Tuesday, September 16, 2008

...continued

Yes, I am STILL continuing the journal of our vacation. I have been too lazy to update for a bit... you can find previous ones here, here, here and here.
We thoroughly enjoyed our mini-vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The morning that we left, we visited Mount Rushmore.

Truly, amazing.

E1 named many of the state flags without even looking at the plaques below them. I have no idea how she knows so many. We ran into one of the friends she met at the campground while we were at the monument. They exchanged addresses and have become pen pals.
We didn't have much time left for sight-seeing before heading to Minnesota, so we opted for a quick tour at Crystal Caverns, it was on our way out of town. We wanted to visit Wind Cave National Park (as suggested by Buck), but we knew it would take much of a day, so we saved that for our next trip.
The kids loved the caverns, and had the opportunity to wear their miner helmets that they had purchased the day before.

We continued our trip through the state of South Dakota.
Of course, we stopped at the famous Wall Drug. If you have never been to that part of the country, Wall Drug signs are everywhere! They begin several hundred miles from Wall, SD. It was a fun little stop. Touristy, kitchy, but fun.

Along our route, we travelled through Mitchell, SD. Home of the famous Corn Palace. Never been there, so we went. We drove through the nice, quiet town.
Here is a photo of the corn palace.
Yes, I know, it sucks. That is as close as we got. The place was packed. The entire population of South Dakota must have been there. Some festival was going on. There wasn't parking anywhere near the place. We drove past, and gave up.
We drove into Minnesota late into the night, and once again, parked at Wall Mart for some zzzzz's.

2 comments:

Buck said...

The Dakotas (both of 'em) are such wonderful places. In summer. I'd consider moving back up that way if it weren't for the winters, which are among the harshest on the planet, IMHO. But... thanks for the pics yet again, Susan. You fired off a lot of fond memories for me!

Unknown said...

Holy cow I was just there! We drove from Atlanta, GA to Washington state in about 5 days when I married my NFO a month ago and my mom was helping me move my stuff. We went to Mt. Rushmore and then we drove past Mitchell. I mean, there is nothing else out there-- and all the sudden there is a Corn Palace? It was so funny, but it was closed when we went by. And seriously, we HAD to stop all Wall Drug. What else can you do when you've seen signs for them for miles and miles and miles?

I'm impressed that your daughter knows the state flags! I have long forgotten all of those things. :)