You know how you don’t know how you feel about something
until the decision is made for you? Well that is how it was with our summer
vacation. Matt broke the news, “I don’t see us taking a summer vacation this
year, between the expenses that have come up recently, and the fact that we
have used all my Marriott points for the time being, I just don’t see it
happening.” Hmmm. I thought on this a while and realized I REALLY wanted to
take a trip. Our original plan was to go see Mt. Rushmore. So one night we were
on a drive after a temple trip and I suggested that we CAMP. And since I am
working right now I said I would provide all the food. Suddenly the trip was
very doable and we presented the idea to the kids Sunday during dinner. They were on board. By evening Matt had found
a place online we could stay at and the wheels were set in motion. Fortunately for
the kids our departure date was only two weeks away. We all got quite
excited as we anticipated this new adventure as a family.
We left on Tuesday July 3rd in two cars. There was
no way we could fit camp supplies, bedding, food, and luggage for 8 people into
one car. The older kids took turns riding with Matt. Work pays for his gas so
this was not an added expense. Before we got to Green River WY there was a semi
carrying loose gravel rocks in front of me. They started flying out and landing
on the van. The first two that hit put big chips in the windshield. I sped up to pass him and then called Matt, “Shouldn’t we do something to get this guy off the road to fix
his load? He’s going to hurt somebody.” Matt slowed down and got the info off
the truck and called the company. Who knows if they did anything, but we tried.
 |
| Lunch break in Wyoming. We have traveled together enough that almost without assigning we can get everything out and loaded again with everyone knowing what their responsibilities are. |
.jpeg) |
| Callie found a small strip fo shade to eat her sandwich in. |
Not long before we left Matt
discovered he had two free rooms to use at Marriott after all. So we split the drive
up into two days by staying in Cheyenne on the way there and back. Factoring in lunch, bathroom breaks, and filling up on gas the drive there took 7 ½ hrs.
The sun was just setting as we arrived. With all the fires out west we still
hadn’t escaped the smoke filled skies. The sun was the most brilliant hot pink.
Not orange or red, it was FUSIA, and HUGE.
The kids were starving by the time
we got up to our room, but none of us felt like going out to eat! We could picture
the same old routine, Party of 8, getting kid menus: chicken strips,
grilled cheese… it’s the same no matter where you go. So Matt and I headed out
for some Chinese take-out to bring back to the room. This was a perfect way to
see downtown Cheyenne. It’s cute. The restaurant was just closing but the guy
was willing to let us do take-out. Back at the room the kids scarfed on sesame
chicken. It made the room a bit smelly as you can imagine so I took out the
trash and headed downstairs. Matt was on the treadmill by then and I joined
him. I only had my sandals but I still managed to work up a sweat. When we
returned to the room the kids were watching TLC’s Craft Wars with Tori
Spelling. I thought I had seen it all. Craft wars? More like crap wars. We are
not a super crafty family and it all seemed like a waste of time and money but
we laughed enough that it provided entertainment.
At breakfast the next morning in
the Lobby I said to Matt, “I am going to sound like a hotel snob, but I am even
getting tired of this breakfast.” I was actually anxious to make our own food
for the rest of the trip. Back on the road we didn’t have as far to go this time
before we reached the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was a “Wahooo!” feeling
crossing the state line. It’s always exciting to be in a new state for the first
time. Even though South Dakota's miles of nothing look just like Wyoming's miles of nothing. Before long we came to a
town with an arrow: Provo and Edgemont this way. Had I really come all this way
to end up where I started? He he. We stopped for some refreshment. Matt treated
us to ice cream. We all got giggling when we probably shouldn’t have at a
magnet. It was the BACKside of Mt. Rushmore if you know what I mean…
The
cashier had a very decorative headband of glitter and bobbles all in red,
white, and blue. I remembered it’s Independence Day! Mallerie and I blared it (Independence Day) till we reached Custer City. There we put the windows down to enjoy the street
music. The streets were lined with booths with the smell of food in the air.
What an atmosphere! Not to mention the uniquely painted buffalos in front of
each establishment. You can imagine we got behind when we were supposed
to be following Matt closely. He had to pull over and wait for us. I asked
Katrina later what he said. She imitated Matt talking about me, “She does NOT know how to follow people!” Easy big fella, we aren’t in a rush
at all. Black Hills National Forrest is
a welcome relief after the flat drive. We wound through Ponderosa Pines, we passed
another wild fire. This one was close enough that we could see the planes
dumping retardant on the billowing flames, but we could see the large path it
had already claimed. How far north would I have to go, I wondered, to escape
the fires? Before long we were at the Pulmer Gulch campground. It is HUGE and
was SOLD out. Over 500 campsites full (luckily, we had a reservation). This I thought also added to the holiday
atmosphere. We parked while Matt got our assignment from the lodge. This place
had a little of everything from gift shops, to an ice cream parlor, a
restaurant, a lodge, cabins, RV hook-ups, and for us, campsites. Ours was
towards the back and something seemed terribly wrong when we pulled up. It was.
so. small. How were we supposed to fit two tents there when we could barely fit
our two cars? The music in my head went, “Wa wa waaaaaaaaa” “This can’t be
right,” I took the map. It was right.
Site 292.
I started to walk the site a bit and saw a short rocky trail that lead up to a meadow under big trees at the top. “We’ll pitch our tents here!”I called. Matt and Katrina both agreed that we probably weren’t supposed to but I would DARE anyone to approach us with another option. Everyone got to work unloading the cars, setting up tents, cots, air mattresses, tables, ect. I couldn’t have happier with how all of the kids pitched in so cheerfully. Matt looked down on the other campsites from our shaded hill, “You know I think this is actually one of the better spots.” I told the kids, “THAT is how you turn lemons to lemonade.” We could have used some too. It was BLAZING. The phrase, ‘Hotter than the Fourth of July’ came into my head. But no one complained. Not even once. It was great!
 |
| I had a feeling the handheld fans from King's would come in handy. Ding ding ding, I was right! |
When we were done setting up camp we started on our Dinner of hot dogs. I said I
would provide food, I didn’t say it would be fancy. The kids made up some of that lemonade we were talking about.
Mealtime is the best part of camping I think. I love eating outside. We parked the cars around the red checked pic nic table for privacy and I couldn’t have enjoyed being with my party of 8 more.
The squirrels were so antsy for our leftovers that one was
willing to try and get the last hotdog off the grill. The burner was still hot
and each time the squirrel jumped up we heard the singe of it’s little feet
against the grill. It was funny and yet
chilling at the same time.
TO THE MONUMENT!
We couldn’t lollygag too long after dinner because we had
big plans to attend the lighting ceremony that night at Mt. Rushmore. We past the most picturesque lake I think I
have ever seen. It’s called Horse Thief and is just around the bend from Mt.
Rushmore. Mallerie discovered that. “I see the faces!” I looked in the rearview mirror and there
they were. It was a bit startling as they have never been in that mirror
before.
 |
| OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!!!!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!!! |
The monument is free but it is $11 dollars to park - for the year. They give you a ticket for your car and you can come back anytime during the calendar year and get in. Matt said, "So if I came on Dec, 31st, this pass would only be good for one day?" The man at the booth answered, "That is correct."
After parking and making our way up the stairs we entered the
large visitors area where at the end was Mt. Rushmore. What an 'ah-ha' feeling.
It’s been on my bucket list of things to see like The Statue of Liberty. It
has that same 'wow' feeling. It is really striking against the Dakota sky.
 |
| Katrina being the history buff of the family had to put on her COOL LIPS. |
 |
| It's a good thing Grayson had his glasses otherwise he'd be wondering why we came to stare at granite. |
 |
| The hall of flags, one represents each state. We gave a "Woot! Woot!" for Utah. We were told they don't get a lot of visitors from our great state. But we had fun looking at all the many different license plates from ALL over. |
We took photos along our walk up the visitor’s center
getting closer each time. At the end there were quite a lot of people. Then we
looked over the edge and there was a huge amphitheater full of people. "So I guess we go sit down," we said to one another. We found seats up front and waited for who knows what. Talk about following the
crowd.
 |
This shows how close you are to the monument when sitting in the amphitheater.
We got to get closer than I thought we would. |
 |
| Still going strong with the hat. |
 |
This is how far we had to cock out heads back to see the monument from where we were sitting.
(You know I am joking around don't you???) |
 |
| Thanks to Little C this trip was possible. She became potty trained in the last few months, and most recently even at night. This is not a trip you would want a baby in diapers on. As Matt instructed, "Everyone is in charge of wiping their own bum." |
 |
| There was a very enthusiastic group from Salvation Army handing out glow sticks |
 |
| Part of that leg looks like his nose is growing. But it couldn't be, he's as honest as Abe ;) |
We sat there a good half hour before the program started due to technical difficulties. This surprised us since it's the same program they do every single night of the year except Christmas.
Wouldn’t they have everything extra ready to go on the Fourth of July? Odd.
Finally a ranger lady with a megaphone came out and said the program would be
starting shortly. Before she even spoke a word the crowd erupted into applause
so ready were we for something, we
just didn’t know what it was. But the crowd was pumped and I loved it.
Alas the filmstrip started, followed by the lighting ceremony. This is where the banned firework show would have been spectacular. But since we didn't have anything to compare it to it was good enough. 
Afterwards all the past and present veterans came to the stage for a round of applause and impromptu retiring of the flag. This was particularly moving to see six strangers work in precision with respect to the flag. I was glad I had hung ours out front before we left. Then the ranger said, “Now we will have each of you tell us your name and rank while touching the flag.” Matt and I looked at each other really????, but it didn’t take as long as we thought it would. After more applause we sang the National Anthem together. It was a perfect 4th celebration.
We went back to the monument the next day to tour the
visitor’s center. It was another hot one. As the movie was ending my eyelids
grew heavy. The AC was on full blast and my chair was so comfy. I laid my head
on Matt's shoulder and dozed. He told the kids we were watching the movie
again. I slept through it the second time, as did some of the kids.
Another reason we went back is because we needed to get a
group shot. We will submit it to the Wasatch Wave under the feature “Where
will you be caught Reading the Wave?”
 |
Graham wanted to stay and play at the campsite,
“We are going to go see the faces again???” He had asked me the night before, “How
did those get up there.” This caught me and a stranger off guard and we both
chuckled. Then I saw Graham crying, “I don’t like people laughing at me." I
still feel badly about that though I rectified it best I could at the time.
Though there was still a crowd the amphitheater looked desserted the next day. |
The plaster molds are there on display that
Borglum used as models when carving the mountain. We learned so many things. Like
that Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt are the other two faces. I have
known that at one time, but have forgotten. The monument took 14 years, was
completed in 1941, cost nearly a million dollars, and required over 400
workers.
We hiked down the Presidential Trail a bit till Graham fell and skinned a knee. I pulled some Band-Aids out of my purse to Matt’s dismay, “Mom had these handy?” he marveled.
 |
| Mallerie had this cute idea and wanted the stairs clear. After waiting a while we told her it was now or never. Callie and Graham would have been fine with never. |
The drive back to the campground revealed this little snippet of Washington. As you can see the black hills are very different mountains from the Rockies. They are more like rock formations.
So if you are wondering if Mt. Rushmore is worth the drive I say YES. It's awesome, wonderful, beautiful, educational, and so very presidential.
WHAT ELSE DID WE DO???
Pulmer Gulch has so much to do that we could have stayed
there the entire time and been entertained. They print out a schedule each day
that tells when hay or firetruck rides are, what movie is playing in the little theatre, what
entertainment will be on stage, kids activities, etc. We took part in what we could when we were there.
Paddleboats...
 |
| These two! Mallerie suggested we divide up the boats dad's mold against mine. But I had to be with these two~ |
Shopping. The boys got rubber band guns that were a hit. Callie got a flouncy skirt. "It's my favorite," she said.
Bouncing...
Splashing...
Swinging...
Sliding...
 |
When I passed the pool I said, "Yikes, why is the water yellow?" When we turned on the water at our campsite it was also yellow. We were told it is because of iron in the water. I didn't let it bother me since I wasn't swimming, and I was only using the water at camp to make lemonade.
Playing...
Even though Graham had already played miniature golf with Matt
and Grayson he still wanted to play with the ENTIRE family. I tried to get him
to go with just me and some of the girls. It’s like he had a roster in his head, “We
are missing Dad, Katrina, and Grayson,” he accounted. We had to wait and go when the ENTIRE
family was there.
|
And the highlight: RIDING!
Upon realizing all the entertainment options our first night
there I asked Matt what his priorities were since clearly we couldn’t do it
all. When he asked mine I said, “Horseback riding.” He was surprised by this, so I
insisted. The kids that were most excited about it were Graham and Callie but
since they don’t allow double riders the limit is age 6. So we went in shifts
of three: Mallerie, Ava, and me first, then Matt, Katrina, and Grayson.
The night before there had been a wonderful thunderstorm. Nothing
is better on a camping trip than the sound of rain on the tent as you fall
asleep. This cooled things down the next day for our ride and made the trail
not dusty. We went through the backcountry for an hour. I got to talk to one of
the guides about the horses. She said the biggest one is 17 hands tall and 1800
lbs.; it’s a black one named Cookie. My
tush was getting mighty sore by the end of that hour. I realized if I put more
pressure on my feet in the stirrups this helped but I realized this a little
too late and had a hard time sitting down the rest of the day. The next day was
even worse; but it was worth it for all of us, sore buns and all. Grayson said
that is his most favorite thing he
did on the whole trip. That’s how he
said it.
The neat thing about the horse trail was that it went right
past our tents. This way we could get some good pictures of all of us on the
horses. Each evening 80 horses were
taken to pasture for the night. They would gallop past us in a thunderous applause
of hooves. The lady giving the call would screech at the top of her lungs,
“Ahhhh, Ah! Ah! Ah! Ahhhhh!” We were also awoken to this every morning as the
horses were brought back to the stables to be saddled up. They were such
beautiful animals, very well taken care of and very well trained.
Well, when Katrina rode by on her horse that afternoon her
horse looked huge! Sure enough when they came back she said that she was
assigned to ride on Cookie!
Matt, who was on a horse for the first time in his
life, enjoyed it (other than that his eyes itched the rest of the day). Small hitch.
So What Else???
Boy there are enough caves in the area that we could have
gone to a different one everyday. We decided on Wind Cave. Katrina asked why we seem to go to
so many caves. I told her, “I don’t know, we just do.”
Matt put the address in the GPS. He thought it would only be
a 20 minute drive but after a while we all dozed off. He woke me up to show me
a bison.
I asked if we were in Custer State Park. We were. I had
read about the wild heard of 1,300 bison that roam free. Well, we got to see
ONE. I don’t know where the other 1, 299 were. Because the area is so big we
wound around for a while before getting where we were going. This was fine with
me since the wildlife loop at Custer was on my To-Do list. But in the end we
only saw some additional wild turkeys and deer. When we retraced our path, there was that
bison still in the same spot unmoved.
The descent into the caves is a long one. We went down one
steep staircase after another. The guide joked, “If anyone wants to turn back
now is your last chance.” I was surprised to hear Katrina tell me, “I don’t
think I can do it. I am getting totally claustrophobic. I think I am going to
go back.” Matt and I gave her the choice but she decided to stick it out. At
the end of the tour we were glad to see we didn’t have to go back up all those
stairs rather that there was an elevator that took us to the top. We butted
right to the front of the line to get in.
FOOD!
During miniature golf Matt said, "If mom makes the last shot then I treat to ice-cream, if I make it, then she does." I aint in the picture so I musta been treatin.
 |
Wouldn't you automatically get out of the line up if you saw someone taking a photo of their cute family? Or wouldn't you at least put a smile on your face and join the fun?
This yellow sweatshirt did neither. |
Matt treated us to his hungry man breakfast in the Dutch
oven one morning. Other than he forgot to put on the cheese…it was great!
Another morning we went to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast under the big
top. I wondered how they were going to make enough pancakes for all the
people. One look at the griddle and I got it!
For lunch everyday we had sandwiches, chips, fruit, and
lemonade. We carried the goods to the “upstairs” part of our campsite. How
often to do you get to have an upstairs when you are camping? We sat under the
trees in our camp chairs and watched squirrels carry the crust straight up the
trunk of the tree. I asked Katrina what
she thought of it all. She said, “This is just so…random for us to be camping.” I joked, “These are the desperate
measures it takes to fumigate you out of your room and get you away from
electronics to be with the family;)” You know what they say, desperate
situations call for desperate measures. She actually had it pretty good in the
tent since she was on a cot with an air mattress. Poor Mallerie and Ava were
left lying on the hard ground when their mattress deflated. As for the others,
they were just thrilled to be there.
Because we couldn’t do our tinfoil dinners (my fav) in the fire, Matt cooked them on the stove. Eight dinners fit perfectly side by side.
Mallerie had worked up an appetite that day and finished off everyone else’s. We
nick named her Chipmunk for the remainder of the evening. We began a game of
SkipBo while the peach cobbler was in the Dutch oven but a wind sprang up,
which caused us to put it away. We ate the cobbler that night by lantern under
the easy up.
On the way back from the caves it was getting a bit late and
everyone was wondering what we were going to have for dinner. I suggested we grill up
hamburgers because I had seen some gorgeous patties in the KOA general store. Matt was logical and knew it would
be a lot easier just to stop for a burger but I thought Dutch oven potato chips
sounded yummy to go with it so we agreed on my plan (shock shock, wink wink). I went
into the grocery store in Custer and got fixins like lettuce, tomato, and
onion. Their meat patties looked nasty so I said to myself, “I’ll wait and buy the patties at KOA.” Well once back, I ran into the general store to find that all the
patties were gone! I told you they were gorgeous. So then we decided to just get a pizza at the
same place we had gotten ice-cream earlier that day but it looked crowded. Matt said,
“How bout this, I treat us to dinner at the restaurant.” By then we all said, “Good
enough!” We were starved!
Even little Graham scarfed down his burger.
Could YOU stay at a KOA?
You may be wondering if it’s possible to get clean at a KOA.
Sure, just take a dip in the yellow pool. No really, they have showers. The
first night after the kids were settled in their tents Matt and I walked to the
showers and then waited for each other to be done. It aint the Hilton, but nothing could have been as refreshing as that walk back in the night air
with wet hair and the feeling being all clean.
Walking through camp in general was always entertainment in
itself. I loved the busyness of everyone doing something different. I would
overhear a sentence or two of peoples plans or watch them get a meal together,
“Where is the salt and pepper?” “I mixed them together in one shaker,” someone
called back. For this trip, camping was the perfect answer and a great way to really experience the black hills.
CRAZY HORSE!
After packing up in a surprisingly organized manner on
Saturday morning we were on our way. Matt wasn’t sure he wanted to stop and see
what the Crazy Horse Monument is all about but I said, “Who knows when we will
be in this area again, we may as well see all we can see while we can see it.”
Still, we didn’t want to pay for two cars to get in so we crammed into one near
the entrance.
 |
| What is crazy is that this sculpture began in the 1940's and still has this much to go... |
 |
| Funded entirely by private donations and revenu from tourists and the gift shop, Crazy horse seems to be moving along at a snails pace. Though millions of tons of rock have been removed, you can see there is still a long way to go before the Crazy Horse is finished. Size wise, all four presidents heads of Mt. Rushmore would fit in just the hair of this sculpture.. |
This diorama shows the future college campus for a Native American College that will be built under the monument. If they are waiting for the scupture to be done to open this college they might want to change the parking stalls to space ship stalls...cause I think that is how far into the future it will be.
 |
| You would think it was a winters day by the way the kids were bundled up because of the air conditioning. |
I couldn't get over the resemblance between the future feather on the top of crazy horse's head to the piece of hair on Grayson's head that would not lay down.
 |
| We did our part to fund the project by touring around and spending in the gift shop. I bought some horse drawings done by none other than the sculptors daughter. |
 |
| Graham asks the kids now, "Which did you like seeing better ; Crazy Horse on the mountain, or the Prophets?" |
Here is the plaster mold used to determine the size the mountain is carved. I had to smile at Graham's logic. He scratched his head, "Why did they even invite us here if they aren't
done??????" Well, thankfully, I am done.
 |
| I miss the big blue skies...the South Dakota kind. |
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
