Mini Vacay

Our family friend Paula and her twins came out to Montana in July and we went on a mini vacay to Mount Rushmore and the surrounding area.  The first night we stayed at the most beautiful place: Ironcreek Lake.  The fog was sitting on the lake and meadows in the evening when we arrived and the view was surreal.  We camped in a tent and the kids got in the water for a bit the next morning.  We had breakfast at this little tiny store/restaurant.  It had an amazing antique clawfoot metal basin bathtub.  There was also a beautiful antique glass display counter. Disclaimer: Jaden took most of these pictures on a throwaway camera.  I never ended up downloading Paula's pictures before she left.

 Jaden and I checked out a map of the Black Hills area attractions.

 Mount Rushmore was sooo hot.  And soooo crowded.  This was actually one of my least favorite places to visit.  Jaden's mug along with the famous presidents:

 Paula and kids

Afterward we drove the 13 miles to the Crazy Horse Memorial monument. By the way, seeing these pictures was motivation to start eating healthy again!

The next night we stayed at a KOA campground in Rapid City and oh was it nice to take a shower.  We went to Watiki indoor waterpark the next day, which everbody loved.  We headed to Devil's Tower that afternoon and camped there that night.  It was a gorgeous, peaceful evening.  There was a breeze and we got a break from the hot temperatures.  The next morning we packed up and headed for home.  We stopped in Belle Fouche, the "center of the nation."  It takes into Hawaii and Alaska into account.  There was a museum there packed full of cool antique memorabilia. Although camping in a tent for three nights wasn't as bed as I thought (with the help of Ambien!), it was nice to make it to Gramum and Poppy's house and sleep in a bed.  The kids loved the chickens and ran around unsupervised.  I unwound on FB and checking my favorite blogs.  We had a few meltdowns and whiny kids but it was a fun getaway and I was glad to have about 9 days off work.  Briana arrived the next morning so more adventures ensued...By the way, most of the rest of Jaden's pictures looked something like this or other barely recognizable objects.