South Dakota 2020

For years, I've told my family I wanted to vacation in South Dakota. I have fond memories of being there with my Mom and Dad, probably when I was an early teen. That's the trip when Dad tried to make it to Island Park, got caught in a snow storm, and ended up doing a 180 degree turn with the camper on top of the truck, while sliding downhill in traffic. Now that's a memory! We spent a couple of days in Fairview, Montana, then journeyed back through South Dakota.

It took some time, but once my mother in law Sally mentioned she wanted to see South Dakota, I finally made it happen this year. We booked a vacation rental in February, right before Covid-19 took over. I figured if you can't social distance in Wyoming and South Dakota, where can you?

On Friday the 10th of July, we picked up a 15 passenger van, which we named Bertha. That evening, we set off for Rock Springs. Since the van provided no luggage room, we took Grandpa Eric's truck loaded with our gear. I put my luggage rack in the hitch, so we ended up with lots of room in the pickup for passengers. I drove the truck with G-pizzle, and Jason and Eric Jr. rode on the back seat. The van had Kaylee at the wheel, with Alyssa as her steady copilot. Lori, Sally, Michelle, Mason, Parker, Emily, Renato, Olivia and Traven filled up the van. That's 3 car seats my friends.

We stopped at the rest area just outside of Coalville to eat our sack lunches. We stayed at the Clarion Hotel that night. This was our first experience with the pandemic affecting the trip. You had to book a time to use the pool. That said, T, J, Eric Jr. and Renato were not going to miss a shot to swim, so a time was booked.

The grab-n-go breakfast was laughable. A bottle of water, a granola bar and two mini muffins. But it did the trick to get us on our way. We actually made pretty good time, considering the little ones, but it still took a long time to eventually arrive at Devil's Tower. I had thought we might hike around it, but that wasn't going to happen. Too much driving, too much heat and too many tired folks for that. We took some pics, and arrived at our rental in Rapid City around dinner time.

I looked up the house, and found it was built in 1951. Honestly, it felt like someone's Grandma passed away, and the family decided to turn her house into a rental. We made it work, but it definitely was not the nicest place to stay. It lacked adequate comfortable seating. One interesting thing is that the house only had one television, but we didn't miss it. The one TV was located downstairs, and it got used primarily by Traven and Renato!

Glenn, Allison, Caleb and Annie drove down from Wisconsin to vacation with us, which was awesome!

Sunday began our vacationing. First stop, Chapel in the Hills. It was built in the 1960s by a radio preacher. We spent a bit of time looking around, and took some excellent photos. I'm not sure where Michelle and Parker disappeared to in the family photo, but we got most of us.

Next, we journeyed to Cosmos Mystery Area. Personally, I would rename this attraction to "The Law of Gravity". They have built a couple of shacks onto the steep slope of a hill. Things are laid out to give your mind the impression that things are level, when in fact you are actually working against gravity to stay upright. It does give you a bit of an uneasy feeling, and some of our group tapped out early. Definitely would not do this again, especially given the price, but no regrets on vacation.

We next took in one of the family favorites for the trip, Bear Country. Mason and Parker both rode in the front on top of Jason for this one. Bears, reindeer, big horn sheep, wolves, deer, elk, etc. all were just wandering about as we drove through. The kids LOVED it. Actually, I think we all loved it. And with 15 people in the van, and a $65 flat max rate per vehicle, it was a bargain. We did spend a long time waiting for reindeer to clear the road, because it turns out they are just plain rude!

Monday was Rushmore day. It is an amazing sight, and definitely worth the $10 it takes to park. After taking some pics, some of us decided to hike to the base. The signs said it was close to 300 steps up and down, so only a handful of us went. It was so worth it. Once we were there, we discovered the trail is actually a loop, and the way back was basically level. Awkward. We all could have went that way!

Side note: Mason and Parker are not really into getting their picture taken.

Some of the crew took off for naps, while some stayed and walked around the town of Keystone. Alyssa, Eric Jr., Caleb, Traven and Annie did a zipline. T, Caleb and Annie also went miniature golfing. We browsed the numerous Trump shops, t-shirt shops, etc. Eventually, the van came back for us and we were off to Old Macdonald's Farm.

I'll be honest. I did not expect it to be the hit it was. We actually went back the next day as well. Parker it turns out speaks fluent Goat. Mason just kept saying, "I'm holding a baby goat". Olivia seemed enthralled as well. What I didn't expect was Traven, Caleb, Annie and Alyssa being so into the farm!

Tuesday was Custer State Park. The drive in the park is a challenge. Hair pin curves and narrow tunnels. I was amazed at Kaylee's driving of the van. I swear we had just inches to spare through two of the passes, but she made it. It would have been nice to do a bit more hiking, but this was mainly a drive and see it journey. We had planned on lunch at the house, but we found ourselves in the town of Custer, a long way from the house and HUNGRY! It was then I learned of Parker's deep love for chips and salsa. We are talking both hands in the salsa type of love!

We saw Crazy Horse from a distance, then finished out the day with some shopping and a return trip to the farm.

Wednesday, we saw the Badlands. I pitched a bit of a fit because the family wouldn't wait to see the Minuteman Missile visitor's center, but I guess most of them don't remember the cold war like I do. That said, the Badlands are a sight to behold. It's no wonder why they have the name they have, because they are rugged and probably weren't much good to the people that passed through.

Thursday was Deadwood. I was a bit underwhelmed by it, but we did get in some shopping and I ate a buffalo burger. Side note: Glenn had heard about an amazing Chinese food place in town, but we couldn't find it. Turns out it closed 7 years ago. Awkward.....

And that my friends is it! Friday we stayed in Rock Springs again, and Braden surprised his family by being there. This time we stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was definitely an upgrade. We were home by lunch time on Saturday.

A few of my favorite memories/moments include:

1. Celebrating Mason's birthday!

2. Eric Jr. mixing up his shoes and wearing one of Lori's all day on Thursday.

3. Hearing this sage card game advice: "If you can play, then you can play".

4. Answering the question, "What is Cr stal?"

5. Watching Parker wake up Jason every morning.

6. Observing Michelle and Mason at the Badlands, and wishing I was that brave.

7. Playing cards each night.

8. Having so many of the family together for meals at the house.

9. Glenn and Allison providing some killer green chile burritos.

10. Spending so much time with the family.

11. Sitting back and trying to relax while Kaylee did the driving in South Dakota.

12. Eric Sr. and his sense of humor.

13. I'm not a fan, but seeing all the Trump signs, shirts, banners, etc. was something to behold.

14. Mason wearing his new tool belt around and fixing everything.

15. Parker inventing a game where he just dives off of tables and expects someone to catch him.

My two regrets are from things being closed. I would have LOVED a tour of a Minuteman silo, and the Wind Caves and Jewel Caves are both amazing. Maybe we go back some day? It was definitely a great trip with many great memories made.