The Ivy Log: South Dakota 2017

The Dixon Family of Six finally went on a roadtrip! At some point this past year we announced to the children our intention to visit Mount Rushmore as a family over the summer, and the children were thrilled (to the point of jumping up and down and squealing). Ramona had studied enough American history in school to know about the monument, and Mika had made her own model of Mount Rushmore out of clay in kindergarten. With at least one third of our family expressing this much enthusiasm, it seemed like the perfect time to go!

Mika's replica of Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately, George Washington's head was shattered at one point, but we managed to piece it back together. My favorite is her depiction of Teddy Roosevelt with the glasses.

Ramona's sign that almost got taped to the front door before we left

We made plans to make this happen over five days in July, and this is approximately how it went:

Day One:

We made it on the road to South Dakota with our minivan packed to the brim. We even got a car top carrier and filled that up with luggage, too.

Here we are stopping at one of the Wyoming welcome centers and letting kids play on the displays (one of many stops before finally crossing the border to SD).

Taking a tour of the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota

Playing in the bone hut

Digging for fossils in the kids area

(we soon realized this was not an appropriate activity for Wylie when he started flinging sand everywhere)

In the evening, we made it to our rental house in Hill City, South Dakota and enjoyed some hot tub time.

Day Two:
We spent the morning at Wind Cave National Park. While we waited for our tour to begin, we spent some time exploring the gift shop and exhibits.

When it was time for our tour, we began to wonder what we were getting ourselves into. A couple of the kids showed trepidation about the dark descent, the stairs were steep and slippery, and Wylie--strapped to my torso in the baby carrier--was yelling and squawking most of the time. Apparently he was feeling uneasy about this whole cave experience, too. I repeatedly attempted to shove his pacifier in his mouth to calm him, but he kept taking it out and trying to throw it into some remote corner of the cave. Once he was almost successful, but Forest did a one-handed heroic catch before it disappeared into the abyss.

Out of the entire tour group, it was painfully obvious that our family was the slowest and the loudest. So much so that the tour guide requested for us to join her at the front of the line as her "pace-setters." We apologetically did as we were told and felt grateful to not be kicked out of the group.

Despite the challenges of taking small children that far below the surface, we were able to conclude that it was a worthwhile and unique experience--definitely nothing like our typical hikes in Colorado!

Here are Mika and Ramona with their newly earned junior ranger badges

One of the buffalo we spotted on our way out of the park:

That afternoon, we spent some time on the beach of Sheridan Lake

Watch Wylie as he transforms from a slightly sandy kid to a mud monster.

Time to rinse off our little mud monster.

Enjoying the backyard of our rental house once we got back that evening

And enjoying a nearby trail

Spotting a deer from the window (we got multiple visitors of her kind that week)

Roasting marshmallows by the firepit

Day Three:
In the morning, we went on a hike in Custer State Park. The trail started out alongside Sylvan Lake with a view of some big grey rock formations.

In the afternoon, we decided to be extra tourist-y and visited the Cosmos Mystery Area. Wylie fell asleep on the way there and got a good nap before he had to go back in the baby carrier.

At this particular tourist attraction, the first demonstration was a height distortion. Apparently, there is a spot that makes you appear either taller or shorter than normal. Ramona and Mika were chosen to help with this demonstration.

Part One: Ramona looks just a little bit taller than Mika.

Part Two: The girls switch sides, and Ramona looks significantly taller than Mika.

Next, we hiked up to a little cabin where gravity seemed to be somehow distorted. Everyone found themselves leaning at awkward angles to avoid falling down, and our tour guide demonstrated how a ball rolled up hill and water ran up hill, as well.

After that part of the trip, it was Paula's turn to fall asleep in the car.

We ate dinner at the house then treated ourselves to ice cream at Purple Pie Place. The entire building really is purple, just like the pig displayed on the front porch.

More deer spottings that evening from our back windows.

Day Four:

Mount Rushmore National Monument

Popsicles back at the house

Playtime at the Hill City park

Naptime back at the house

After dinner at Pizza Works in Custer, we took some pictures from a distance as we drove past the Crazy Horse monument.

In the evening, Ramona and Mika went with Forest to see Mount Rushmore's lighting ceremony. First, they ate some presidential ice cream.

Day Five:

Ramona signed the guestbook for our rental house as we packed up our things and loaded them into (or on top of) the minivan.

Before saying goodbye to Hill City, South Dakota, we headed down the road to Wade's Gold Mill for a gold panning lesson. Our instructor was very knowledgeable and thoroughly entertaining.

After the panning lesson, we helped the kids get their own pan full of dirt . . .

. . . and dipped the pans in the nearby stream to see if we could find any treasures.

Wylie got restless in the baby carrier, so I let him get out and dip his feet in the water.

It wasn't long before he started throwing rocks into the stream to see how big of a splash he could get.

At one point I looked over and realized Paula had removed her pants in order to more fully appreciate the refreshing stream. Although it was an unauthorized de-pantsing, we decided it wasn't overly offensive since we were the only gold panners at the time, so she got to remain pants-less until our panning was complete.