Summer Vacation - August 2013

As we headed south from Regina on Highway 6 on an early Monday morning in August, we were looking forward to an adventure of traveling through four US states and seeing many wonderful sites.  The highlight would be the Black Hills in South Dakota which hold many enjoyable activities for a family.  Unfortunately we only spent 2 days there but we filled it full of memorable events.

We visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial twice.  Tuesday morning was beautiful as we made our way up the mountain.  It was cool to see it from a distance and then close up.  I duplicated a photo that we took of the kids on the Grand Terrace when we were here 10 years ago.  We took the Presidential Walk going right below the faces.  It was a warm day and there were lots of visitors.  We also enjoyed the Avenue of Flags in front of the Grand Terrace where the flags of all the states are flying.

2013

2003

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore at night

The Avenue of Flags

I'm sure if we were Americans, we would have been more moved in a patriotic sense, but it was still a great sight to see.  We appreciated the amazing feat of design and engineering it took to accomplish it.

We also went back to see Mt. Rushmore on Wednesday evening.  That was great to see as well.  The stark contrast between the black sky and the illuminated heads was incredible.  Interestingly enough, by looking at a photo sideways, we realized that the four heads together also made a face.  The head of Washington is the nose, Jefferson is between the nose and the lip.  Roosevelt is the top lip.  The space between Roosevelt and Lincoln is the mouth.  Lincoln is the chin and the rough mountain is the beard.  It was kind of cool.

Mount Rushmore on its side!

Keystone is the centre of the touristy stuff and we had lunch there and ice cream.   We stopped at a couple of shops.  We really enjoyed looking through rocks at the rock shops.  There are some great colours and types of rocks.  Matt bought an arrowhead.  Sarah and I bought some rocks.  I found 2 heart shaped rocks which I am always on the lookout for.

A highlight on Wednesday morning was going through the Jewel Cave National Monument.  The cave is very large - over 167 miles of discovered pathways, but it is only considered 5% mapped.  Our tour was 1 hr. 20 min, and covered about 1/2 mile of the cave, including 723 stairs. The cave temperature is 49°F (9°C) year round.  It was incredible.  Lots of different kinds of rock and formations, from nailhead spar crystals to draperies (looked like jellyfish)...some stalactites and stalagmites.  There was also soda straws and cave bacon.  Incredible.  This was definitely one of the highlights of our time in the Black Hills.

Cave Bacon

Draperies

We also discovered two great museums after we got here, that were well worth our time.  The Museum of Geology is housed on the campus of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  It is a great museum with lots of dinosaur bones, fossils and displays.  It also had lots of rocks, minerals and gems that were most fascinating.  Sarah in particular loved this museum and we all enjoyed it.

B-52D "Stratofortress"

B-1B Bomber

Boeing B-29 "Superfortress"

 Matt was quite enthusiastic and thrilled to find out that the South Dakota Air and Space Museum near the Ellsworth Air Force Base was only a few kilometres down the road.  Sarah wasn't feeling well, so she and I stayed behind while Matt & Kelly went.  They had a fabulous time seeing different interesting aircraft including Matt's favourite, the B-29 Superfortress.

They also really liked the B-1B Bomber, which is based out of Ellsworth.  There was a Cold War display of a missile control room and they were assured that there were no nukes on the premises, but they weren't sure they should believe them.

The eye of the needle!

The Black Hills are a fabulous vacation spot and we realized quite quickly that 2 days wasn't enough to see it all.  We are not drawn particularly to some of the touristy stuff; we prefer to see natural side of the attractions.  We enjoyed the Needles highway and the Custer State Park Drive.  The Needles highway is amazing with it's rock outcroppings and incredible views. It was quite busy, but we were drawn to all the amazing sights.  The Custer State Park Drive was quite varied by mountainous to rolling hills.  We saw bison, very cute burros (which Edie particularly liked), antelope and lots of prairie dogs.

Edie and her new friend

Another highlight of the Black Hills area is the Chapel in the Hills.  This is an exact replica of a 12th century church in Norway.  It is a beautiful architecturally built building on very peaceful grounds in Rapid City.  We enjoyed seeing the church inside and out and as well the small museum on the same grounds.

Chapel in the Hills

Thursday morning we left Rapid City and made our way west.  We made a planned stop at Devils Tower National Monument.  (Kelly has wanted to see it ever since he saw the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind).  This is an amazing rock outcropping in north eastern Wyoming.  We had a picnic lunch there and then took the 2 km walk around the base of the tower. There was always interesting views of the tower to take photos of, interspersed with great views of the valley surrounding it.  We saw a dozen or so climbers at various points on the rock.  It was very fascinating.  It was interesting to see how the rock is made up of vertical columns, sort of like a cupcake paper.  The top is apparently rounded and grassy, with certain small animals that live up there.

Devils Tower, WY

After Devils Tower, we continued west to Buffalo, WY.  As we descended from the range land to this oasis town, we discovered a jewel in the form of the Hampton Inn, Buffalo.  We enjoyed our stay, swim and sleep in a wonderful suite.  But the sparkle in the jewel was definitely the terrace and grassy area out back, with a stream nearby.  It was beautiful.  The grass was like walking on carpet; the surrounding plants and the terrace itself made a perfect picture.  We ate supper on the terrace and then the next morning Kelly & I ate breakfast and drank our coffee out there as well.  We saw some wild turkeys but none of the other wildlife that sometimes show up there.  We found it hard to leave Buffalo, Wyoming.  It was a beautiful retreat spot and had imbedded itself into our hearts.

Hampton Inn, Buffalo, WY

Ten Sleep Canyon, WY

Powder River Pass, WY, elevation 9666 ft.

From Buffalo, we went west across the Big Horn mountains, a stand alone range starting in Montana but mostly in Wyoming.  This was another amazing day of photos, rocks, mountains, very red hills, and majestic outcroppings.  We briefly stopped at many view sites and also St. Christopher's chapel in the woods. (an outdoor chapel in the middle of nowhere).

Chapel in the Woods

Crazy Woman Cafe, Ten Sleep, WY

As we descended into Ten Sleep, WY, we decided to stop for lunch.  Noticing the Crazy Woman Cafe, we decided to eat there after Kelly made sure he took a photo of his crazy woman (me) in front of the sign.  Lunch was delicious and then we went to the Dirty Sally ice cream shop for dessert.  We had been told it was the best huckleberry ice-cream in the state, and it was the best we had.  This place was apparently named after a character from the TV show Gunsmoke.

talking about crazy... Kelly goes a little crazy when he thinks I have taken too many photos!

It actually said 101 degrees first...but by the time we took the photo it had 'cooled' down.

We finished off our vacation with a couple of days in Billings.  We shopped, swam, ate delicious food at Famous Dave's, Cafe Rio and our favorite, Pizza Ranch!  It was good to go on vacation and always good to come home.

Port of Regway, SK