The Badlands

The edge of the Badlands, where lush prairie meets a desolate landscape.  We could have detoured an extra 4 hours to drive all the way through it, but we needed to continue our drive through South Dakota, Nebraska, and back to Colorado.











This area is similar to the Grand Canyon, except it's not quite as deep and there is little color variation in the layers of the rock.  Your depth perception plays tricks on you looking into this canyon.











The kids had fun posing for pictures here.  Although it may look dangerous, they are not very close to the edge.  My guess is that many lives, or cattle, have been lost here over the years.  If you do accidentally fall down, it's all gravel, and too loose to climb back up.













One last family picture (without the photographer, of course).  There were a few local Indians selling trinkets at the top of the hill, but we didn't bother them to ask for a full family photo.  It was time to hit the road for a long drive back to Colorado.







But the kids were troopers with all the driving.  As the little one would fall asleep, we enjoyed peace & quiet for a few hours.  Then, when it was time to wake her up, we played "Call Me, Maybe" through the car speakers and a little voice would start singing under the blanket.  Precious!

Mount Rushmore

As we left the grasslands and headed toward the center of South Dakota, the terrain quickly changed again to rolling hills and granite mountains.  It was evening, so the picture isn't as bright as I'd like, but still beautiful.

Close to the hotel was an indoor water park, fed by a natural hot spring.  The boys decided to "plunge" into the water while the girls toured a mammoth site.

At the water park, Eric was the only person in the Tarzan ring challenge to make it halfway across the water.







Early the next morning, we finally got to see Mount Rushmore!  From a distance, it looks small, but still very detailed.  Just in case you didn't know, the 4 presidents are:  Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln.  It was constructed during WWII, at the time that FDR was president, which is why you can always remember it's Teddy on there, not FDR.

As we hiked along the Presidential trail, the little one spotted a billy goat grazing on a shrub.  Once we stopped to take some pictures, undercover FBI started talking into their imaginary microphones alerting their partners of a distraction in the park.  Hmm, I would think they'd focus on more threatening terrorists.  But, I appreciate them keeping us safe.





One last picture of the presidents during the closest part of our trail.  Here, we could actually see the spectacles on Teddy's eyes.  The original plans were to carve full busts of each president, with their coats, arms, hands, etc.  However, after seeing the labor, costs, and time involved in just the faces, he stopped there.

Oregon Trail

The next leg of our trip included a drive through northern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and South Dakota.  We hooked up to the old Oregon Trail, where thousands of covered wagons once headed West to find gold, jobs, and new land.









Coming from the mountainous Rockies, we were surprised at how quickly the landscape changed into the vast grasslands..

 There were herds of buffalo everywhere, even one herd crossing the road.  It was at this point where I was glad we were forced into our rental "upgrade", because it had a retracting sunroof.  Everyone was fighting over who got to stick their head out for the best picture shot!




We ended up playing a game on who could spot the next herd of wildlife.  We had a package of gummy coke bottles with us, and the first one to spot wildlife got a gummy.  The package was empty by the time we got to our hotel.

During one of our pullover spots to read the historical markers, the kids wanted a picture on top of the car.  It was during one of these stops that we also decided to run on the prairie.  It didn't take long for us to get winded, though.  But, we had fun dodging the buffalo poop.







Eric was often the first to spot wildlife and get a gummy coke bottle.  His favorite wildlife was the pronghorn antelope.  They are like small deer with 2 straight antlers.  We finally found some fake ones on the side of the road and had to take his picture with them.

Rocky Mountains

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains gave us quite a few memories (some quite scary!), but everything ended okay, thankfully.


The little one talked all the way up and all the way down the 5.2 mile round-trip trail.  Whomever was with her usually brought up the rear.  She was often carried, or complained about her legs having to walk if she wasn't carried.

The two littlest cousins had a great time in front of the camera.  The taller one in the picture was later swept away by strong water rapids, but mom Teresa was quick to jump in and save her, and has a large gash in her leg as a lasting reminder of the event.













The scenery was gorgeous, and the little one was still a ham on the hike.  Want to guess which one fell asleep before we pulled out of the park roads?











While taking a break to rest, the cutest little chipmunk wanted to share in our snacks.  It was so precious, and preferred peanuts over anything else we had to offer.  So, we all gathered up whatever peanuts we could find and the little creature just shoved it all in its cheeks.  As we left the park, it was only then that we saw a sign not to feed the animals, specifically chipmunks.  That would have been helpful to see earlier.




Back at Aunt Marty's house, the little ones (now rested and dried out) decided to play in her hat collection.  They became best buds while everyone else scarfed down an entire ham, 15 baked potatoes, 15 corn-on-the-cobs, and 2 loaves of french bread in a matter of seconds.  The 4 gallons of ice cream were demolished as well.  Although we didn't want to leave, we had to continue our vacation.

Red Rock Ampitheater

Our summer vacation began with a trip to Colorado to see family.  Our first tourist stop was the Red Rock Amphitheater just outside Denver.

The views were amazing!  We all got our exercise running the steps, doing push ups, or simply climbing trees!

Father's Day Outings

Daddy misses his beloved GattiTown restaurant (see earlier post).  So, he looked up the next nearest one on-line and found a similar one about an hour away in Spartanburg.

After the mid-morning road trip, a huge buffet lunch, the drive back, and a 2 hr nap, the family was ready for fun!

With the oldest at work, the rest of us went to the 7th Inning Splash, a county waterpark.  Although the normal price is $8 per person, it drops to $3 after 4pm.  We pull in at 4:01pm and stayed until closing.

The kids wanted a few under water shots with the camera!

While the "big kids" enjoyed the water slides and toilet bowl flush, the little one had fun in the kids zone.











The temperatures started getting a little cool, so we stayed in the sun where it was warm.


Happy Father's Day!

Waffle Weekends

Our weekend tradition is morning waffles.  It's sometimes on Saturday, and other times on a Sunday, but we usually try to have them each weekend.  The kids get to pick what ingredients go in their waffles.  Our choices include pecans, blueberries, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.  It's not a fancy breakfast, but one the kids look forward to.  And if we go even one weekend without it, I really hear the complaints!