The Black Hills--- GPA Day 12

In all of my travels in life, I had never before seen Mt. Rushmore. 
Now I have and it was impressive. And it was a beautiful day to be experiencing the Black Hills.

Do you know the movie The One and Only Genuine, Original Family Band?  I love the movie and the "Dakota!" song.  If you've never seen it you must put it on your Netflix queue immediately.  We've been singing the song for the past couple of days, only we don't really know the words, so we just sing, "Dakota!  Dakota!  Da da daaa da daaaa.  Dakota!  Oh, Dakota!  Da da daaaaa da daaaa".  I suppose it gets pretty annoying after a while.

We made one more stop at Reptile Gardens for about an hour.  We just didn't get enough yesterday.  What can I say?  We love reptiles.
We climbed up a big rock at Sylvan Lake.  As you may have guessed, we have asked a lot of people to take our family's picture on this trip.  Surprisingly, the kids have all been quite cooperative and uncomplaining when we announce, "Come on, kids-- let's do a family picture".

We drove through The Eye of the Needle-- but it was a pretty tight squeeze.  We pulled our van mirrors in.

Abe and I concur that while the Black Hills are beautiful and have some fascinating rock formations like we've never seen before, we prefer the landscape of Yellowstone.  It has also given us more appreciation for the amazing outdoors that surround us all over Utah.

I am so excited to come home tomorrow!

We took an elevator 234 ft. down into Jewel Cave National Monument.  It is the 2nd largest cave in the world!  But we opted for the 20 minute tour into one large cavern rather than the 1hr 15min scenic tour.  Good choice for us.

I don't know if they have Jr. Ranger programs at all the National Parks and Monuments, but we have taken advantage of the program at several that we've been to.  The girls have earned certificates and patches and badges by completing several activities and answering questions about the park or monument.  I must say that I am very impressed by our National Park Service.  I particularly like how sharp all the rangers look in their hats and uniforms.  It is good to have pride in one's work.

Funniest moment of the trip--
Feeding the Beggin' Burros on the wildlife loop drive through Custer State Park.  We cut up an apple to feed to them and sure enough they come right up to your car-- practically sticking their heads in your car!  The white one was SO FUNNY, opening its mouth!  We laughed so hard we woke up a napping George.  That was no laughing matter.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, but it is okay to look a greedy burro in the mouth.

We saw lots of bison, deer, pronghorns, wild turkeys, and a prairie dog town.  The wildlife loop did not disappoint.  Abe pointed out to the kids the nursing bison in the middle of this group.  The kids said, "Okay, Dad.  Would you please stop talking about it-- that is gross."

Gross?  Really?  I thought nursing wasn't a big deal for our kids since a baby is nursing quite regularly at our house, but I guess there are underlying feelings.  Perhaps I should be more diligent with my blanket coverage.

Tomorrow is the long drive home.  Did I mention how excited I am to get home?

Very.

I love my home.  I love my friends.  I love my ward.  I can't wait to do laundry that isn't coin operated.  I want to cook food in my kitchen and eat at my table.  I want to see the buds in bloom on my trees.  I want to sleep in my bed.  I want to do regular school time with my people.  I want to teach my piano students again.   This trip has been AWESOME, but fortunately, all good things must come to an end!