A few weeks ago Jordan's parents brought up the idea of going to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore over Labor Day weekend. Since Jordan is the only tech at the hospital it is really hard for him to take any time off. He worked really hard to find someone to cover for him and lucky for us two people were kind enough to take his call hours. Along with his parents and us, his youngest brother Scott came as well at his brother Tyler and his wife Stephanie. Since there were 7 of us we didn't really want to take two cars so we all pitched in and rented a minivan. I can honestly say that it was so much fun riding together. We laughed so much in the car and I honestly think that some of the greatest memories of a trip happen when you are on the road. The original plan was to leave on Friday the 4'th in the afternoon around 4 when everyone could get off of work. Craig ended up having a lot more to do that day so he didn't get off until 7 so we postponed leaving until Saturday morning at 7.
Day 1:
Saturday or adventures began! We all met at Tyler & Stephanie's at 7 a.m., packed up the van and were on our way. The first stop we made was at Independence Rock. It was so neat to climb up the rock and see names of those who came across the Oregon Trail carved into the rock with the year they came across the plains. Some were from as early as 1830! I was wearing flip flops when we climbed up the huge rock and I was so scared! I had no grip whatsoever so it's a good thing I have such a wonderful hubby who held my hand the whole time! It was so entertaining to watch Tyler and Jordan hop around the top of the rock. This trip they kept hiking up their shorts and calling it their Indian outfits! LOL...We would laugh and tell them to stop and they would yell back, "Don't make fun of our heritage!" HAHA! They did this the whole trip and anytime we would want to take a picture. We did get a good laugh out of it every time that's for sure!
Tyler, Stephanie, Me, Jordan
Tyler & Jordan looking so excited to be alive
On top of Independence Rock
The 3 girls in front of Independence Rock
Once we were finished playing around on the rock we hit the road again. Our next stop was Mt. Rushmore! I have seen pictures of this mountain in history books and postcards but it is so different when you see it in real life! It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! It is crazy to think that men really carved this thing. It took 14 years to complete. We arrived at about 7:00 that evening. At 8:00 p.m. they do a little ceremony and light up the Mountain so we made it just in time. Unfortunately our camera didn't get any good shots at night. At the end of the ceremony they asked anyone who was there that night who serves in the US Military at anytime to come forward. They had each person say their name and what rank they are in. We all sang the national anthem and then a few of the men volunteered to take down the flag for the night. I got a little emotional during this part of the ceremony. There were so many men and women up there on that stage and I am so thankful for their willingness to risk their lives for our Country! If you have never been to Mt. Rushmore I strongly suggest you take the time to go. It is absolutely incredible and definitely worth it!
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln
Scott, Jordan, Stephanie & Tyler imitating the Presidents on the Mountain
All of the men & women who serve in the US Military!
After the ceremony concluded we were ready for some dinner! We went back to Rapid City (which is were we were going to sleep that night) and drove around looking for somewhere to eat. It was about 9:30 by the time we were on our way back to the city. We stopped at a few places that sounded good and none of them were open! We were all getting so frustrated and didn't understand why everyone was closed! Tyler wanted to go to Taco Bell but nobody else wanted that. He was driving and we kept telling him where to go and every place we chose was closed so he was getting frustrated because he was just fine with Taco Bell. We finally found a Dine-In Pizza Hut that was still open. We went in and the girl that greeted us was such a ronch! We told her we had 7 people and she kind of sighed and said, "I'm going to have to clean up a table for you." I was sitting there thinking, "Well that is your job." She then took us to the table which was now like soaking wet from her rag and the chairs were super sticky! We pulled out our chairs to find crumbs all over them because she just brushed everything off the table. She came back and took our order. A few people had gotten the salad bar with their pizza and when they went up there wasn't much lettuce left so they went and told them. Well, they never came and refilled the lettuce! After about 20-25 minutes she finally brought us our food. She didn't bring us any napkins or silverware. When someone went to ask here for forks she told us they didn't have any! What??? How do you not have forks??? Stephanie went and asked someone else for forks and he gave them right to her. What is the deal with this girl? We all ate and went to pay. I usually am not someone to not tip, but we didn't tip this girl. It was the worst service ever! I don't know that I will ever go back to a Dine-In Pizza Hut again! At this point it was around 10:30 and we were all super tired and ready for bed. We didn't pre-book a hotel because we just figured we would find one once we got there. We went to a couple hotels to find they didn't have any vacancy. At this point I was getting a little worried. When we went to one they told us that all of the hotels in Rapid City were booked as well as in the few towns that were about 30 minutes from there. We were all so shocked! We found out that there was some mustang show and so they were all booked. At this point people were suggesting that we go get a tent and stay at a KOA. Well, we didn't want to go buy a tent so we had come to the conclusion that we would have to sleep in the van! Keep in mind that this is not a huge van and there are 7 adults in the car! I was praying so hard at this point that we would find a hotel! We pulled into a hotel parking lot and Scottie got out his laptop and logged onto the internet. Keep in mind that at this point we had already checked around 8 hotels and found nothing! We called a hotel in a town about 30 minutes from where we were and they were booked but gave us two other towns to look in. The town we called first was called Kadoka, SD (this town had a population of like maybe 5). The particular hotel we called had 1 room left and it happened to have 3 double beds. We took it right away! What were the chances of us getting the last room and it having 3 beds in it?!?! We got on the road and made it to the hotel in 1 hour and 15 minutes (it was after 12 and we were all exhausted). On the way there we were trying to figure out what it would look like. When we pulled up to it we all just laughed! It looks like one of those motels in a scary movie. Now, the room only had 3 double beds but we had 7 people. The floor had no padding and it had stains on it and there was no way that Scottie was going to sleep on that. Jordan and I let him sleep in our bed with us. It was so funny! This is the kind of stuff we will never forget though! In the middle of the night a siren started going off. It was so loud! It was going for like 5 minutes then it stopped. After a 2 minute break it started up again. Jordan went out to see what it was and it was a siren that was across the street from us. Jordan thought it was a siren warning of a tornado. He served his mission in Oklahoma and they had those there and that's what they were for. We found out the next morning that that is what it is used for but that wasn't why it went off. He said there was an accident on the freeway and the siren was for volunteer firefighters. What a night!
The beautiful sign...Notice they have Color Cable TV...NICE!
Me, Jordan and Scottie in our small little bed!
Day 2:
Sunday morning we woke up and got back on the road. We headed back towards Mt. Rushmore over to The Needles. We drove through the mountains and it was
absolutely beautiful! On the way to the Needles there is the lake where they filmed National Treasure 2. We stopped there and Jordan, Craig and Tyler changed into their suits and went for a quick swim. It was really pretty and neat to be where a movie was filmed. After the boys were finished swimming we made our way up to the Needles. They were so neat. We
climbed up the big rocks and explored for a while. Once we were finished playing we went to a Christmas store called The Mistletoe. It was such a cute store and we got a couple of fun things for our house for Christmas this year. We then headed to
Sundance where we were going to stay for the night. It was a lot easier finding a hotel there. It was a lot nicer than the first one too :)
Day 3:
Monday morning we went to Devil's Tower. On your way up the mountain there is a little field where there are a bunch of small, cute prairie dogs. We pulled over and gave them some food to eat. They were so funny to watch chew on that food. I threw out a couple of Jolly Ranchers and they loved them! Hopefully they don't get sick...Below Devil's Tower there are these huge boulders all over. We had a blast climbing around and exploring! Once we were finished there we headed home. We did get the chance to stop at Martin's Cove. It was neat to see. We got to pull each other around in handcarts. I can honestly say I don't know that I would have been a good pioneer! That is hard work!
He is eating a green apple Jolly Rancher
This trip was so much fun and I can't wait for our next one!
