Solstice

Man, those pagans really knew how to throw a solstice party...the ice cream...the croquet...the sheer madness...

Oh wait, that wasn't the pagans' brilliant idea...that was Uncle Steve!! What better way to welcome the first day of summer...scoops and scoops of yummy (and exotic) ice cream and a ritualistic game of croquet at Steve's house!!
We were all pagans for a day!!!

Our own version of Druids at Stonehenge...

Little Ladies & Bugs

We stopped by the greenhouse on Father's Day...Bob was in a planting mood. While we were there, we picked up a bag of lady bugs...yep, people actually buy those things...and it's not our first time either. It's so fun to watch their legs stick out of the holes in the bag & to watch them fly to freedom when you get it home and open it up!! I caught Sophie & Julia getting along...spending the evening with a slowly emptying bag of bugs. They were actually trying to teach them a few commands--'sit' and 'fly.' The latter command is surprisingly easy to teach...they were the ladybug whisperers!!!

Soccer

Julia had a soccer camp all week this week and had a really good time. Though she's not quite ready to bend it like Beckham, she's got good hustle & was willing to try everything!!
Warming Up

Goalie

Drills

Practicing Headers...look at the height that little gal got jumping up to head the ball...(and the determination on her face)!!!

Play called on account of one girl fell & everyone else just kept kicking...

(that's Julia in the white shirt kicking it when the video starts)

Emma's Take on SD

I let Emma use my old digital camera...the one with the tape holding the batteries in...but still works ok for her purposes. She's got big plans for a scrapbook & had over 100 photos. She worked for a long time on the computer today cropping them...some of them were pretty good I thought...
Any chance to make her mom & dad look silly...

At the Presidential Slide (ok-I took this one but with her camera)

Crazy Horse scale model

Where is he pointing, you ask?? When a white man asked Crazy Horse, "Where are your lands now?" Crazy Horse replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried." That's where.
Flower at Reptile Gardens

Sweet Sarah at Old MacDonald's Farm--with Julia & Sophie for scale...

Peking Donkey

Wacky Grinning Goat--he's saying "How YOU doin'"

There's No Place Like Home

It's good to be home but what a whirlwind tour of Americana we had...hopefully it was a trip the girls will not soon forget...I know I won't!!! We couldn't think of one thing we didn't like or would have changed!

Thanks for the stimulus check, Mr. Bush, we used it to appreciate & enjoy America...and each other!!!

And did we ever!

Driving Driving Driving

Today we drove home from our most adventurous road trip. Just to give you an idea of what it was like...watch this video and then multiply the scenery by about 10,000 & you'll get the idea...(and yes, there is an antelope somewhere in the movie--that's why I was filming...can't really see him though...I think he zooms by after the group of fences)


And just for fun, we counted the number of antelope/humans we saw in Wyoming and the score was (drum roll please)...
Antelope 316
Humans 9
(including a cowboy wearing chaps & a big hat rounding up his cattle with his dog at his side)

Anyway...

Our 6-hour drive was broken up a bit by our fabulous stop to 'Register Cliff' and wagon wheel ruts on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming. So worth the jaunt it took to get there. I could have stayed there all day just taking it all in...that kind of stuff is right up my alley!
Just FYI

A couple of the 'signatures' carved into the cliff


Some wagon wheel ruts at Register Cliff...note the lines/indentations in the grass in front of & behind the white post (Official Oregon Trail marker)...that's where the wagons traveled along the Oregon Trail!!

Wagon Ruts & Register Cliff...(the really old signatures like the ones pictured above are around the back of the cliff, protected by fencing)


Emma at the Pony Express Station historic marker

And in another spot further west, the wagons had to travel OVER these sandstone rocks...carving out a wagon-sized road through the rocks (nobody said "hey, here's an idea...let's go around the rocks"??) So cool...glad they didn't!!
Us at the Oregon Trail National Historic Site sign

Oregon Trail

Emma towards the bottom of the ruts (the trail goes up the hill behind her)--


Stop me...I could go on all day...

Storybook Island

After a late lunch, and a quick rest after freakytown Cosmos, the last of our stops today was Storybook Island...a FREE (what? yay!!) public park on the outskirts of Rapid City. They have all sorts of things to climb/play on based on characters from storybooks...built & maintained by the Rotary Club...they even have ice cream cones (not free). It was super cheesy but that made it that much more fun!! The girls had a blast running from the Three Little Pigs houses to the Prince climbing up Rapunzel's hair, to the guys from Wizard of Oz, and everyone in between...what a great idea...and did I mention...free!!!

Couldn't resist!

Monkeying around

Sophie & Ariel

Puff, maybe??

You knew he'd be there!!

SD Oddities

Ok, so not everything in South Dakota is patriotic...or normal. After the farm, we stopped by "Cosmos Mystery Area." A couple of cabins in a wooded area founded by, who else, a couple of college students looking for a place to build a cabin...undoubtedly after a few too many...if you know what I mean. Supposedly, they noticed a strange force around them as they built their cabin & decided they should share the phenomenon with the rest of the world...translate: tourists from hither and yon...
They take you on a tour of this cabin which is somehow built on an angle to make you feel like you are standing sideways--still can't quite figure out how they do it but it is a freaky feeling and you do end up leaning--almost to the point of falling most times. In this family photo, we are standing on a level board (as proved by a tennis ball not rolling off)--

I'm not sure if pictures explain it--it was too weird and the girls were utterly shocked and amazed--I'm still scratching my head to figure out all the angles they built the thing on to make us all so freaked out...black magic, I tell ya'!

Emma's chair did not fall forward when the guy let go...

Supermom

EEIEEIOOOOO

After breakfast Saturday, we went over to Old MacDonald's Farm...one of the last stops on our wish list. It's a big petting zoo/farm setting with lots to see...We all voted that we enjoyed Sarah & Shorty...2 Belgian/Clydesdales (can't remember which)...who just stood at the fence soaking in all the love they could get...Shorty even rested his humungous head on my arm as I scratched his neck and I rested my head on his nose...so sweet! Gentle giants!! We're even thinking of stopping by there again on the way home tomorrow just to say goodbye they were so pleasant to be around (admission is good for 3 days)!! The girls loved the pig races and wagon ride and the goat petting area--the goats were loving the attention too and tended to follow us around & just stand there to be scratched!! Sophie & 'her' calf Julia-goat 'Tight Rope Walking' goats Ready for the pig race Bob's little shadow goat--followed him around a long time
Sums up the mood of our whole trip--Sophie dancing down on the farm...

Black Hills

Random SD/Black Hills scenery...

TGIF

Friday we had an easy start--slept in a bit & had breakfast in the lobby--we've made it there every day for free breakfast & blogging!! Then we headed out for Reptile Gardens...the place where Bob went when he was little & sat on a giant tortoise, Missoula...who is still there!!
We got there just in time for the bird show which was really fun--they had vultures, pigeons, hawks, an owl & a bald eagle in the show. After that, we went over and found the giant tortoises...including the one Bob had seen so many years ago...they don't allow anyone to sit on them anymore, but you can still wander around in their enclosure with them and pet them. Their legs are surprisingly smushy...I thought they would be hard but not so much.
Then we went to the snake program & crocodile program--both very informative & funny...the crocodile keeper 'wrestled' a crocodile to demonstrate to us how to do it in case we ever run into one in our lives...very useful info...?

Girls with Missoula--born in 1880--the same tortoise Bob saw as a child!




After Reptile Gardens, we drove around to try to find some light lunch...stopped at a bagel place & tried to order sandwiches but all they had were chocolate chip bagels--not a crowd pleaser with turkey & cheese...weird.
So we ended up at the IHOP which did the trick. Made it back to the hotel to change into long pants (was looking cloudy again) for the Chuckwagon Supper we had on the schedule. The ranch was quite a ways away--and a different direction than we'd driven before so it was a challenge finding it...seemed like it was really 'in' the black hills--out in the toolies but we finally found it. They had it set up really cool for kids...playground, goats & donkeys to pet & of course, pony rides. Also a gift shop, a place to try your hand with the lasso & a covered wagon into which I climbed and sat awhile to listen to the wind blowing in the trees...my little sanctuary.

Sophie riding off into the sunset...


They had a gun fight before supper--scary for the little ones, including Julia who played along but looked like she would have rather been sitting on my lap. The kids were to help the sheriff find the 'biscuit bandit' who came into the dining hall guns a-blazing--and then a shoot out with the sheriff...

After the gun fight, it was time for dinner...we went through a buffet line & each got a baked potato slapped onto our tin plate, baked beans, chicken or beef, applesauce & then a piece of wax paper over the top onto which they put a biscuit and spice cake. It was the best run buffet line ever & it was actually pretty tasty...

After dinner, they have a cowboy singing show--actually the owners of the ranch and 3 of their sons...and they were really good!!

After the supper, it was raining (of course) so we started to drive back to the hotel...Bob decided he'd like to try to see the laser show at Crazy Horse so we turned and drove up that direction. When we got there they said they weren't having the show because of lightening in the area...not sure how the two are connected but oh well. Drove back down past Mt. Rushmore for one more viewing as we drove by & headed back to the hotel.

Saturday is Cosmos Mystery area, Old MacDonald's Farm & whatever else we can squeeze in before the rain comes...again...