Summer Vacation 2010

We're Back!!!!!

And THIS is what the front room looks like in about a minute and a half after not being home for 2 weeks. Everyone is excited to just sit and play with toys - and be ALONE!
And now....we have been back a LONG time. THIS is why I wanted to post ALONG the way. I knew it would take me forever once I got home with everything starting full force from the get go (i.e. my class started Tuesday, Scott had to be at Scout Camp Sunday, etc)

You see, I had HOPED to add pictures along the way....but....the free wifi was never working in the places we wanted it when I had time. It worked momentarily when had NO TIME. Of course, in Minnesota we didn't even have cell coverage. MOST of the trip was without (or with LIMITED) cell coverage. Truthfully, it was very nice. I carried it...out of habit, I suppose.
And so....this will be a very long journal type entry....full of our Summer Vacation!

MINNESOTA

Traveling from Galena to Minnesota was a long haul. We tried to stop enough so the kids wouldn't go stir crazy - or us either. Here are some pics of our 'fun' vacation at the rest stop.

The kids on the play ground.Scott on his phone (surprise, surprise).And MY view....from laying down resting after many hours of driving.When we FINALLY got off the exit the first thing we saw was Banning Junction. The kids went wild because they thought it was the SAME Banning Junction from a Scooby Do episode they had seen. So, we took a picture!We got to Dick and Marje's and they had a fire already started and hot dogs ready to be roasted. So we roasted hot dogs for dinner. Spencer spent a lot of time at the dock...this place was Spencer's paradise. There was more exploring than he knew what to do with.
The view from their house is spectacular, to say the least. They own 360 acres of forest land....trees, trees, and more trees....and a couple lakes, a primitive house we stayed we stayed in. It was a fabulous time.
We went boating on the lake. While the boys went out, Kelsey and I biked some around their land. Then we got to go out. It is fun to see my family laughing and smiling and having a good time.

One day we went up to Duluth and spent some time on the shore of Lake Superior. The Great Lakes have always amazed me...their immense size is mind boggling. Dick says the the port there is the largest inland port in the world. I haven't checked it out online or anything, but it was pretty amazing.

We saw an elevator bridge and the kids LOVED throwing bread to the seagulls, that swarmed all around. They like most when the seagulls would catch the food right out of the air. Of course, they also loved throwing rocks into the lake....what person DOESN'T enjoy throwing rocks in the water?
We need proof that I was actually there....so in Duluth Scott took a couple pics. It was chilly and windy, but a lot of fun.
After a long day, we were starving so we went to Famous Dave's BBQ and got dirty....what fun! And the food was fabulous too!

Now just random pics from the Minnesota portion of our trip...

Spencer on a beaver home....like I said, he was in Adventure Heaven! (aka: Spencer Paradise!)

The Primitive House we stayed in:

Yes, Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 lakes and the mosquitoes to go with it. But REALLY this was the year of the tick invasion there. I think we found about 50 in our short 2 days. Only two attached (in my head and Spencer's head) but we were able to get them out. We wondered how long we would keep them and how many we would find from our car later in our trip. We only found one later while at Mt Rushmore, but I'm not for certain it was from Minnesota, probably from the trees where we camped.
Jordan is having a blast on vacation....all tuckered out!
The water pump:


Inside the primitive home Marje has a notebook for everyone to record their experiences, feelings, thoughts. Here Kelsey is recording her thoughts...the events of the day. Spencer wrote how at first in the dark the house was a bit scary, but then he got used to it. Jordan, I think, wrote what he did. I just love being in nature, feeling the peace of letting the noise of the world settle to the outskirts of life and be QUIET! I love seeing my family enjoy nature and have fun doing outdoors type things. I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping with my children and having them snuggle up close to me....waking in the morning (after little to no sleep) and watching them sleep peacefully in the crook of my arm. I LOVE my family. I loved being with them and having a good time in Minnesota!
Sadly, this is the only picture of Dick and Marje....why I didn't get one of our family with them, I don't know. NEXT TIME! Spencer really loved just being with them....gleaning fun information and being himself. It was a joy to watch that.
SOUTH DAKOTA

Sunday after church with Dick and Marje we made our way through Minnesota and finally made it to South Dakota. All the kids knew was that Mt Rushmore was in South Dakota. They had NO IDEA we had to travel ACROSS the state to get there. And knowing what ACROSS A STATE is was foreign to most of them....Kelsey and Cody still think Effingham is the State and Illinois the city. Oh well.

We stopped at a rest stop and ate and played around. I noticed while traveling across the state that all the rest stops had these giant tee pees made of stone (or cement, or something). The Indian culture was starting.
We stayed the night in Chamberlain and boy were the kids ready to get OUT of the van! We hauled our sleeping stuff in and then they rode their scooters out in the parking lot for quite awhile. Just moving was good....for me too!

When we got closer, the Badlands were off to the south. Because of the rocks and rock formations Cody blurted out, "There's Mountain Mushmore!!!!" So for the rest of the time they were on the lookout...which was fun.

We finally made it to our destination and put our tent up, ate a bit, and were off to see the sights. Here the kids are excited to FINALLY be at this juncture of our trip! Mt Rushmore is amazing. The freedom's our country embody are carved up on that mountain. We took a short Ranger Walk and learned some really cool things about 6 unusual and peculiar men, 4 of which have their face carved indefinitely in stone. Doane Robinson was the economic genius. He was superintendent of the Historical Society and had the idea that carving famous people into the black hills would bring tourism to South Dakota and increase revenue for the state. Gutsen Borglem was the artist...and boy was he an artist! George Washington was the founder of our nation, Thomas Jefferson the expander of our nation, Theodore Roosevelt the ????? (can't remember....though he was instrumental in the Panama Canal and Railroad, just can't think of the 'er' word for it), and Abraham Lincoln the preserver of our nation. It was moving and interesting all at the same time -- at least for me, the kids were more excited about the pyrite and rocks and sticks, etc. They did enjoy it...but spent a lot of time in gift shops wondering what cool things they were to buy with their allotment of money.

Where we spent way too much time....:)

The dog tag maker was the highlight for each of them.
Everyone wearing their dog tags and arrowhead necklaces!

Kelsey had told EVERYONE that she was going to crawl up the nose and pick it when she got to Mt Rushmore. She found she couldn't ACTUALLY do it, but we had fun trying.
Mt. Rushmore was awesome, and traveling all over the area was fun too. We drove through Custer State Park and saw lots of buffalo, a mtn goat drinking water on the road when there was a stream/small river right there, more mtn goat playing,
a wild turkey that as Spencer would cackle it would cackle back and spread it's tail feathers. Scott has a video that I will try to upload sometime. We also had deer race in front of our van, threading the needle between the on coming cars in BOTH directions.

Here's a picture of a random cave with a stream (a bathroom was the real stopping reason). Scott has a video of Jordan telling Spencer he saw a bear in the cave and Spencer running away freaked out. I gotta post that video sometime too!

Needles Highway was the next destination. It was really beautiful but the kids enjoying hiking on the fun rocks the most.

The Eye of the Needle
Tunnels so tight you could reach out and touch them...as you see on the left side of the picture

And I think it is safe to say that Sylvan Lake was the favorite of everyone for outdoor adventure. We hiked around the lake and the kids had the ultimate time climbing all over the rocks.

Crazy Horse was neat too. A lot of Native American artifacts to check out and browse through. We were there on the 62nd Anniversary of the beginning blast so they had a blast...not just fun, but blasting rock. Because it is privately funded it is taking a lot more time than Mt. Rushmore. It is huge too. Mt Rushmore can fit in Crazy Horse's head.This is what is will look like a hundred years from now when they actually finish.

We went to Ft Hays Chuckwagon Dinner....it is known for being a filming spot for Dances with Wolves. The old town was fun. We made a rope and helped make a pie tin plate (I, of course, had the camera and since I was the one helping Earl make it....consequently there are NO pics). The dinner was pretty good and entertainment fun too. Of course, we made out own entertainment before dinner in that old town. First, off out of the car the kids yelled, "Lizzie!!!!" So we had to get a picture by the old time car .... Lizzie is from the Disney Pixar movie Cars.
On our way home we stopped at Wall Drug and had some fun...but I was all shopped out so we didn't stay long. We also saw the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. It was amazing! We spent the night in Sioux City and headed home the next day. A long drive but we were all glad to be home.

Scott left for Scout Camp and wanted a total buzz cut....so off he went with a lot less hair to get in his way.Random pics from camping....Our zipper broke and it was pouring down rain. We had to fix it IN the rain....duct tape is the wonder invention, that is for sure. Because it was raining we were eating inside the tent.