Mt Rushmore day two....

Okay so here I sit by the pool while the kids dive for dive rings. No place that I would rather be. I find myself forgetting how good I have it. When I am so busy, I forget. I now remember.
An overview of the vacation so far… Day one we drove to Casper, WY. Nothing to brag about as I goofed up the reservation and we ended up in a smoking room, and I thought that the kids would die. Jerra wore the same clothes the whole day and would not unzip her bag. She did not want ANYTHING to have a slight smell of smoke. We were not happy, but Thane took the kids to see the Avengers, Hannah and I stayed in the smoke filled room and watch TV and talked. Great times.

Day Two, was much better, we drove into Rapid City. We ate at the Flintstones Drive Inn and visited Crazy Horse Park. It was amazing. Beautiful and history packed. The hills remind me of Yellowstone, filled with tall pines, lots of curvy roads, and beauty all around. As we came to the top of the hill all of the sudden I saw the face of George Washington on the side of the mountain. Now you must understand that all of my almost forty years, I have wanted to see Mt Rushmore. It has always intrigued me and when I got that first glimpse, it was breathtaking. All I had imagined and more.

The kids did not seem to get as big of a kick out of it as I did, they didn’t seem as excited, although Thane says that sometimes I get too excited. We drove around but did not go into the park as it was getting later and we wanted to get to the hotel. As we went toward the hotel, the kids saw all of the commercial things Bear country USA, Reptile Gardens, go karts, Mazes, and swimming areas. They wanted to go to these places and did not seem to care that we had just seen Mt. Rushmore. I tried to soak it in just for myself. They are just kids, and one day I am hopeful they will appreciate this vacation.

Later that night we drove into Rapid City. Small City, but every street block is a different bronze statue of a president. We spent the greater part of an hour identifying the presidents, and it was so fun for me and the kids. If course Thane followed laughing at us when we did not know which president was who? Rapid City has a water fountain in the middle and even though cold we all ran through it while Katie and Thane laughed. They were chicken and didn’t want to make fools of themselves when they ended up wet and cold. The day ended well.

I have always liked Jefferson, Maybe casue I love Washington DC, and the Jerfferson Memorial. 

 My favorite president, do not know why???

 Okay, so I had to at least touch it, And no it was not that big  LOL

 Jo Jo loves, loves, loves Lincoln, the only one she wanted to see.

 This is them playing in the car, while to Thane and I were lost in Rapid City, cute Huh?

Today, we went to the Sitting Bull Crystal Cave. Two hours, 167 stairs up and down, and lots of stalagmites later we came out of the cave. It was great too, lots of neat things to see. The kids then panned for gemstones, (that we bought), and off we went into see Mt Rushmore up close.

The second time was just as good if not better than the first. It is amazing to me that one man’s vision turned into a National monument. I love it. Little windy, but fun. We returned to the hotel to take a nap, (yes I got a nap) and swim for a third time. Here I sit reminiscing about how lucky I am. I know that I sound corny, but I also know that many people do not read this so who cares. I love America, and I am so lucky to be here to chose who I am and who I want to be. To have kids, to take vacations and to be free.