July 2017 - Week 4

July 23 - 30

After Sacrament Meeting in the morning on Sunday, we headed for Great Falls to begin our summer family vacation. Josh wasn't feeling well (he was recovering from the flu), so I drove part of the way while he slept. We got there late in the afternoon, just as a whole bunch of people were leaving Great Falls after a Blue Angels show on the air base there. We sat around talking with Grandma and Grandpa Parsons for a few hours, and then Grandma cooked us dinner, which was so nice. She also paid for us to stay at the hotel down the street and we had conjoining bedrooms which was so wonderful! We usually all stay in one room, so it was nice for everyone to spread out, and especially nice for the three older boys to be able to watch T.V. in a different room, since Josh went straight to bed as soon as we got to the hotel and wouldn't have appreciated the noise.

On Monday morning, we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house for a short visit on our way out of town, headed to South Dakota. We drove on highways through beautiful farming communities, and it was such lovely weather! We stopped in Billings for lunch, and got out and walked around the temple there as well. Our next stop was at the Devil's Tower Monument in eastern Wyoming. It was so much cooler than I'd anticipated, and well worth the stop! We got to the Visitor's Center right before it closed for the evening, and then we walked on the mile+ long trail all around the tower. It was very peaceful, and so nice to be out of the car! As we were leaving the monument, we stopped at a gift shop and got souvenirs right before they closed, and we watched the prairie dogs in the area roam around in the grassy fields. We drove a bit more, and checked into our first ever air bnb stay--a house in the hills just over the border into South Dakota about an hour from Mount Rushmore. 

Tuesday was a long, and very productive, day. We left our Air BnB house pretty early after having breakfast, and drove to the town of Keystone. Our friends, the Hobbs', were also at Mount Rushmore, so we coordinated some of our family's activities for the day. We met up with them at Rushmore Cave that morning. We toured the cave together, then rode the Mountain Coaster too, which was SO much fun!! From there, we broke off with them and agreed to meet up later that evening at Mount Rushmore. We went to the Alpine Slide next, where the boys (and Josh) slid down the mountain. Kanyon got a little scratched up, but otherwise, they all really enjoyed it! Then we walked across the street and the boys did miniature golfing on a unique, uphill course. They loved it! Josh and I decided on a whim to ride in a scenic helicopter. It was hilariously fun, but also really short and because Mount Rushmore is a National Monument, the air space around it is also protected, so we couldn't get as close to the sight as I thought we would. I kept hearing about the Cosmos Mystery Area and what a fun sight it was, so we went there next. We took a tour of this crooked house--it was so bizarre and the tour guide continually made us laugh! The boys all got to crush their own geodes after the tour, too, as a take-home souvenir. I've always been drawn to geodes, and thought that was such a neat opportunity that I didn't want to pass it up! We drove back through Keystone, stopped at a roadside wood-carving place and walked around a bit before driving through the Custer State Park. It was beautiful! There was a good mixture of flatlands and prairie dogs, rock formations at the tops of the nearby hills, man-made tunnels through stone, and wildlife viewing. We had a good scenic drive, and got out a few times for photo ops and hiking opportunities. We ended the day at Mount Rushmore. We got there about the same time as the Hobbs family that evening. It was still daylight when we got there, and then we walked on the half-mile loop trail that leads from the visitor's center closer to the mountain, and then we went back to the amphitheater to see the evening show where they light up the mountainside. Josh and the boys stopped at the Visitors Center gift shop while we waited for the show to start. We sat by the Hobbs family to watch the show. It was really neat! I highly recommend it! It had been a wonderful day! We drove into Rapid City that night to stay at a hotel there. It wasn't as nice as our previous night's accommodations, and we had to contact the office to get extra sheets and blankets for the pull-out sleeper bed, but we finally got all settled. 

My view

Josh's view

the town of Keystone

This is as close as we got to Mt. Rushmore!

It was a very fun ride!!

Looks like Jonah's taller, right?
Even though the cement is level...

Now it seems that Micah is the taller twin!

Cosmos Mystery Area--it is so strange to stand at an angle to be straight!

Kanyon doing a demonstration with a ball

Cracks me up how Kanyon thought this was the best time to drink!

Digging for geodes

Crushing it

Kanyon's new geode halves

Just one of multiple drive-thru tunnels at Custer State Park

Jump shot!

The most famous, and most narrow tunnel in the park. 

Eye of the needle formation

See all the boys right above the tunnel?!

Looks like guys!

More rock men

Can you see the giant foot's toes?!

Looking up their nostrils on our walk on the loop trail

The night show at the amphitheater--you can just barely see the bottom of the
lit-up, carved presidents in the background. 

These signs confused me on our way out of the
parking garage at Mt. Rushmore.
You can't turn left, but you can also ONLY go left!

On Wednesday morning, we packed up the suburban and left the hotel. We realized late the night before that we never stopped to get souvenirs anywhere in Keystone, so we knew we needed stop somewhere and get some that morning before we drove all the way home. We thought we might pass a souvenir store on our way out of Rapid City, but we never saw one. Our next destination was Sturgis. Josh got some cool items, but there wasn't any kid-friendly clothes or souvenir items, so we made the decision to drive twenty minutes west to the small town of Deadwood, which we'd driven through the day before, because we thought it might have some good souvenir shops. We stopped by several before finding t-shirts and memorabilia to please everyone in the family, before heading north and getting on the freeway. The interstate in Wyoming is pretty dull, and seemed to last forever. We brought along the Bourne movie series for the boys, and they watched them all during each part of the drive that week, and then we ran out of movies for them to watch. After we stopped in Billings, Montana for lunch again on the way back, Josh and I told the boys about my new job in Mud Lake, and the family plans for the upcoming schoolyear: that I would be moving, Kanyon would be moving with me, and the twins will be moving in the winter months. After that, the boys were pretty quiet for a few hours, taking in all the new information that was life-changing! We all loved our vacation--the boys said they even thought it was funner than Disneyland--but we were so happy to be home that night and sleep in our own beds!

Josh and I have wanted to visit Sturgis for YEARS--next time it will be on our streetbike!

We traveled through four states in four days!

Friday night was the last night of Couple's Golf that Josh and I participated in for the summer. I love golfing with him on his beautiful golf course!

On Saturday, we went camping for the last time of the summer to Timber Creek near Leadore (where supposedly the little boy disappeared from two summers ago). It was the first time we'd been there, and didn't know exactly what to expect. There's not a lot of camping spots, but it's pretty remote and quiet, which was nice. There was a small lake nearby, but we didn't bring any water toys with us. There was a creek running by our camp site. We went hiking a little bit, and the 3 younger boys brought bikes (Ammon stayed home to work). Josh also went motorbiking around to get acquainted with the area. 

Jonah hanging out in the hammock

Kanyon chopping wood-one of his favorite camping activities!

On Saturday, Josh went for a long motorbike ride into the mountains to take different trails, and see if he could find a way over to the Pahsimeroi valley. The boys and I played games and relaxed at the campsite and area while he was gone. He had a terrific ride and loved the challenging trails and the gorgeous views! When he came back, we loaded up and headed home. 

Check out that narrow, steep trail

He made it! Looking down on the same trail from the top. 

For as busy as the summer had been thus far, this had been a very fulfilling week and I immensely enjoyed all the quality family time we had together!