By Tracy - 7/18/06

Whew….what a wonderful trip. I feel the same as the girls, it’s kind of depressing to know it’s over, but it’s always good to be home. The heat, however, has me wishing we were back in Michigan. Only a few short weeks ago, we were there wearing jeans and sweatshirts. But…they don’t have SC peaches in Michigan (& nothing else compares!), so for the opportunity to have them in abundance, I’m glad to be home (& have consumed my fair share in the past few days!) And…though we did see Brian during our trip, it will be so nice to be home when he’s home this weekend! Though he saw a sampling of pictures each week that we emailed to him, we will have so much to show him when eh gets home. We covered about 4500 miles with the motor home and approximately 2200 miles sightseeing with our car. It was a great benefit to have the car to tow behind the RV this year. It gave us a lot more flexibility, and also allowed us to stay in one place for a few days which makes for a much more relaxing trip. We spent time in nine states and one Canadian province, and we saw all five Great Lakes. A highlight of the trip was definitely watching Independence Day fireworks at Mt. Rushmore. I stood there in awe as the explosions lit up the sky above the monument, thinking of our freedoms we have and giving thanks to our Lord and Savior for the leaders He has guided to help build this great nation we live in. It was an amazing experience. I think my favorite location though was Mackinaw City. I could have spent much more time there, exploring more of the coastline around the Great Lakes (& seeking out more lighthouses!) I love the coast, and being in Mackinaw City gave you much the same feeling as being at the beach. Also, the two forts we visited (Colonial Michilimackinac and Fort Mackinaw) were tremendous educational opportunities, and I highly recommend a vacation there if you ever have the opportunity. The Canadian side of Niagara Falls was another very beautiful area and fun place to spend some time, but very expensive! We took in so much – from scenic landscapes and seashores, historic sites, nature/animals, monuments, the fun of souvenir shopping in the tourist districts, cultural differences, sampling food from other areas (especially the Mackinaw City fudge!), the enjoyable and peaceful campground atmosphere, and the joy of spending time together with family. We will probably do some short local trips during the rest of the season, but will also begin planning for next year. We have some tentative ideas of where our travels will take us and planning the trip is half the fun! We hope to do a spring and fall trip next year instead of one longer one during the summer. This will allow us to grow a garden, enjoy our pool for the full season, have visitors (hint, hint!), and also for our teenager to possibly work a bit next summer. But wherever and whenever our travels take us, we never take for granted the opportunity and cherish every moment.

By Rachel - 7/18/06

We are home from our motor home trip. It is sad it’s over, but it’s good to be back home. My top five things on the trip were 1.) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.) Kellogg’s Factory, 3.) Henry Ford History Museum, 4.) Mall of America, 5.) Kirby Science Center. The most educational thing we did was probably Kirby Science Center. I learned that if you have more ropes or pulleys, it is easier to lift 75 pounds. Probably my favorite of everything was either the Kellogg's Factory or Indianapolis Motor Speedway where we got to see NASCAR testing. I did not have a least favorite because I liked most of what we did on our trip. I liked testing because it was like a race only a better view for FREE!! The Kellogg’s Factory was one of my favorites because it was very hands-on. I liked the Henry Ford Museum because it was about more things from the 1900’s than just Ford. I liked Mall of America because I got to ride roller coasters and look around in a lot of stores I have never seen before. Kirby Science Center was one of my favorites because you could touch and build or do something at just about every thing they had. I got a total of four souvenir baseballs, 76 postcards, 4 key chains, 5 T-shirts, 1 sheet of stickers, 1 scrap booking kit, 1 book, 18 magnets, 1 bottle of silver, 1 bottle of gold, 1 Black Hills Gold necklace, 1 View master kit, 12 animals cards, over 10 souvenir pennies, and 1 souvenir baseball bat. It was one big trip!

By Amanda - 7/18/06

Well, our trip is over and we are back home. The trip was great! But it is good to be back home. We all slept really well last night; we were so tired. We saw a lot of great things on our trip, but I’ll name my top five. 1.) Niagara Falls, 2.) Mall of America, 3.) Custer State Park, 4.) Kirby Science Center, 5.) Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I had always thought of Niagara Falls as one waterfall, not two. I also never knew that so many people had attempted to go over the falls. It was amazing. Mall of America was really neat because it is so huge. Also, it has its own indoor amusement park where we got to ride several coasters. It was a neat experience. Custer State Park was 3rd in my ranking. I enjoy quiet areas full of scenery, as well as animals. Combine the two, and you can see why I liked it so much. It was fun spotting all of the animals, and I read a little bit about some of the animals that we saw. Kirby Science Center was definitely one of the more educational places we visited, but it was very fun. I enjoyed all of the hands-on displays and activities, and it was nice to let out some energy. It was a great way to cap off our stop in Sioux Falls. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was another one of my favorites. The Hall of Fame Museum was neat, and we also got to watch NASCAR testing. That was awesome! I also enjoyed the Kentucky Horse Park. I liked the Hall of Champions there. We saw many great horses including one of the oldest horses on the farm, John Henry (31 years old). We also saw the Parade of Breeds which was very interesting. That was the last stop on our trip, and it was a great way to end it. It was both a fun and educational trip, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll do next year.

By Rachel - 7/16/06

Today we went to the Kentucky Horse Park. First we did a small museum. Then we did a short movie. When we went outside, we did a Parade of Breeds show. There were many different kinds of horses. One lady rode side-saddle. There was a girl who was only 11 years old! Then we just walked around talking to the riders. Then we did a mare and foul show in the third largest barn in the world. Then we stopped for something to drink. We walked around, and then went to the Hall of Champions. We went to do a horse drawn trolley tour of the farm, but it was pulled by a tractor because it was too hot for the horses. Then we went to check out any other stuff we missed. We went into the gift shop, and also went to see Man ‘O War’s statue. There was an area where you could see how many steps it takes you to make one horse stride. I got one souvenir penny, one magnet, one keychain, and four postcards.

By Amanda - 7/16/06

We spent the day at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Kentucky. This is the last day of our vacation. The park is very large, and even if you spent a full day there, you would still not cover everything. One of the first things that e did was a Parade of Breeds, which consisted of a parade of about seven breeds of horses. One horse would ride into the ring and we would learn a little about its breeding background and purposes. Among the breeds that we saw were the Friesian, the Andalusian, the Akhal-Teke, the Morgan, and the Icelandic horse. It was very interesting. We also did the Hall of Champions presentation where we got to see four champions in horse racing, including the richest horse in North America, the one and only “Cigar”. HE won 16 victories in a row and won a few hundred dollars shy of 10 million. After this show, we went to a museum that showed the uses and importance of horses throughout all time. We also viewed a mare and foal show. The park was amazing, with something for everyone to enjoy. It was a great ending for a wonderful trip.

P.S. Barbaro had a decent day yesterday and Friday, which is great. Doctors say his situation is still “extremely critical”, but this is good news! Get well soon, Barbaro!!!

By Rachel - 7/15/06

Today we went to pick dad up from Shelbyville, KY. We went back to the motor home to pick up Grandpa, and then we went to the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum. Outside of the bat factory was a very big bat. Then when we went inside, we watched a 25 minute movie about baseball. Then we went in a pretty big room that was supposed to look like a baseball field. Then we went on the factory tour, which lasted about 15 minutes. When we finished the factory tour, we went in a large room with information about baseball and the players. It was exciting to be with dad finally! There was a thing that was to show how fast baseball players can throw. Did you know that they can pitch as fast as we can blink? We went in the gift shop after that. I got one T-shirt, one magnet, five postcards, and a souvenir baseball. We all got souvenir bats at the end of the tour.

By Amanda - 7/15/06

After picking up Dad today, we went to the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum located in Louisville, KY. They make bats for every day use, but they also manufacture bats for Major League Baseball players. They had some samples there of some famous players like Andruw Jones (Atlanta Braves), Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees), and David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox). Each player chooses the type of wood for his bat, the bat finish, and also the weight and length, among other specifications. The bats are put in little “cubby holes” until they are shipped off to the players. The factory makes over 1,000 bats per day, and since they modernized the machinery and technology, they reduced their work force from over 400 to around 30 employees. We saw how the bats are made from choosing the timber to the sanding and finishing. Even for a non-baseball fan, it was an interesting tour for people of all ages. The rest of the museum is also very interesting. After the baseball museum, we went back to the campground and went swimming with Dad. Tomorrow, we visit the Kentucky Horse Park!

By Rachel - 7/14/06

Today we went to the Louisville Zoo. The zoo was not as big as Riverbanks Zoo but bigger than Greenville Zoo. It was so HOT today! One of the first places we went to was the orangutan house. They were pretty small. The one had two nickels he was playing with and the other one was picking grass and eating it. The one with the nickels would put them in his mouth and spit them out (or they would fall out of his mouth.) Then we went in the reptile house/aquarium. We guess that they had fed the snakes recently because some of them were eating animals. Then we went to see real animals. There was a bird house. In the back were the gorillas. Then we went to feeding time for the seals. I was waiting to go to the African animal area. There they had zebras, tigers, giraffes, tigers (oh my!) I guess that the giraffes were new. When we were done there, we went to the gift shop and then we came back to the campground. When we got back to the campground, we went to the pool (because it was so hot!) Then we had supper and went to the miniature golf and playground. I got eight postcards, one souvenir penny, and one name magnet.

By Amanda - 7/14/06

We paid a visit to all of the Louisville Zoo animals today, and what a warm day it was! All of the animals were smart…they stayed in the shade. We saw some neat things such as sea lion training, orangutans (they were hilarious), and a male lion. All of the lions that you usually see in zoos are either young males or females. This was a fairly large male with a beautiful mane. They also had two large females in the exhibit. The sea lions were neat. They were being trained, so they would “clap”, roll over, “bark”, as well as perform some other tricks. Some of the funniest animals that we saw all day were the orangutans. The one had two nickels that he was playing with. He would put them in his mouth, put them on his head, and pat them, and then let them slide off the top of his head back into his mouth. They were so funny! After that, we came back to the campground and relaxed. Tomorrow, we are picking up Dad from his truck, and he is staying with us for the weekend. We can’t wait!

By Rachel - 7/13/06

Today we left Indianapolis and drove to Louisville, KY. When we got settled, we went to the Churchill Downs horse track. We were there about five years ago. One of the only things I remembered from that first time is a plastic horse that you get on and you press the button to start the race. You want to stay still and not touch the saddle with your bottom. There were a lot of hands-on things to do. The one was a scale to see if you can be light or heavy enough to be a jockey. We did a walking tour which lets you see the stalls for the horses and other places around the track. There were ten races going on. It is much quieter than a NASCAR race. There was a 15 minute movie about Churchill Downs. There were screens all around the room. Barbaro, the 2006 Derby winner, isn’t going to race another race in his life because he hurt his leg after the Kentucky Derby. We got to see one real close-up view of a real Derby horse. He had a little friend that is a miniature pony named Winston. When we were done on the first level of the museum, we went onto the second level. It was not as big as the first level. There was one thing that was supposed to give you the feeling of being in the starting gate. There was a model of a horse that you could get up on, and there were big mirrors around you so you could see yourself. On the left, there was a white line of a jockey’s position. You had to try to match up to the position. When we got done in there, we went to Bootleg Bar-B-Q. When we got back to the campground, Sis and I went to the free miniature golf course. Hole seven was flooded out. Then we went to the playground. It was very hot. I got four postcards today.

By Amanda - 7/13/06

We arrived in Kentucky today, the last stop on our trip. We are going to tour the Kentucky Horse Park, the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum, and some other smaller stops. Today, we toured the Churchill Downs grounds; the track where they run the most famous horse race of all time, as well as the longest annually run sporting event, the Kentucky Derby. We also found out that they were running the Breeders Cup races today. While on the tour, we got to watch one of the races that was being run. After taking the tour, we explored the Kentucky Derby Museum. Every year after the Derby, they change some things around that were related to the previous year’s race. For instance, they have a model of what the winner’s circle looks like, complete with a life-size horse model and rider. Every year, they change the saddle pad and replace it with a pad reflecting the most recent Derby winner. It was a neat tour, and the museum was well done. We can’t wait until tomorrow.

P.S. For all of you who watched the first two races of the Triple Crown, Barbaro was possibly put down today. The man who led our tour told us that the horse has a bad case of laminitis (an infection that causes inflammation and lack of circulation.) He had been doing fine, but they might have to put him down today.

By Rachel - 7/12/06

Today was so COOL! We went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Did you know that it is 2 ½ miles long? It is longer than Talladega Super Speedway. That is very long! The track’s nickname is “The Brickyard”. Mom, Sis, and I wore our NASCAR shirts. Guess what? NASCAR was testing there because the race is August 6. We were even able to watch it from the infield stands. The infield even has a Hall of Fame Museum. Most of the cars were Indy cars in the museum. Did you know that the female driver, Danica Patrick, finished 4th in the Indianapolis 500? Then when we were finished there, we went to the Indianapolis Colts official merchandise store. After that, we went to Subway. We got back to the campground and ate our subs. Once we cleaned up the dishes, my sister and I went scootering. I got one souvenir baseball, one magnet, five postcards, two souvenir pennies, and one key change. It was a great day!

By Amanda - 7/12/06

Today we went to one of the most well-known racetracks on the racing circuit, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This historic track is also known as “The Brickyard”. The nickname was earned from the track’s original pavement, a track of bricks. Little by little, the track was paved with asphalt, but a trip of bricks still remains. Also, the place is home to one of the biggest events, the Indianapolis 500. This race is 500 miles, driven by the drivers of the Indy Racing Series. Driver Danica Patrick broke a record last year by finishing 4th, and this year, she finished 6th. This female driver’s contract is up at the end of this season, and she might start NASCAR if she can find a good team and sponsor. The track also is home to a few NASCAR races, such as the Allstate 400. We also had a very pleasant surprise; they were doing testing for the upcoming NASCAR race! The testing session was rained out yesterday, so they made up for it today. That was neat watching them, and enhanced the experience. I guess that I should mention that we also went to the Colt’s Pro Shop, even though only Mom likes the Colts (an NFL Football team). It was a fun, sports-filled day!

By Rachel - 7/10/06

Yesterday, we spent almost all day at the water park at the campground and played mini-golf. Today, we went to ride the “Original Wisconsin Ducks” at Wisconsin Dells. Did you know that they can go on water and land? It was very cold in the morning, but in the afternoon, it got hot (and we were wearing jeans). The duck was like a tour bus on the land, but on the water, it was bumpy when we went over rocks. Our duck driver showed us a lot of things. One of those things was a rock that looked like a piano. The story about it said it was thrown off of the small hill. Then she also showed us a house that was owned by a friend of Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln stayed there sometimes. One of the people that owned the house traveled around the world, and she collected so many pictures that the inside of the house is worth over two million dollars. Once we were done with the water, we wet back on the land and our duck driver told us about the safety. She said they put up steel webbing along the side of the trail for safety. It was really only chicken wire. She said the man at the hardware store said that it could hold back a chicken, so why couldn’t it hold back a duck? When we were done there, we went souvenir shopping. One of the places we stopped was another duck place where they had the Army Ducks. Grandpa bought us two soft pretzels. When we got back to the campground, Sis took me to the campground water park. It is really cool. I got one magnet, 10 postcards, 1 T-shirt, and one keychain flashlight.

By Amanda - 7/10/06

Yesterday, Rachel & I spent at least 7 hours at the water park. Mom joined us at times, and she even brought our snacks up there so we didn’t have to take a break to go back to the motor home. After playing in the water for so long, then having a quick supper, we played a round of mini-golf. The whole day was a blast, and we were exhausted. Today is our last day in Wisconsin. We rode the Wisconsin Ducks early in the morning. They take you through some woodland where we saw some deer, including two fawns, and we also rode on the Wisconsin River and Dell Creek. The creek’s depth was very low today, so it was a bumpy ride over the rocks at times. It was neat to go from land to water and water to land in this amphibious vehicle. Our tour guide was very good, and we had a great time learning about the Dells area and the ducks. It was funny sometimes, because we had to cross a rode every once in awhile, and there were signs that said “No trespassing, Duck Crossing”. It was an interesting tour, and being down on the water in the chill of the morning was a great way to wake yourself up! On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Carr Valley Cheese to sample and purchase some more delicious Wisconsin Cheddar.

By Rachel - 7/8/06

Today we left South Dakota. When we got settled in at the campground, we went to Humbird Cheese. We got to sample a lot of cheese. Did you know that they have over 70 flowers? We left there and we went to Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center. We looked at some displays about the Wisconsin cranberries. Then we colored some pictures. I got one magnet and 7 postcards. When we got back to the campground, we went to the water park for about an hour and a half. I had a good time.

By Amanda - 7/8/06

We arrived in Wisconsin today, and we are staying in a Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground. It is huge! It has a water park with a wave pool, lazy river, water slides, swimming lakes with beaches, and several pools. We are spending the day here tomorrow to explore it all. We did a little bit of sightseeing today. We went to Humbird Cheese and tried some delicious samples, as well as purchased some of the delectable varieties. My favorite was a 4-year old sharp cheddar. Mom got a small sample of an “aged brick”, which tastes and smells like Limburger cheese. AWFUL! It’s sour and stinky….gross!!! The lady working there gave me a sample of chocolate cheese to eat after the brick, but the texture was like play dough. After leaving there, we visited the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center. They had some samples there as well, but only of dried berries; the fresh berries are not ready to harvest until September. My favorite berry was an orange-cranberry flavored “Craisin (cranberry/raisin). It was delicious! We watched a video on cranberry harvesting and walked through the museum. It was a delicious day, and we are ending it with a spin around the campground’s lazy river.

By Rachel - 7/7/06

Today we went to Kirby Science Discovery Center. We had a GREAT time!!! It was really hands on. There were four levels to it! The second level was experiment kinds of things and astronomy. I even took a two-inch ride on a bed of nails! The one display that they had was a blower. You wanted to find out which foam shape would float with the air on. Only the ball would float. The third floor had dinosaur bones. You could even build an example of a Triceratops. The fourth floor was a small level. It had a little bit about the human body. You could also play with K’nex, a toy sort of like legos, but they don’t fit together like legos do. They had a rollercoaster, farris wheel and all of those were made out of K’nex, and they really moved. On the second floor there was a glowing hall that was really cool!! Once we were done there, we went to Wally World (or Wal-Mart.) I got 1 magnet, 1 really big postcard, and a sheet of stickers.

By Amanda - 7/7/06

Today is our second and final day here in Sioux Falls, SD. Last night we went down to see a laser, light, and sound show at the falls. The park is similar to Reedy River in downtown Greenville, SC. The narration told of how Sioux Falls came to be, and how it became the city that it is today. It was very interesting to watch and to learn about the city that we are staying in. I didn’t know that such a small town could have had such an impact on western history. Today we explored the downtown area, and visited one of the larger indoor attractions here, the Kirby Science Discovery Center. It is 4 floors of science exploration and fun! You can use a hangliding simulator, see how pulleys and levers work to make loads easier to lift, watch the effects of erosion, explore the effects of gravity, and much more! It was a very hands-on place (where you could tough just about everything), not just a museum where you look at different displays. You can even play with K’nex toys! There were reptile and amphibian displays, and the erosion activity station was really neat. They made a model of the actual Sioux waterfalls and provided a lot of sand for you to place where you wanted it. Then you would turn on the sprinkler system and watch as the water ran over the sand, carrying it to the bottom. This was a neat way to demonstrate the effects of erosion. You could also try out chameleon vision. You looked through binocular-type glasses, which were attached to cameras. By moving these cameras with joysticks, you could move both your “eyes” wherever you wanted to, at the same time, even look behind you! It was neat, but after a while, you get a headache. We had a great day at the science center. Tomorrow we are leaving for Wisconsin to possibly see some things on Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are also going to take a ride on a Wisconsin Army Duck at. This is an amphibious land vehicle that can run on both land and water.

By Amanda - 7/5/06

Today is our last day in Rapid City, SD. Tomorrow, we leave for Sioux Falls in South Dakota. Today, we didn’t do much, but we did go to Storybook Island. It is supposed to be a fairytale park for younger children, but you can play on the playgrounds. It is also fun to walk through the park and see some of the old cartoons and fairytale characters. We saw Tom & Jerry, Sylvester & Tweedy, The Cat in the Hat, and Yogi & Boo-boo. There were also traditional fairytales such as Cinderella, Bambi, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Pooh Bear and Friends. There is also a large playground area. It was a neat place to go. Later, we are going for supper, and then coming back to the motor home to get ready to leave tomorrow.

By Rachel - 7/4/06

Today we went to the Crazy Horse Monument. Did you know that Crazy Horse is an Indian, and that on the rock, his head is 87 ½ feet high? The Indians wanted a monument to honor their heroes like the White Man had their heroes on Mt. Rushmore. Crazy Horse isn’t like Mount Rushmore which has the design on just one side. Crazy Horse has the design on 3 sides. Crazy Horse was started by a Polish man by the name of Korczak Ziolkowski. He started it alone because he only had $178 of his own. He had to climb 700+ steps with a jack hammer and carry all of his other tools up all of those stairs just to get up there. He bought an old tractor and he used that for his electricity because he was so poor. He had to walk up and down those steps about seven times a day to crank up the tractor. During his project, he got married to a lady named Ruth, and they had 10 children. Did you know that all four of the faces on Mt. Rushmore would fit on the back part of Crazy Horse’s head? Korczak Ziolkowski worked with Gutzen Borglum, the man who carved Mt. Rushmore. Korczak Ziolkowski died in 1982. His family took over the job. The family does the job al by themselves because they will not let the government take over the job. They think that the government would change it later or not finish it. Seven of the 10 children work on the mountain. They had five girls and five boys. After we were done t Crazy Horse, then we went to Custer State Park. We saw a buffalo herd, pronghorns, and deer. We saw a baby deer. I got five postcards, other cards with pictures on them, and a magnet.

By Amanda - 7/4/06

Happy 4th of July! What a day of sightseeing we had today! First, we stopped at the largest in-progress sculpture, Crazy Horse Monument. This is a carving of a Lakota Indian chief, who wanted his people to be treated fairly. The white man had made treaty after treaty, and continued to break them. One of the last ones was that land would be given to the Lakota in the Black Hills, and once the Americans heard of gold in the Hills, they broke that treaty also. Red Cloud once said, “The white man have made many promises, and have kept only one. They said they would take our land, and they took it!” Crazy Horse would not live on a reservation, and he would not sign a peace treaty. He believed that the Indians had a right to their land, and that they should go to great lengths to keep it. He was killed while trying to make peace, because someone bayoneted him from behind. Indian chiefs chose him to be on the carving because they wanted the white man to know that they had leaders who were heroes too. They said this after the beginning of the Rushmore carving. After visiting this gigantic statue, we went to Custer State Park. It is set in the Black Hills, and is teeming with wildlife. We saw buffalo herds, pronghorns (similar to antelope), and yearling male deer. Did you know that pronghorns can reach speeds of up to 70 mph? They certainly don’t show it, with them being so small and slender. The males travel alone, while the does travel in small groups with their young. They are gorgeous animals. The buffalo travel in herds of 50-150, and we got pictures of the large herd. We also saw 4 yearling deer. It was a great day!

By Rachel - 7/3/06

Today we went to Wall Drug Store (famous for the free ice water), the Badlands, and to Mt. Rushmore for fireworks. First we went to the Badlands. There were tons of rocks to climb. My sister and I hopped out o the car and ran to climb on the rocks. Unfortunately, I went to climb, but I couldn’t climb where I wanted to, so I walked to go another way. Al of a sudden, I clipped. I scraped my whole left elbow and leg. Once we were done in the Badlands, we went to Wall Drug Store, a huge store. When we walked in there, it was like a bi, big, Walmart. There was a western saddle that you could get on. I didn’t get on it because it was crowded. We went to find the famous ice water. My sister and Mom tried it and said it tasted like sulfur. When we got back to the campground, we got showers and then got on a bus which took us to Mt. Rushmore for the fireworks. The bus ride seemed like forever, but we got to see a baby mountain goat along the way. It was so cute, and a very good climber. When we got to Mt. Rushmore, we went to get ice cream. I got frozen lemonade. Then we went to where we were going to watch the fireworks. There were tons of different fireworks. When the fireworks were done, we got on the bus. Our bus was #81. It took about two hours to get out of the parking lot. After we started moving a bit, we stopped again. It was about 12:15 a.m. when we started moving again. I made myself at home. We didn’t get back to the motor home until about 1:15 a.m.! I got 2 magnets and 7 postcards. Overall, I had a really good time!

By Amanda - 7/3/06

We had a full day of sightseeing today. We drove 30 miles in the famous Badlands, visited Wall Drugstore, and went to Mt. Rushmore to see 4th of July fireworks. The Badlands are full of towering spires, deep canyons, and gullies containing dry riverbeds. This landscape changes every year, because of constant erosion. The never-ending wind, the severe storms, and the soft rock contribute to the 1-inch-a-year erosion rate. This is incredibly fast, considering that Mount Rushmore’s granite erodes at 1/8 inch per 10,000 years. However, they are here for the time being, for everyone to see and enjoy. After seeing these magnificent rocks, we went to Wall Drug to walk around and taste the famous free “ice water.” With all of the signs and advertisements, you would think it’s something great. Turns out, it’s absolutely terrible! It smells and tastes like sulfur! Who wants to drink water that smells like rotten eggs? Well, at least we can say we tried it, but would never try it again. Finally, we came back to the motorhome, and ate supper while waiting for the bus to take us up to Mt. Rushmore. Guess what we saw on the way up? Mountain goats! We have never seen those, except in pictures. They are sort of clumsy looking, with their shaggy white hair and clumsy-looking legs, but they are really nimble on the rocks! That was neat to see. The fireworks were also great, and seeing them over a national monument made it all the more amazing.

By Rachel - 7/2/06

Today we went to Deadwood and Lead. These are both towns. (Their names are pretty funny.) We did a Tatanka museum in Deadwood. There was a 22-minute movie about the making of the Tatanka: Story of the Bison museum. Then we did a tour of stampeding buffalo models, and then we did a talk about the Lakota Indian life. Then we went to Lead (the town). There was a mining museum. We got to pan for gold!!! Then we got to go on a tour about mining. It really looked real, but it wasn’t. The mining place was in use from the late 1800s to 2001. I got four postcards, the gold I found while I was panning, and a little bottle of silver.

By Amanda - 7/2/06

Yesterday, we took the day off and just stayed at the campground. Rachel made pancakes for breakfast, mom got laundry done, and then we went swimming at the campground pool. We had a good day of sightseeing today. We went to a gold mining museum and the Tatanka: Story of the Bison Museum and Visitor’s Center. The Story of the Bison actually is based on the movie “Dances with Wolves” starring Kevin Costner. After doing the film, he felt an attachment to the Black Hills and its people. He wanted to build a hotel that would draw people to the area, allowing them to experience the beauty of the hills and be as impacted as he was. He had sculptures made to depict the Indians and the importance of the bison to their lives. The sculptures would be displayed in the hotel. After much difficulty, he finally had to abandon his dream of a hotel, but instead, built the visitor center that stands there today. The statues that he had planned to put in his hotel were instead arranged on top of a knoll, displaying a buffalo harvest. After this, we went to mining museum that showed us how gold was mined in the 1800-1900s. We saw how mining methods changed over the years as well as the safety measures and innovations. Rachel & I also had the opportunity to try our hand at panning for gold and we both have our gold in souvenir vials to bring home. Tomorrow, we are doing some more sightseeing around here, and then we’re going to Mt. Rushmore to view the fireworks display.