I'm always posting a day late...
Yesterday, July 5th, was an anniversary of sorts for us. 12 years ago yesterday, Stuart asked me to marry him, sitting on the futon in the living room of my apartment in Hutchinson. I had long since made up my mind that this was the man God intended to be my partner, so it was a blessing to be able to joyfully say yes, with no reservations! What a blessing to have been married to my amazing husband for these past 10 1/2 years and to be raising my daughter together with this man who is committed to being a role model of moral and Christian character traits.
Going away on vacation this last week was such a gift for us - a reminder of how much we enjoy spending time together. It's so hard when we are both working, and when Stuart is so pressured by keeping his business afloat, to squeeze out that time to spend together, just enjoying each others' company. Spending that uninterrupted time as a family reminds me of how much I cherish my husband and daughter and how much I appreciate the minutes that we spend together.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
I'm actually writing about this on Saturday - the day was so busy yesterday that I literally fell into bed at night and fell right asleep, and didn't even think about writing about the day.
We started the day in Estes Park, mailing the postcards that we'd been writing all week. Then we walked around some more on the main streets, checking out the little stores, looking at the river that runs through town, and shopping a little bit. Lauren and I spent some time in a Nepalese shop, looking at beautiful clothing, but Lauren couldn't find the skirt she wanted in her size. We bought some hand-carved animal beads there for Lauren and I bought a Buddha necklace. Then we had pizza at a little pizza shop where all of the bricks inside had been written on - people's autographs carved/drawn on them. We got some treats at a candy store, too - chocolate covered strawberries, handmade caramels, and chocolate-cherry fudge! Lauren also bought a turquoise pendant at the Science & Nature store (which I could have spent HOURS in, exploring all of their stones/gems/geodes).
After that, we went to Fun City on the edge of the main area. They had a go-kart track, and that's the first thing we did - it was one of my favorite things that we did on vacation. They had 2-people karts, and single carts, so Stuart and Lauren drove together. They had clearly outlawed bumping other karts, however, so we were well-behaved. Lauren and Stuart went down the enormous slide, too, but I opted out of that.
After Fun City, we decided to head for Denver. The 1 1/2 hour drive seemed like nothing, compared to all the driving we've been doing lately! We headed for the Denver Zoo, since it's ranked really highly in the list of U.S. zoos. We got there about 4, and they closed at 6. I thought we wouldn't have enough time to take it all in, but it wasn't such a great experience for us. It was HOT, so that took some of the fun out of it. And the employees were preparing for some sort of special event being held at the zoo that night, so no zookeepers were around, and, worst of all, no employees were around to run the carousel (crushing disappointment for Lauren). So, we did some looking around and then headed on out.
Our next stop, and the best part of the day, was Casa Bonitas! I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really fun. We got seated in the room where the magic show was held, and we got there about 5 minutes before the show started - perfect! The show was great - Lauren said, "That guy could be a professional comedian!" And they had amazing sopapillas for dessert - to cover with honey and eat hot - yum... Then we went to watch the cliff divers. We got to see him dive a couple of times, and he swam up to the side of the pool and gave all of the kids high-fives. We walked around the restaurant, went through Black Bart's Hideout, and then got to see a 2nd cliff diver show, with a bad pirate and a good guy and a princess in a red dress. They had a sign on our table that said they can hold 900 people at a time in Casa Bonitas, and they were PACKED - it's hard to wrap my brain around that!
We headed for our hotel after dinner - it was around 9:15 by the time we got there. Lauren and I went swimming for a little bit in their outside pool, then cleaned up and went to bed (in the king bed in our suite - it was a really nice hotel room!)
And then today is Saturday, July 3rd, and we are actually home as I write this. We left Denver this morning at 9:15, and we got home about 6:15 this evening.
We had an amazing vacation, and I'm so glad that we got the chance to build these memories with Lauren. I'm thinking that our next vacation needs to involve less driving, or at least driving in a more comfortable seat - maybe an RV. But I just can't beat the idea of going to explore some of the nation's most historical sites with my family!
We started the day in Estes Park, mailing the postcards that we'd been writing all week. Then we walked around some more on the main streets, checking out the little stores, looking at the river that runs through town, and shopping a little bit. Lauren and I spent some time in a Nepalese shop, looking at beautiful clothing, but Lauren couldn't find the skirt she wanted in her size. We bought some hand-carved animal beads there for Lauren and I bought a Buddha necklace. Then we had pizza at a little pizza shop where all of the bricks inside had been written on - people's autographs carved/drawn on them. We got some treats at a candy store, too - chocolate covered strawberries, handmade caramels, and chocolate-cherry fudge! Lauren also bought a turquoise pendant at the Science & Nature store (which I could have spent HOURS in, exploring all of their stones/gems/geodes).
After that, we went to Fun City on the edge of the main area. They had a go-kart track, and that's the first thing we did - it was one of my favorite things that we did on vacation. They had 2-people karts, and single carts, so Stuart and Lauren drove together. They had clearly outlawed bumping other karts, however, so we were well-behaved. Lauren and Stuart went down the enormous slide, too, but I opted out of that.
After Fun City, we decided to head for Denver. The 1 1/2 hour drive seemed like nothing, compared to all the driving we've been doing lately! We headed for the Denver Zoo, since it's ranked really highly in the list of U.S. zoos. We got there about 4, and they closed at 6. I thought we wouldn't have enough time to take it all in, but it wasn't such a great experience for us. It was HOT, so that took some of the fun out of it. And the employees were preparing for some sort of special event being held at the zoo that night, so no zookeepers were around, and, worst of all, no employees were around to run the carousel (crushing disappointment for Lauren). So, we did some looking around and then headed on out.
Our next stop, and the best part of the day, was Casa Bonitas! I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really fun. We got seated in the room where the magic show was held, and we got there about 5 minutes before the show started - perfect! The show was great - Lauren said, "That guy could be a professional comedian!" And they had amazing sopapillas for dessert - to cover with honey and eat hot - yum... Then we went to watch the cliff divers. We got to see him dive a couple of times, and he swam up to the side of the pool and gave all of the kids high-fives. We walked around the restaurant, went through Black Bart's Hideout, and then got to see a 2nd cliff diver show, with a bad pirate and a good guy and a princess in a red dress. They had a sign on our table that said they can hold 900 people at a time in Casa Bonitas, and they were PACKED - it's hard to wrap my brain around that!
We headed for our hotel after dinner - it was around 9:15 by the time we got there. Lauren and I went swimming for a little bit in their outside pool, then cleaned up and went to bed (in the king bed in our suite - it was a really nice hotel room!)
And then today is Saturday, July 3rd, and we are actually home as I write this. We left Denver this morning at 9:15, and we got home about 6:15 this evening.
We had an amazing vacation, and I'm so glad that we got the chance to build these memories with Lauren. I'm thinking that our next vacation needs to involve less driving, or at least driving in a more comfortable seat - maybe an RV. But I just can't beat the idea of going to explore some of the nation's most historical sites with my family!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Today was an amazing day - definitely worth all the craziness that we went through yesterday! We woke up this morning and opened our blinds and got our first view of Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains around us. We got to have a lazy start and then head to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. It was so nice to be able to leave our luggage in our room for the day, and not have to check out again right away this morning. We headed out to our car then, and had an interesting experience - there were some college boys outside smoking marijuana in the parking lot. Lauren kept saying, "It smells funny out here. Kind of like burning trash." Yep, sure enough.
Anyhow, we headed into downtown Estes Park and spent the next few hours wandering around downtown, checking out all of the little stores. One of the things that we noticed is the huge amount of dogs in this town - they are welcome in many of the stores and so many people are walking their large dogs on leashes as they shop. At the place where we parked, there was a horse tethered nearby in a small nature preserve in the middle of town, with a small stream running through it. Lauren, of course, was smitten with that whole experience. We walked all the way down the main thoroughfare, and spent some time in the glass-blower's shop at the far end - we could watch him work and make specific pieces for customers who came in with a request. After wandering around for quite a while, we had ice cream from one of the little shops, and then headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park.
We had decided that we wanted to go to the Continental Divide (although, to be honest, at that point, we hadn't looked at a map yet and didn't realize how far into the park it is). That drive was the high point of my day. I detest driving up mountains when there is a sheer cliff on one side, so for me to have enjoyed it is quite a feat. It was unbelievably beautiful. Lauren wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it at first, since she loves sheer sides about as much as I do. However, there are many pull-off stops, and we got to do quite a bit of walking around. We got to feed chipmunks about 1/2 way up the mountains (yes, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but they were sniffing our hands for food and Lauren was squealing with delight. So I let her feed them a Fig Newton).
It was amazing to see how the land changed when we reached the tree line - the sign called it the Alpine Tundra - only little scrub bushes instead of the huge towering pine trees. And then we got up into the snow, and we got to go play in a big snow field, which was fun. It had clouded over by then, and although I had been hot in Estes Park in the morning, we were all wearing sweatshirts by this time.
As we continued, we saw herds of elk by the sides of the road. There was road construction for about the last 1/4 of the way, off and on. We passed the visitor's center on the way to the Continental Divide and decided to stop there on the way back instead, since it looked like it was going to rain. And sure enough, while we were at the Divide, it started sprinkling. By the time we got back to the Visitor's Center, it was raining - but it wasn't exactly rain, more like a cross between rain and snow - slushy. It was fun to have snow accumulated at the bottom of our windshield in JULY! We waited in the car for a while before heading in to get a few postcards and get a Junior Park Ranger book for Lauren. And I got a sweatshirt that shows that I made it to the top of the highest point!
On the way back down, the weather cleared up and was just sprinkling in patches. We stopped several times to do some climbing and hiking. We stopped by a snowmelt "waterfall" on the side of the mountain to put our hands in the cold water, climbed some big rocks (okay, I personally did not climb, I took pictures!) where Lauren got bitten by a big red ant that didn't want to let go, and explored near the stream that meanders down the mountain and has cutthroat trout. We could see them swimming around - Lauren wanted to try catching them by hand, but it started raining again. When we stopped to climb the big rocks, we saw 2 badgers in the scrub bush nearby, which was pretty exciting.
We headed back into Estes Park after that and headed to Subway for dinner (Lauren's first choice of all of the options!) We were hoping to head out and do a little more window shopping after dinner, and get some chocolate for later - there are little mom-and-pop homemade candy shops all over the place - and then head to a go-kart place. But it started pouring, and it looks like it's going to rain for the evening. So we're back in our hotel room. Lauren and Stuart are watching "Wipeout" - their favorite show, which they love to watch together. And I think Lauren and I are going to head to the hotel pool in a bit.
Tomorrow we are going to do a little more window shopping, I think, downtown here and then head to Denver. We want to take Lauren to eat at Casa Bonitas, and maybe go to the zoo. I really want to go to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, since they just opened the King Tut exhibit, but we'll see how many hours are in our day!
Anyhow, we headed into downtown Estes Park and spent the next few hours wandering around downtown, checking out all of the little stores. One of the things that we noticed is the huge amount of dogs in this town - they are welcome in many of the stores and so many people are walking their large dogs on leashes as they shop. At the place where we parked, there was a horse tethered nearby in a small nature preserve in the middle of town, with a small stream running through it. Lauren, of course, was smitten with that whole experience. We walked all the way down the main thoroughfare, and spent some time in the glass-blower's shop at the far end - we could watch him work and make specific pieces for customers who came in with a request. After wandering around for quite a while, we had ice cream from one of the little shops, and then headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park.
We had decided that we wanted to go to the Continental Divide (although, to be honest, at that point, we hadn't looked at a map yet and didn't realize how far into the park it is). That drive was the high point of my day. I detest driving up mountains when there is a sheer cliff on one side, so for me to have enjoyed it is quite a feat. It was unbelievably beautiful. Lauren wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it at first, since she loves sheer sides about as much as I do. However, there are many pull-off stops, and we got to do quite a bit of walking around. We got to feed chipmunks about 1/2 way up the mountains (yes, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but they were sniffing our hands for food and Lauren was squealing with delight. So I let her feed them a Fig Newton).
It was amazing to see how the land changed when we reached the tree line - the sign called it the Alpine Tundra - only little scrub bushes instead of the huge towering pine trees. And then we got up into the snow, and we got to go play in a big snow field, which was fun. It had clouded over by then, and although I had been hot in Estes Park in the morning, we were all wearing sweatshirts by this time.
As we continued, we saw herds of elk by the sides of the road. There was road construction for about the last 1/4 of the way, off and on. We passed the visitor's center on the way to the Continental Divide and decided to stop there on the way back instead, since it looked like it was going to rain. And sure enough, while we were at the Divide, it started sprinkling. By the time we got back to the Visitor's Center, it was raining - but it wasn't exactly rain, more like a cross between rain and snow - slushy. It was fun to have snow accumulated at the bottom of our windshield in JULY! We waited in the car for a while before heading in to get a few postcards and get a Junior Park Ranger book for Lauren. And I got a sweatshirt that shows that I made it to the top of the highest point!
On the way back down, the weather cleared up and was just sprinkling in patches. We stopped several times to do some climbing and hiking. We stopped by a snowmelt "waterfall" on the side of the mountain to put our hands in the cold water, climbed some big rocks (okay, I personally did not climb, I took pictures!) where Lauren got bitten by a big red ant that didn't want to let go, and explored near the stream that meanders down the mountain and has cutthroat trout. We could see them swimming around - Lauren wanted to try catching them by hand, but it started raining again. When we stopped to climb the big rocks, we saw 2 badgers in the scrub bush nearby, which was pretty exciting.
We headed back into Estes Park after that and headed to Subway for dinner (Lauren's first choice of all of the options!) We were hoping to head out and do a little more window shopping after dinner, and get some chocolate for later - there are little mom-and-pop homemade candy shops all over the place - and then head to a go-kart place. But it started pouring, and it looks like it's going to rain for the evening. So we're back in our hotel room. Lauren and Stuart are watching "Wipeout" - their favorite show, which they love to watch together. And I think Lauren and I are going to head to the hotel pool in a bit.
Tomorrow we are going to do a little more window shopping, I think, downtown here and then head to Denver. We want to take Lauren to eat at Casa Bonitas, and maybe go to the zoo. I really want to go to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, since they just opened the King Tut exhibit, but we'll see how many hours are in our day!
Wednesday, June 30th
Well, as it turns out, today wasn't quite the day that we had planned. Before we went to sleep Tuesday night, we had decided that we were ready to move on to Colorado today. We did some looking and decided to head to Estes Park, and made a reservation for tonight. So we got up in the morning & had some breakfast at the hotel. Lauren's been starting a cough/cold, and she had a big coughing fit in the middle of breakfast. It was a little scary to me because she was shaking afterward, like having tremors, and went right back to the room and got back into bed. I was worried that she was getting sick, but I think that she had just scared herself, because in a couple minutes, she was fine. So we headed out and went to Bear Country. It's a drive-through park with wolves, elk, bighorn sheep, and about 100 bears. They can walk up to your cars - there's a rule that you have to keep your windows closed, and we noticed that they were washing some people's windows/grills before they drove in. We realized the reason for that when we got into the section with the bears. Several times bears walked close enough that we could have touched them, just meandering around in their section. It was amazing to be that close to a big bear. Then after we drove through the park, there's a portion called "Babyland" that you walk through. We got to see all kinds of animals in a more zoo-like setting, but the best (by far) was the baby bear cubs - about 20 of them, all playing together. So cute!
After Bear Country, Lauren and I took some Dramamine and we headed out to Jewel Cave. We knew we'd be driving back though the windy roads in the Mount Rushmore area. We stopped in Custer and ate lunch, and I have solidified my opinion that Custer is the place to stay if we ever take this vacation again. So after lunch we headed for the cave, which is the 2nd longest cave in the world, and has formations that look like jewels. Lauren was pretty excited about this cave, due to the "jewels", of course! The cave does have 723 steps, though, so she wasn't too excited about that - Wind Cave had about 300, and she felt like that was a lot. However, when we got there, they were having elevator problems, which is their method for leaving the cave, apparently. It was 1:20, and their next cave hike started at 4. We decided that if we were going to head to Estes Park, we couldn't wait that long. So we walked around their Park Ranger station, checked out the gift shop and headed out.
And that's where things went downhill! We crossed over into Wyoming and hadn't gone too far - I think about 30 miles, when all of the traffic ahead of us had stopped. There was a sign on the side of the road that said "Wreck ahead". We sat (it was about 95 degrees outside) in line for about 1/2 hour, then used the atlas and the GPS to look for a backtracking route. If we went back around 15 miles, there was a road that would angle back and get us back onto the main road that we were on. So we turned around and headed that way. However, that angled road was a rutted gravel road that we didn't want to take in our rental car - it didn't look passable in a car. So we headed back and got in line again. Many people were out of their cars and walking around, walking their dogs, etc. After a while, maybe an hour, there was a sudden exodus of many of the cars. We couldn't decide what to do - whether to cancel our reservations in Estes Park, whether to drive back to Hot Springs and try a different road, etc. We spent a total of about 2 hours waiting, and then a police officer came along and recommended that we go back and take that gravel road - he said it was passable in a car. So that's what we did. It was such a crazy experience and Lauren was a total sweetheart the entire time - no complaining, no whining, being such a little gem.
Anyhow, we headed to Cheyenne, and stopped there around 10 p.m. and had some dinner. Lauren didn't feel well, so she didn't eat anything, and fell right asleep when we got in the car. We got to Estes Park around 11:30, checked in to our hotel, and Lauren climbed right into bed in her clothes and fell right asleep.
And that's where we are now - it's Thursday morning, and Lauren is reading the newspaper in bed next to me. We're trying to find information about that accident in the paper, so we can find out what kind of wreck would close the road for a few hours.
After Bear Country, Lauren and I took some Dramamine and we headed out to Jewel Cave. We knew we'd be driving back though the windy roads in the Mount Rushmore area. We stopped in Custer and ate lunch, and I have solidified my opinion that Custer is the place to stay if we ever take this vacation again. So after lunch we headed for the cave, which is the 2nd longest cave in the world, and has formations that look like jewels. Lauren was pretty excited about this cave, due to the "jewels", of course! The cave does have 723 steps, though, so she wasn't too excited about that - Wind Cave had about 300, and she felt like that was a lot. However, when we got there, they were having elevator problems, which is their method for leaving the cave, apparently. It was 1:20, and their next cave hike started at 4. We decided that if we were going to head to Estes Park, we couldn't wait that long. So we walked around their Park Ranger station, checked out the gift shop and headed out.
And that's where things went downhill! We crossed over into Wyoming and hadn't gone too far - I think about 30 miles, when all of the traffic ahead of us had stopped. There was a sign on the side of the road that said "Wreck ahead". We sat (it was about 95 degrees outside) in line for about 1/2 hour, then used the atlas and the GPS to look for a backtracking route. If we went back around 15 miles, there was a road that would angle back and get us back onto the main road that we were on. So we turned around and headed that way. However, that angled road was a rutted gravel road that we didn't want to take in our rental car - it didn't look passable in a car. So we headed back and got in line again. Many people were out of their cars and walking around, walking their dogs, etc. After a while, maybe an hour, there was a sudden exodus of many of the cars. We couldn't decide what to do - whether to cancel our reservations in Estes Park, whether to drive back to Hot Springs and try a different road, etc. We spent a total of about 2 hours waiting, and then a police officer came along and recommended that we go back and take that gravel road - he said it was passable in a car. So that's what we did. It was such a crazy experience and Lauren was a total sweetheart the entire time - no complaining, no whining, being such a little gem.
Anyhow, we headed to Cheyenne, and stopped there around 10 p.m. and had some dinner. Lauren didn't feel well, so she didn't eat anything, and fell right asleep when we got in the car. We got to Estes Park around 11:30, checked in to our hotel, and Lauren climbed right into bed in her clothes and fell right asleep.
And that's where we are now - it's Thursday morning, and Lauren is reading the newspaper in bed next to me. We're trying to find information about that accident in the paper, so we can find out what kind of wreck would close the road for a few hours.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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!
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!
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. :)
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