Today was a fabulous day - definitely the highlight of the trip so far, and the thing that I'd been looking forward to the most - visiting Mount Rushmore!
Lauren and I woke up early - around 6 a.m. I had been expecting to sleep late, since I woke up at 5:20 yesterday morning, but my internal clock must be off! Lauren and I laid in bed and read books until Stuart woke up.
We got ready and checked out of our motel - we had a really good experience and would recommend that motel to anyone! Anyhow, it didn't have a breakfast, so we snacked in the car on the way to Keystone/Mt. Rushmore. The path to Mount Rushmore took us back through the area we'd gone through yesterday. We were so excited to see buffalo as we went past Wind Cave area - first we saw a herd of them, quite a ways from the road. We stopped and took some pictures, then went a little further and saw 2 right beside the road -about 8 feet away from us! Of course, Lauren and I were squealing and excited about being so close - I don't know why it seems so different than seeing a buffalo in a pen.
So the next big exciting thing is that we saw the Crazy Horse Monument - I'm going to attach pictures of that, too. You can see the white chalk outline of where the horse's head is going to be.
On the path closer to Rushmore, we saw 2 mountain goats, one older one and one little kid. The path near Rushmore is incredibly windy and felt like the road up Pike's Peak. The park rangers were thinning trees (apparently, that's our guess, anyhow). There are small piles of brush everywhere, shaped like cones.
We couldn't see the carved part of Rushmore until we were right at it. We unloaded and walked to the monument. It's hard to explain the experience of walking up to Mount Rushmore - all of the state flags lining the path and the stone arches. After we took some photos and walked to the main pavilion, we went back to the cafe and got Lauren some food, since she was feeling a little sick. Then we went back and walked the path up under the carvings - that was an amazing experience. Lauren kept saying that she could see up the Presidents' noses - the path takes you closer to the monuments and closer to the pieces of rock that were sheared off during the carving process.
We talked to a Native American park ranger about using buffalo parts/tipis at a large ranger exhibit area beside the hiking path. We got to touch a fresh (stinky!) buffalo hide that was stretched out to cure in a traditional method. Lauren got to touch buffalo bladders to be used as a water canteen, and to use buffalo vertebrae in a buffalo-hide bowl to grind prairie turnips.
Before we left, we visited the crazy-busy gift shop. We got Lauren a Mt. Rushmore shirt, and she chose a few souvenirs to buy on her own - a stuffed animal buffalo and a small sterling silver horse necklace, and some postcards to send to friends & family.
On the way back down the mountain from Mt. Rushmore, we stopped and climbed down to Horsethief Lake - we fed fish small pieces of corn that we found on the dock and watched a girl jump off one of the high rocks.
Then we drove on to Rapid City. We went through the city of Custer, and if we ever take this vacation again, that's the city where I want to stay! On the outskirts of Rapid City is Reptile Gardens, so we stopped there before we went to our hotel. That was a perfect match for Lauren - we got to see an alligator/crocodile show and also a snake show. The presenter brought out a cobra in that one and it kept striking at him, which made me nervous, but I guess that's kind of the point of it! In the crocodile show, he sat on the croc's back and held it's mouth open and then closed. The crocodile kept trying to walk away with the man on his back. When it was feeding time, he brought out a bucket with chicken pieces in it. The crocs responded a little more enthusiastically than usual, apparently, and he kind of got backed into a corner for a little bit. Glad that's not my job! We got to see about 500 snakes and Lauren got to pet a tortoise that is 129 years old!
After Reptile Garden, we headed to our hotel in Rapid City. It's right next to a Chili's, so we walked next door for a nice sit-down dinner, which was a refreshing change from fast food. :)
We are taking it easy tonight and I think that we are going to head for Estes Park tomorrow. We had planned on staying in this area another day, but we hadn't anticipated how carsick the roads would make Lauren and me. So I think we're going to go to Jewel Cave on the way to Colorado tomorrow, and wind up in Estes Park by the evening. I've never been in that area before, so I'm excited to go explore there, too!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28
Okay, so I forgot something from yesterday. On the drive to Alliance, somewhere between Grand Island (maybe) and Alliance, there was a musical road. I think. The way that it made the tires hum sounded like it was creating music. On YouTube, or somewhere, I once saw a road that played a certain song when a car with a certain size wheel base drove on it. I don't know for sure if that's what was going on, or if it was just a strange coincidence, but it was quite an experience. Near the end of that section - a few miles - there was a sign that the road was made from recycled tires, so maybe that was all. However, it was so interesting, and it kept us all guessing about what song it might be.
So this morning when we got up, we got ready, had breakfast at our hotel and then headed for Carhenge. Carhenge is a replica of Stonehenge, created from American cars painted primer gray and set in a field outside of Alliance. There are also several other car/car part sculptures. It is huge and unusual and unlike anything else I have ever seen. We walked through the fields to explore all of the sculptures until the mosquitos drove us away! I'll post pictures after I download them from my camera - it's one of those things you have to see to understand!
Then we drove to Hot Springs, SD - a drive of about 2 hours. We took a route that wasn't the shortest route (thanks, GPS!) and wound up driving around a beautiful lake, with houseboats and a land bridge and a beautiful spillway. The road was really windy, so we gave Lauren some Dramamine again, even though the drive wasn't too long, and we also let her ride in the front seat (in her car seat) so help her. She fell asleep and slept through crossing into SD, which she was cranky about later - she'd been expecting a big change, I think. :)
As soon as we got to Hot Springs, we checked into our hotel and then had lunch at Pizza Hut. We had actually been heading to the Subway restaurant, but when we got there, it was both a Subway and a Casino building. That was a new one for us. So we decided that we'd just go to Pizza Hut!
After lunch, we went to Wind Cave National Park. It was a beautiful park, with a beautiful drive to get there. We saw herds of pronghorn antelope and a few buffalo on the way there. It is amazing how pristine and untouched the land is here - especially in the national parks, with no fences, no power lines, etc. The only sign of people is that there are cattle guards in the roads in a few places to keep the buffalo in. All of the land is green and rolling, and there are mountain ranges on all of the horizons. This would be an amazing place to live, but in the winter I think it would be so isolated. Everything is so far apart from everything else. Most houses have horses in their yards. I've seen more horses in the past 24 hours than I've ever seen in my whole life.
There are very few fields of crops here - almost everywhere is cattle farming instead. There are boulders sticking out of the ground all over.
We toured the cave, after buying Lauren a sweatshirt in the gift shop so that she wouldn't freeze - 58 degrees! Our tour guide was super goofy - it was not the experience I'd expected. I have toured the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs a couple of times, and I was expecting something like that. There was only one type of formation, and so it wasn't what I was thinking it would be - no stalagmites, no stalactites. The tour guide shut off all of the lights at one point, which was fun, though, and showed us what it would be like to be one of the first cave explorers with only a candle.
When we were done, we went back to the hotel. Lauren and I went swimming in the hotel pool - outdoor and heated. And we got in a little sunbathing time, too!
After we'd showered and clean up, we walked to the DQ across the street for dinner - it was so nice being so close to a few restaurants. We stayed at the Budget Host Hills Inn and loved it. We had one of the few 2nd story rooms, and we had a front door and a back door. Lauren loved it because it felt like a little house.
We were going to go miniature golfing after we ate, since the motel had a mini-golf course attached to it. However, it had closed already, so we walked by the river. The river was the mineral water river. We climbed down beside it and put our hands in - it was warmer than the hotel pool had been! That was my favorite part of the day.
So this morning when we got up, we got ready, had breakfast at our hotel and then headed for Carhenge. Carhenge is a replica of Stonehenge, created from American cars painted primer gray and set in a field outside of Alliance. There are also several other car/car part sculptures. It is huge and unusual and unlike anything else I have ever seen. We walked through the fields to explore all of the sculptures until the mosquitos drove us away! I'll post pictures after I download them from my camera - it's one of those things you have to see to understand!
Then we drove to Hot Springs, SD - a drive of about 2 hours. We took a route that wasn't the shortest route (thanks, GPS!) and wound up driving around a beautiful lake, with houseboats and a land bridge and a beautiful spillway. The road was really windy, so we gave Lauren some Dramamine again, even though the drive wasn't too long, and we also let her ride in the front seat (in her car seat) so help her. She fell asleep and slept through crossing into SD, which she was cranky about later - she'd been expecting a big change, I think. :)
As soon as we got to Hot Springs, we checked into our hotel and then had lunch at Pizza Hut. We had actually been heading to the Subway restaurant, but when we got there, it was both a Subway and a Casino building. That was a new one for us. So we decided that we'd just go to Pizza Hut!
After lunch, we went to Wind Cave National Park. It was a beautiful park, with a beautiful drive to get there. We saw herds of pronghorn antelope and a few buffalo on the way there. It is amazing how pristine and untouched the land is here - especially in the national parks, with no fences, no power lines, etc. The only sign of people is that there are cattle guards in the roads in a few places to keep the buffalo in. All of the land is green and rolling, and there are mountain ranges on all of the horizons. This would be an amazing place to live, but in the winter I think it would be so isolated. Everything is so far apart from everything else. Most houses have horses in their yards. I've seen more horses in the past 24 hours than I've ever seen in my whole life.
There are very few fields of crops here - almost everywhere is cattle farming instead. There are boulders sticking out of the ground all over.
We toured the cave, after buying Lauren a sweatshirt in the gift shop so that she wouldn't freeze - 58 degrees! Our tour guide was super goofy - it was not the experience I'd expected. I have toured the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs a couple of times, and I was expecting something like that. There was only one type of formation, and so it wasn't what I was thinking it would be - no stalagmites, no stalactites. The tour guide shut off all of the lights at one point, which was fun, though, and showed us what it would be like to be one of the first cave explorers with only a candle.
When we were done, we went back to the hotel. Lauren and I went swimming in the hotel pool - outdoor and heated. And we got in a little sunbathing time, too!
After we'd showered and clean up, we walked to the DQ across the street for dinner - it was so nice being so close to a few restaurants. We stayed at the Budget Host Hills Inn and loved it. We had one of the few 2nd story rooms, and we had a front door and a back door. Lauren loved it because it felt like a little house.
We were going to go miniature golfing after we ate, since the motel had a mini-golf course attached to it. However, it had closed already, so we walked by the river. The river was the mineral water river. We climbed down beside it and put our hands in - it was warmer than the hotel pool had been! That was my favorite part of the day.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Trip to Mt. Rushmore, Day 1 6/27/10
So today was Day 1 of the Great Goertzen Trip to Rushmore. And it was a doozy. Actually, everything went swimmingly for the first 9 hours, until carsickness set in. At the point where we were pulled off onto the side of the middle-of-nowhere road, with Lauren pacing beside the car, trying to decide if she was really going to throw up or not, I realized that I might have been feeling a little too optimistic about the whole driving experience. Fortunately, after some walking around, some Dramamine & 7-Up, and a move of the carseat into the front seat, she fell asleep. Phew! I detest puking, particularly puking in the car. Particularly puking in the RENTAL car.
So we have made it to Alliance, Nebraska. In about 11 hours. Tomorrow we are going to take in the wonder that is Carhenge - Stonehenge made out of American cars. Nothing sums up the roadtrip experience like roadside attractions of this magnitude.
Today we got to see pronghorns in the fields, an astonishing number of open-top train cars piled high with coal, some wild swans, and more horses than I have ever seen before in my whole entire life, EVER. Who knew that part of Nebraska is like the untouched wild? It was literally hundreds of miles of untouched rolling green land, scattered with fences and cattle. Unbelievable numbers of cattle. I was taken aback by how near I really was to this mostly untouched land. It made me feel a little like a pioneer must have - just this vast expanse of land, without houses or many telephone poles or much of anything at all. And while we were not in mountains, per se, the land was different than Kansas land - rolling and textured, full of shapes that weren't exactly mountains, but that weren't exactly just little hills. Lauren kept saying that it reminded her of fabric that had been laid with folds in it - she said that she felt like an ant at a picnic, standing in the grass beside an enormous blanket.
I am appreciating the fact that tomorrow will only entail about 2 hours in the car. We are going to head for Hot Springs, SD tomorrow and take in the Mammoth Site, Evan's Plunge (a large hot springs) and a cave - either Wind Cave or Jewel Cave, I can't remember which one is closest to Hot Springs. We are going to drive around and do a little exploring of the Badlands/Black Hills area. And we are going to swim in the hotel pool, as per Lauren's big dream for how to spend her vacation time. :)
So we have made it to Alliance, Nebraska. In about 11 hours. Tomorrow we are going to take in the wonder that is Carhenge - Stonehenge made out of American cars. Nothing sums up the roadtrip experience like roadside attractions of this magnitude.
Today we got to see pronghorns in the fields, an astonishing number of open-top train cars piled high with coal, some wild swans, and more horses than I have ever seen before in my whole entire life, EVER. Who knew that part of Nebraska is like the untouched wild? It was literally hundreds of miles of untouched rolling green land, scattered with fences and cattle. Unbelievable numbers of cattle. I was taken aback by how near I really was to this mostly untouched land. It made me feel a little like a pioneer must have - just this vast expanse of land, without houses or many telephone poles or much of anything at all. And while we were not in mountains, per se, the land was different than Kansas land - rolling and textured, full of shapes that weren't exactly mountains, but that weren't exactly just little hills. Lauren kept saying that it reminded her of fabric that had been laid with folds in it - she said that she felt like an ant at a picnic, standing in the grass beside an enormous blanket.
I am appreciating the fact that tomorrow will only entail about 2 hours in the car. We are going to head for Hot Springs, SD tomorrow and take in the Mammoth Site, Evan's Plunge (a large hot springs) and a cave - either Wind Cave or Jewel Cave, I can't remember which one is closest to Hot Springs. We are going to drive around and do a little exploring of the Badlands/Black Hills area. And we are going to swim in the hotel pool, as per Lauren's big dream for how to spend her vacation time. :)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Geocaching with the fam
Yesterday, L and I took my mom and my brother geocaching with us. L and I love to go geocaching; the big draw for L is finding caches with "treasure" to trade. We have found all of the caches in the area that are big enough to have fun treasures to trade, so we decided to branch out into the next county, and it seemed like a fun day to invite some company along. We picked up Nana and Uncle Scott at 9 a.m., printed out the cache info, and headed out for our adjoining county. Typically, I write the coordinates for our cache goal on a notecard along with any clues that I've read in the notes on that cache's website, but the 2 caches that we were going after were both a little atypical. They were both part of the Santa Fe trail - historical markers and landmarks - so I wanted the background information to take along. You know, my teacher side doesn't turn off in the summer, so this was like a little history lesson just sitting there, waiting for me to pluck it!
Anyhow, once we were near the first location, we pulled over on a side road and had a little lesson on using a handheld GPS - how the numbers get smaller/larger depending on your movement, how to decide where to travel based on the numbers, etc. My mom was surprisingly good at this - I hadn't been sure how comfortable she would be with this new technology tool, but she was a great navigator!
Our 2nd cache was a multi-stage cache - three caches that "connect" to each other. You go to the first cache, and use some numbers found there to lead you to the next one, etc. We found the first 2, which were signs, and we knew that the last one was the Marker Cottonwood. It is a 200 year old cottonwood tree that was spared on the prairie, although trees were scarce and important, because it was the northern marker of the Santa Fe trail. However, we couldn't find the darn thing! You'd think something like that would be visible - and we even had been GIVEN the correct coordinates - but by golly, it just wasn't our day, apparently. That was a pretty big disappointment...so we drove through Hutchinson on the way home and stopped for milkshakes. You know, in the "sugar makes everything better" school of thought.
Anyhow, once we were near the first location, we pulled over on a side road and had a little lesson on using a handheld GPS - how the numbers get smaller/larger depending on your movement, how to decide where to travel based on the numbers, etc. My mom was surprisingly good at this - I hadn't been sure how comfortable she would be with this new technology tool, but she was a great navigator!
We drove to the first location - a one-room schoolhouse, made from stone that was originally part of a trading post created by some of the first settlers to create the Santa Fe trail. We found the cache, traded a box of Jolly Ranchers and some magnet bookmarks for a Sonic coupon and FAKE NAILS. This was, apparently, similar to the Holy Grail if you are a 9-year-old whose mother doesn't really condone fake nails. Ahh, mom can't really say "no" since we aren't paying for them - they are a prize! (What she doesn't know is that they take special glue or something, which we don't have!) 
The pictures above show our little geocaching group - Uncle Scott, L and Nana in the top picture, L with me in the middle picture in front of the stone schoolhouse, and some random cacti that we found growing in the prairie grasses.
Our 2nd cache was a multi-stage cache - three caches that "connect" to each other. You go to the first cache, and use some numbers found there to lead you to the next one, etc. We found the first 2, which were signs, and we knew that the last one was the Marker Cottonwood. It is a 200 year old cottonwood tree that was spared on the prairie, although trees were scarce and important, because it was the northern marker of the Santa Fe trail. However, we couldn't find the darn thing! You'd think something like that would be visible - and we even had been GIVEN the correct coordinates - but by golly, it just wasn't our day, apparently. That was a pretty big disappointment...so we drove through Hutchinson on the way home and stopped for milkshakes. You know, in the "sugar makes everything better" school of thought.
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