather hot and stuffy at the top, or all of these things. In any case, I voted for a speedy return to ground level. Next, We walked to a little chapel, originally built by French explorers and the old county courthouse, before returning to the warmth of the Metro. Jimmy & Tahnee had spaghetti waiting for us when we arrived. Thank goodness, because we were about to DIE of hunger. After our late lunch, wehad a nap & then headed home.
We want to go back again soon! (not on a Monday as 90% of the attractions in St. Louis are closed on Mondays. LAME. But now we know so we can plan.)
Thursday we headed home. We took an hour detour to drive through the Badlands. It was awesome
We seriously considered extending our trip a day so we could camp and explore the Badlands, but I was feeling exceedingly unwell that morning and the camping facilities are very primitive. I had to admit I didn’t think I could handle another day of possibly even less available plumbing.
Wednesday we started out early for Harney Peak. We wanted to be well on our way to the top before the day got too hot. We knew that hiking with all the kids would make us slower. Harney Peak is the high point of South Dakota and the highest peek between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees. It is 3.5 miles to the top, but the elevation gain is only about 1000 feet, so most of the trail is not too steep.
Ben started out carrying Baby Dumpling in the baby pack; the rest of us had to hike on our own 2 feet. Right from the get go, Cutie Pie did not want to hike. “My legs are broken,” she told me. Luckily, my trekking pole collapses down to just the right length for a small 3 year old. I told her she could be the leader and she cheered up.
She got frustrated when the other kids refused to hike slowly behind her. I used Aunt Katie’s trick of super powers next.
“Cutie Pie, how will we get to the next rock? Lets use our Super Dinosaur Power/Super Running Power/Super Star Power/Super Butt Wiggle Power/Super Pooh Bear Jumping Power” That got us a good deal further along the trail.
The views were spectacular along the way. My photography skills don’t do it justice.
Blueberry Pie offered to carry Cutie Pie and she let him for 100-200 yards. Then I produced apples from my pack.
I promised her that if she would walk all the way up, I would carry her all the way down.
She would go for a bit and then say, “Momma, I just want you to carry me.”
We pretended to be baby ponies. I distracted her by having her tell me what ponies eat. I told her I knew a story about a pony named Rocket and I told her Grandpa’s story of Whitey & Mimi for the first time. She loved it. In this way, we got to the marker for 1 1/2 miles. We had fallen pretty far behind the others, but they were waiting for us there. She was excited to be caught up and went a bit further on her own. Then she just stopped in the middle of the trail.
“You just go, Mommy,” she said, motioning me on with her hand. This was different from the whining and fussing of before.
“I won’t leave you here all alone,” I said encouragingly. “Come on with me.”
She sighed and took 2 more steps and then stopped again. “You just go, Mommy.” That squeezed my heart, so I picked her up and tied her on my back with my baby carrier and carried her the rest of the 2 miles up the Mountain. She fell asleep almost instantly, so I think she really had walked as far as she could go.
Just before the peak, there is a huge flight of stairs. We had planned to eat lunch on the summit, but stopped at the base of the stairs instead. Baby Dumpling was getting fussy and so were the other kids. I broke out a package of chips to go with our sandwiches. Nacho Cheese flavored tortilla chips are good for troop morale.
Luckily, Cutie Pie was willing to climb up the stairs herself. I’m not sure I could have carried her. They were not as steep as the ones in this picture. This is inside the Fire Tower.
Lucky for me, Cutie Pie was excited to get to the Princess Castle on top of the Mountain.
When we got to the top, 5 children were miraculously recovered from fatigue and went scampering about like mountain goats, climbing all over the granite boulders.
I alternately prayed for their deliverance from death and begged out loud for them to come down. (I’m not exaggerating.)
I think that maybe on some of the higher peaks, I’ll stop just short of the summit.
I’m not sure the view is enough to compensate for the sharp pain of fear that goes crushing through me when I am up so high.
Even from the complete safety of the stone walled fire tower, I was only barely able to keep myself from dropping to my hands and knees when I looked out over the Black Hills from 7,242 feet above sea level.
I know I look all calm here, but it is only a facade.
I didn’t know this, but chipmunks live at the top of mountains, and there were about 100 running around and climbing the boulders with my kids.
I started to feel better about the whole being higher than anything else I could see feeling and then Cherry Pie started balance beam walking along the cliff side edges of the boulders again. I finally sat down with Baby Dumpling and leaned against a boulder and covered my eyes and told myself that if they all died, there was nothing I could do about it.
Picture Ben took while I was cowering on the ground
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I stayed there until Ben was done exploring and ready to take us all down again.
We switched things up on the way down. Ben put the 3-year-old in the baby pack, and I tied the 6-month-old onto me and down we went. My trekking poles were great. Besides helping me keep my balance down the mountain, I loaned them to various kids several times to motivate them to keep going.
By the end, all our feet hurt and we were all tired. The 12-year-old is the only kid who never complained about being too tired or that his feet hurt. The girls who were sure they couldn’t take another step were soon running about again as if they had done nothing all day. The grownups to IB Profin and sat in our camp chairs like lumps.
For dinner I warmed up 2 cans of chili and we had Frito Pie. Gotta love that propane stove.
Tuesday was the day we had planned our big hike up to the top of Harney Peak, but the 6-year-old came down with flu Monday afternoon, so we postponed the hike for Wednesday and instead we went to see Crazy Horse. It was very hot, so I was glad we weren’t hiking.
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain carving like Mt. Rushmore and was begun about the time Rushmore was being finished up. (Actually, the artist who planned the sculpture for Rushmore –Gutzon Borglum–planned for the presidents to be carved down to their waists, but the government cut off funding and stopped the project in 1941.
Crazy Horse began because several Lakota Chiefs went to Korczak Ziolkowski and asked him to create a monument in their Sacred Black Hills. After he began the project, the government offered several times to fund it, but Ziolkowski refused because he believed first that it should be a endeavor by people and second that the government would not finish the project.
“My lands are where my dead lie buried.”
Ben took this photo 2 years ago when he was in South Dakota for AT
It is a much bigger carving than Mt. Rushmore, in fact, all of the Rushmore carving would fit in Crazy Horse’s head.
I was so inspired by the history behind the monument, and the video we watch of Korczak speaking about his work moved me to tears. He said, ” “When the legends die, the dreams end; when the dreams end, there is no more greatness.”
Beneath the mountain is also a museum of Native American artifacts. We spent a good long time seeing everything. Maybe too long, because when we finally returned to the car, we were all tired and hungry and cranky. We had lunch (PB&J) and moved to our new campground. This one was right by the highway, so we were disappointed at first, but then we discovered the beautiful shower house across the street. Ah to be clean is so good!
Also, despite being right next to the highway, we saw more wildlife here than anywhere else. Squirrels kept scolding us from the trees and there were minnows in the little stream running by. Yellow Jackets kept flying around our table and I became convinced that their nest was in the metal tubing. Ben and a nice old park worker stuffed paper towels in the ends of the tubing and we had much fewer yellow jackets after that, although Cherry Pie did get stung.
This guy quietly passed by our picnic table as we were eating lunch Wednesday.
After lunch, we took the kids swimming at Sylvan Lake which was much cleaner and prettier than Sheridan Lake. It was also very much crowded and the water was cold!
For dinner I warmed roast beef and browned bell peppers & onions and we had hot roast beef sandwiches and watermellon. When the roast beef ran out, I toasted the remaining bread & cheese. Another fast and tasty meal that everyone loved.
Marvelous Pigs in Satin 