The Kassel Family Project Life 365

We left Rapid City, South Dakota, at 8 am (9 am Central Time) for the long drive home.  I think that driving I-90 across South Dakota just might be longer than driving through Kansas.  With short stops for lunch, breaks, and gas, we arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri, right about 7:30 pm.  We had dinner with Jeremy and Chaley and then got back in the truck for the last part of the drive.  We arrived home about 11:45 pm.  We put the sleeping kids in bed and then we crawled into bed ourselves.  We did not even bother to unpack the truck.  It was a fantastic vacation and I would have loved another day or two, but it is *always* good to be home!

It was a day of visiting national memorials and monuments.  The original intention of our vacation was to see Mount Rushmore and we began the day there.  We saw Mount Rushmore from the road as we were driving up, and the excitement in the kids’ voices was so great to hear!  They could not wait to get closer.  If you ever get a chance to go to Mount Rushmore, do it.  Pictures do not do it justice.  The kids were just amazed.

We walked the path that included over 250 steps and stopped at all the way points that included Gutzon Borglum’s studio and the individual views of each of the four Presidents.  Laura was so interested in all the history and wanted to look at everything.  John got a little bored towards the end, but he still very much enjoyed seeing Mount Rushmore.  We left with a squished penny, a magnet for our refrigerator, a miniature replica, some golf balls, and lots of great memories!

After a picnic lunch, we headed to Crazy Horse Memorial.  While incomplete, it is still quite impressive.  If it is ever finished, it will be simply beautiful.  You do not really understand the detail work and the sheer size until you stand on the deck and take it in.

We spent time wandering through the different exhibits and then happened upon a presentation of a Native American who was to perform some dances.  He was full of information and it was very interesting to watch the three different dances.  Laura and John did not want to participate in the Snake Dance, but they were both riveted during the presentation.

After the presentation was complete, we left for the 2+ hour drive to our final destination, Devils Tower.  Wait, you think I spelled “Devils” incorrectly?  Well, you are correct in that the name is incorrect, but I *did* spell it correctly.  You see, when the monument was first named, the apostrophe was left off of “Devils” and it was never corrected.  I find this highly amusing as an Editor and had to take a picture of the explanation.

If you ever get a chance to visit Devils Tower, go.  It is simply amazing.  It is so beautiful and it was my favorite of the three stops for the day.  Amazing.  I sat on a bench with John and just stared at it.  At least four times, John said, “Mommy, LOOK!  It’s WOW!”  That is the perfect description.  Wow.

We arrived back at our hotel about 9 pm with the intention of letting the kids swim before bed.  Laura said, “Mommy, I don’t want to swim.  I want to go to bed.”  You know it is bad when they ask to go to bed.  As you can imagine, they were asleep within minutes.

We head back for home tomorrow.  I am sad that our family vacation is over.  I hope that the kids remember this for years to come.  What a fantastic trip!

Today, we played “tourist” on the way to Rapid City, South Dakota.  We stopped for gas in Mitchell, SD, and Andy saw a sign for the Mitchell Corn Palace.  He loves seeing all those cheesy things, so off we went.  I was annoyed because I could have done without the Corn Palace, but Andy and the kids loved it.  I must admit that I need to relax now and then.  Besides, I would exact my revenge later in the day…  The entire outside is made up of different designs made entirely of corn.  As we wandered around inside, there were pictures of the different designs from each year.  It really was quite impressive.

While in the Corn Palace, Andy picked up a brochure about Rapid City, SD, and all those fun things to do in and around it.  As I was looking through it, I saw the Dinosaur Park and immediately knew that *I* had been there when I was a kid.  I do not actually remember the park itself, but I have a picture of myself standing in front of the Brachiosaurus.  After settling into our hotel in Rapid City, SD, we went to dinner at a local place, the Firehouse Brewery, for a tasty dinner and drinks.  After visiting their souvenir shop, I exacted my revenge.  We went to the Dinosaur Park!  It was already dark out, but it was still fun to go.  The view of Rapid City from way up on the hill where the park is located was amazing.  I did take several pictures and, just maybe, the kids will see these pictures at some point and have the same reaction I did when looking through a brochure thirty years down the road…

We spent the day at the Henry Doorly Zoo enjoying the animals, the aquarium, the insectarium, and the dinosaurs!  It was such a fun day and we all had a great time.  We started the day wandering through the Desert Dome with the desert animals.  We followed that up with a trip through the big cat exhibit.  They had five lion cubs that were adorable and one of the most beautiful tigers.  As always, the kids were amused that the big cats act a whole lot like our little Newman cat.  They sleep and sleep and sleep some more.

Upon arrival at the bear exhibit, we discovered one of the Sun Bears standing up on a big tree looking over the fence.  He was literally eye to eye with us.  We soon discovered that it was snack time and he was somewhat patiently waiting for the zookeeper.  As soon as the Sun Bear saw her, he was up and ready!  She was throwing him apples and other fruit and he was catching them in his mouth.  What a fun thing to see.

We took a break to eat some lunch and discovered an eating area that was next to the “Prehistoric Play Park” complete with statues of prehistoric animals.  The kids took turns sitting on each one and yelling for me to take their pictures.  I finally managed to get them to sit on the *same* statue at the *same* time!

While walking to another exhibit after lunch, we happened upon this big guy.  Our kids love peacocks and were fascinated that this one was perched on the fence.  They really are beautiful birds.

Next up, we visited a special, short-term exhibit: “Dinosaurs Alive: The Lost Valley.”  John loves dinosaurs, but was slightly afraid of ones that looked real and also made noise.  He was brave though and we made it through the entire exhibit.  Like most kids, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a favorite.

Our last major exhibit was the aquarium and what a neat place it was.  While relatively small, it was very impressive with the amount of fish, etc.  One of my favorites is the jellyfish and I was fortunate to snap this beauty.

We all very much enjoyed the Henry Doorly Zoo and I am glad we stopped to see it!  While I would not say that it was better than the St. Louis Zoo, it was certainly equally as good.  As you can imagine, we were all tired after 7+ hours at the zoo, so we headed back to the hotel for some pool time and dinner.  Are you wondering yet what the “A Surprise” part of the title of the post is yet?  Well, John decided out of the blue to actually really swim!  By the end of our pool time, he was swimming a good 5-6 feet at a time.  Yay swim lessons!  Andy and I were thrilled and I could not stop watching him.  It’s always exciting when your child finally figures something out.

We wrapped up the evening with a spaghetti dinner in our hotel room and then early bed.  On to Rapid City, South Dakota, tomorrow!

We began our family vacation to Omaha and Mount Rushmore today.  We had a little stopover in Overland Park, KS, to take Laura to the American Girl store so that she could spend her birthday money from Grandpa Ken and Grandma Marilyn.  Sadly, Saige’s painting set was not in stock, BUT never fear!  American Girl Distribution to the rescue!  We ordered the set direct from distribution while in the store.  No shipping fees and the painting set will arrive at our house sometime this week.  It might even be there when we get home.  Throw in matching t-shirts and two new American Girl books about Saige and we had a happy, happy Wee Ginger!

We arrived in Omaha about 5:15 and got checked into the Residence Inn.  We had one of the “Penthouse Suites.”  It is a great suite with two bedrooms, one of which is a loft space.  After a tasty dinner at Red Lobster, the kids swam for a while and then finally snuggled down for the night.  Andy went out with a Fraternity brother for a couple of drinks and I relaxed in the hotel room.  It was a great first day of travel!  Off to the Henry Doorly Zoo tomorrow!

I dropped John off for his last day of preschool this morning.  I didn’t think it would be so hard to do!  I know that all kids get older and things change.  I *am* excited for him to start Kindergarten in less than two weeks, but I am sad too.  I have to admit that I got teary-eyed as I watched him walk in for his last day.  Walnut Street Day School was such an amazing choice for John and he learned so much in such a short time frame.   We just cannot thank Miss Sam and Miss Jodi enough.  John is more than ready for Kindergarten and he writes his first and last names quite well for a five-year old.  I know John will love Mrs. Hanney and Kindergarten, but I know that he will miss his teachers and friends at preschool.  It is a happy and sad day, but endings always lead to beginnings, right?

We attended the last Camp MUDD Family Night of the year tonight.  Listening to the kids sing the different camp songs and watching them perform the skits is always entertaining.  While Laura was reluctant to spend the night again, she was really looking forward to the final party.  We said good night to her at about 8:15 pm and headed for home.  I am sad that Camp MUDD ends tomorrow for the summer.  Laura has had a great, fun experience and she is already looking forward to next year.  Thanks Camp MUDD for a great six weeks!