New friends

Today we met up with some new friends!

Caleb and his parents also live in an RV. His dad is a helicopter pilot, so they've been traveling for his work. Right now they're in the Mount Rushmore area for the tourist season, and we were finally able to meet in person. Ian and Caleb had a great time playing at Storybook Island, and then we had lunch together.

From Rapid City, SD

Now we're getting packed up and ready to move on out again tomorrow. Next stop: Wyoming!

Bear Country

Today we did something totally different. We went to Bear Country, which is a drive-through wildlife park. It was really cool to have the animals in their habitat while we were the ones in the cages! We saw buffalo, arctic wolves, elk, miniature donkeys, and lots of bears. They were just feet from our truck-very awesome! Ian loved being able to see all the animals.

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

The best part was at the end, when you get out of the car and see all the little baby animals. We saw baby skunks, porcupines, wolves, foxes, and of course bears. The baby bears were adorable! There were about 14 of them, all playing together and some taking naps. Ian and Rinnah both loved watching them! When we took Rinnah out of the stroller, she just giggled with glee and loved watching the bears!

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

The kids' favorite part was in the gift shop. They had all these different hats that were different animals' heads. Ian would put one on and run over to the mirror, where Rinnah was waiting. They would both crack up when they saw what was on his head!

Rinnah made us laugh tonight. She got my cell phone, opened it up, pushed a few buttons, held it up to her head, and started saying "Hi! Hi! Hi!" She's starting so young!

Mount Rushmore

We saw Mount Rushmore today!

We got out late because the kids took long naps this afternoon, but that actually worked out well because we arrived just as a storm was wrapping up. We got to see this rainbow on our way into the park.

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

It was really neat to see in person. Neither one of us had ever really seen the monument in context or gotten a feel for how big it was, and the museum explaining how they built it was fascinating. I'm amazed that they were able to do all that so precisely with dynamite. One of the exhibits let you push a blast chamber and a video of one of the explosions during construction would play with a large bang-it was Ian's favorite part!

From Rapid City, SD

And here are some of my favorite pictures from Storybook Island yesterday:

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

From Rapid City, SD

Storybook Island

Things got off to a much smoother start today. The internet was working fine, so Jeremy was able to work normally. The kids were up nice and early and we were ready by 8am. After a load of laundry we made it out to Storybook Island. It's a fabulous park with lots of different toys for the kids to play on, all with different themes. Some are famous fairy tale characters, others are Disney characters, others are just trains or ice cream or something else fun. They've even got movie songs playing. It felt a bit like Disney World. The best part? It's free! It's sponsored by the Rotary Club and there is no admission or parking charges. We did pay $1 for Ian to go on a train ride, so hopefully that will help their operating costs. We liked it so well that after Jeremy was done with work, we went back again. Even after spending several hours there today Ian still has not tried everything they have. Rinnah had a ball too-plenty of things she could climb on, swings to ride, and slides to go down.

We were hoping to make it a little longer, but we had to move tonight to dump our tanks. We're staying in a spot with just electric & water hookups, and our gray water (sink & shower drainage) tank was full. So we had to move the trailer over to the dump station and repark. It wasn't a big deal, but because of that it's kind of late. I'll put up Storybook Island pictures tomorrow.

Rapid City, SD

Today was an odd day.

We got very poor cell signals at the campsite last night. It's a shame, because it was just beautiful out there.

From Rapid City, SD

Jeremy did his best to work out there this morning. His office had a great view and plenty of fresh mountain air.

From Rapid City, SD

Since the signal wasn't strong enough, we headed back to Rapid City, a little more urban and out of the mountainous trees. We spent a few hours at a Flying J truck stop while Jeremy worked. It took awhile to find an open campground since we're apparently right between the 4th of July and several annual rallies, so it's peak season. Eventually we did find a site just a bit northwest of Rapid City . It's priced right, has cell coverage, free wifi, and even a playground. We'll be here for a few days while we sort out where we want to go next and when we want to get there.

I think we'll be avoiding tourist traps in the middle of nowhere for awhile.

Scenic South Dakota

Today we drove across most of South Dakota. It was interesting. The views were gorgeous, especially at a scenic overlook we saw at a rest area. We also stopped at Wall Drug. There were about a million billboards for it along the highway and our curiosity got the best of us. It turned out to be more or less a massive gift shop filled with touristy trinkets. They did have a pretty neat outdoor area where Ian got to sit on a (stuffed) horse and sit in a covered wagon. There was also a water play area with different jets that would go off unpredictably which was fun to watch.

It was really neat to see the scenery change so abruptly. One minute we're driving through the same plains we've seen for a hundred miles, then suddenly we go down a hill and see a breathtaking riverbed. Later, soft rolling hills suddenly give way to roaring steep forests. It's really amazing and made for an interesting drive.

4th of July!

Sure, technically it's the 5th of July, but today is when all the fun happened here.

This morning we started off at the zoo, and then went to the museum. It was fun to bring Jeremy with and have Ian show him all his favorite things, plus we were able to see some new things that the kids and I hadn't seen earlier in the week. At the zoo we rode the train as a special treat, and that was fun.

After a full morning, we came back for a late lunch and naptime. While the kids slept, the fair began setting up. It's right at the fairgrounds we've been staying at all week, just across a small field. It only took us a few minutes to walk over and see what was happening. There were lots of inflatable bouncy houses and slides, and even an inflatable bumper boats arena. Ian loves the big obstacle courses and slides.

From Sioux Falls

One of the bouncy houses was the perfect size for Rinnah to get in. She loved it, especially when Ian came over and bounced her!

From Sioux Falls

Ian's favorite was the bumper boats. Steering and pushing was done by turning the wheels with both hands, which was great for Ian. He loved it!

From Sioux Falls

From Sioux Falls

We were hoping to have the kids settled in bed so we could watch the fireworks. It didn't exactly work out, since they were up for awhile and we were packing up so we'll be ready to leave in the morning. We still did get to put the tailgate down and watch most of the show. We could see different fireworks shows all around us, which was pretty neat. The show here at the fairgrounds was very well done and we really enjoyed it. It was perfect-we were close enough for a great view, but not close enough to be crowded with other people. The kids were inside the trailer which was quiet enough that they stayed asleep. And when it was over, we didn't have to fight traffic and drive anywhere to go home. We just walked inside.

I forgot to put the kids in their 4th of July outfits today, but otherwise it was a great day. Sioux Falls has been a neat little city-a lot of things to do close together, but not a lot of traffic or skinny roads and parking garages. In Kansas City, Jeremy and I each put a scratch on one corner of the truck trying to maneuver the beast through all the parking garages, so we were quite happy to spend a whole week without being in any garages!