Will This Road Trip Never End?

(This is part ? of the Black Hills vacation series. If you would like to start at the beginning, click here.)

Hey - there's mini golf at this hotel! We slept well last night, after the kids indulged in some cable TV in their room, and John and I watched our own TV in our room. Suites rock.

Driving the remaining 350 miles home wasn’t a slam dunk. I was starting to think it might take a miracle for us all to make it home. Ever. It’s just that it’s not easy to spend 8 hours in the car with 4 little boys. They have too much energy and dirt (and entropy!) for one car. That’s my theory anyway. My husband doesn’t like them to be plugged in the whole time, so they get bored and mischievous and they torment each other.  Aren’t there some road trip games that they should like to play, like spotting license plates, and 'I Spy'?

By this time, I had given up on the car cleanliness issue. If there were hamburgers under the seats, or flying through the air, I didn’t care anymore. My hips were in pain from sitting in the car too long and bouncing my legs to keep myself awake, and my thumbs were in pain from using them to steer. Yeah, I feel way more years than I have under my belt, unfortunately.

The one saving grace about driving through South Dakota is the raised speed limit. Until we hit road construction and the speed limit was reduced to 55. I had an silent hissy fit, which is actually possible believe it or not. I spent a good while figuring out how much longer it was taking us to go 10 miles at 55mph vs. 75mph, and cursing in my head. It’s about 3 extra minutes by the way, which really was an eternity at the time.

We did make it home…everyone intact…but I can’t speak for the car. I hate to cut this post short -- but I'm so effing sick of this trip I'm carsick.

Fumbling Our Way Home

(This is part ? of the Black Hills vacation series. If you would like to start at the beginning, click here.)

It’s finally time to drive home! Never mind that the drive is a two part saga (will this trip never end?). We’re checked out of the horse-shit-minefield resort and on our way. We must have been in a big hurry to hightail it out of the cabins, because a few miles down the highway a driver pulled up alongside us pointing toward the roof of our car. Our car-top carrier. Which was wide open. And emptying itself in a hurry. We pulled over immediately and did inventory. It was mostly bedding up top, which miraculously stayed put, but 2 of the kid's bicycle helmets were missing. (And of course the monkeys were all clamoring to know exactly whose helmets had been left rolling down the highway, hoping it wasn't their own.) We did a U-turn to grab one we could see in the road, and then drove back to find the second. Along comes a guy in a van with the helmet in his hand. He said it tumbled into his yard, so he picked it up and hopped in his car with it. Now that's an amazing Good Samaritan. Would I have done that? I would have put the helmet up on the side of the road where the search party could see it, sure. But I never would have expected to find and catch up to the people who lost it. It kind of restores your faith in humanity when people do little things like that. At least a little. 

So we packed up, locked down, and set out on the road again. First stop:  SD Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base. I loved this place. There are many decommissioned aircraft on display, including a B52 and a F101 Voodoo. Working in the defense industry for 10 years imparted a sincere respect for the military, and I admire the innovation that created these machines back in the day. We picnicked in the shade of a B29 bomber, and then we really lucked out and saw a B1 flyover. Awesome. They have a little gift shop too, but you don’t have to walk through it to see the aircraft display! South Dakota really knows how to put our tax dollars to good use.

Next, we’re taking the road through Badlands National Park. Should I mention that it was scorching hot here? We hiked on a couple trails, but we were disappointed that the path grew too steep the little guys to climb. And going off the path was out of the question because of rattlesnakes. Yeah, our 3 year old thought wandering off the path seemed like a great idea, until he walked into a “Beware of Rattlesnakes” sign. Yikes. Not that he could read the sign, he’s no prodigy. He’s not really adept at climbing either, he fell on the same knee twice and I had to carry him with bloody knee back down the path anyway.

So now we’re heading to Mitchell to stay in the Ramada hotel for the night. It’s about 200 miles to Mitchell. It’s going to take a little luck to get there without any meltdowns. And as luck would have it, there was a great little Italian restaurant right across the street, with excellent lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti, and eggplant parmesan.

Now, we were all stuffed and wiped out. Sleep came much more easily in the suite. Aaaaaah.

To continue reading the Black Hills Vacation Saga, click here...

Crocodiles and Snakes, Oh My!

(This is part 6 of the Black Hills vacation series. If you would like to start at the beginning, click here.)

Despite the great dinner out last night, by now I was getting a little annoyed with our accommodations. It wasn't just the horse demanding our apples, it was all the mountains of horse shit around the property, and the flies, and the smell. And the bathroom situation was really not much better than camping. I mean I do greatly appreciate the luxury of hot water (which we did have), but a pedestal sink in a closet size bathroom, for a family of 6? Frustration. And can anyone really overlook towels that smell like mildew? Gross. I was using our beach towels as bath towels, which worked out fine since it wasn't warm enough to need them for swimming anyway. The pool actually looked pretty nice. Figures.

Did I mention that I was using (kind of) sunscreen as hair conditioner because I'd forgotten to pack real conditioner? If that sounds crazy (considering that I could have bought conditioner at the market in town), you must be forgetting my story about packing. Recall my bragging to my husband that I don't forget things, because I'm such an expert packer? So could I really cave in and buy cheap conditioner at the market? Hell no, I didn't need it. Just tie that static nest into a ponytail and move on. And if you think I'm exaggerating with the nest bit, just try going 4 days with hard water and no conditioner.

Today on the agenda? Reptile Gardens and the SD School of Mines and Technology. Both of these destinations are in Rapid City, which is only about a half hour from Hill City. Reptile Gardens was much more pleasant than I imagined, mostly due to the fabulous landscaping. The snake show, alligator show and bird show were really great, and the $50+ admission was well worth it. We got a big kick out of this place!

We visited the SD School of Mines mainly because my maternal grandfather went to college there, and I was curious. We enjoyed the Museum of Geology, and found a few cute souvenirs for the kids. (The biggest kid is 10 now, and too cool for stuffed animals. Boo hiss.)

I admit I was running out of steam by now. Day 5 of vacation with 5 males. Need I say more?

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Sylvan Love Affair

(This is part 5 of the Black Hills vacation series. If you would like to start at the beginning, click here.)

Lesson to live by when cohabitating with a horse? Don’t feed the horse. Especially not apples. I felt sympathetic to this wandering white horse named Aces, especially because he was camped out near our car or cabin nearly all the time. He was chained, meaning he had a long chain attached to his bridle, with a stake at the end that had probably been pulled out of the ground many times. The chain slowed him down, but didn’t exactly restrain him. He seemed fairly calm, but after we fed him apples, he became downright aggressive. My fault—he clearly just wanted more apples. But when he reared up and whinnied, and then gave me a push with his head, I wasn’t  amused. Neither were the kids. No more apples for Aces.

On the travel agenda for today is Sylvan Lake, which was undoubtedly the most beautiful destination of our trip. There is a path around the lake, unending picturesque scenery, and fantastic climbing. We found a little waterfall on our climbing expedition, hiked to the top of boulders, and succeeded in restraining the kids from death defying heights.

When we left Sylvan, we drove into Custer State Park, following Needles Highway. The “highway” is actually a slow winding road up the mountain with many switchbacks. I suppose the scenery was great, but I was too absorbed fighting my carsickness to enjoy it. After about a half-hour, we pulled the car over for some air, and then decided to turn back. You've seen one granite spire, you've seen them all, right?

After abandoning our Needles Highway drive, we were in the mood for dinner out. We’d read good reviews of the Alpine Inn, so we headed into Hill City at about 5:30. Little did we know that the Alpine Inn is renowned for their filet mignon (which happens to be the one and only item on the menu), and seating for dinner is at exactly 5 o’clock. We learned there was a line for dinner at 5pm, and when we attempted to get a table at 5:30, it was a 45 minute wait. What a let-down. Luckily there was a restaurant up the road (I believe it was the Slate Creek Grill) that had great family atmosphere, a round table for our troops, and great service and good food. And beer. Score.

To continue reading part 6, click here.

I Pity the Fool's Gold

(This is part 4 of the Black Hills vacation series. If you'd like to start at the beginning, click here.)

Ahhh, finally a decent night’s sleep. Sure, I sleep better on an air mattress, in a tumble-down shack with crooked floors, than I did in the 3 star Clubhouse Suite. Let’s not read too much into this. We sat down in the cubicle size eating area to enjoy our travel breakfast - pop tarts! We’re all pretty excited about those rare coveted pop tarts, but having a horse outside our window was what really made the meal pop.

We decided to take a stroll down to the creek with some gold panning supplies. A kid needs a dream, right? 

After only a few minutes, look what #2 found!! That’s a pretty sweet little gold nugget. His score really revved up the rest of us to search too. But all the luck landed on #2, he found 3 gold nuggets while the rest of us came out with only a pair of soaked shoes and gold rush envy.

If you’ve ever panned for gold, you know this type of find is impossible. Tourists never find gold! If you are lucky, you’ll find a speck of fool’s gold. We found out later from the owner, a mom had brought fake gold nuggets and tossed them in the creek a while back, for her kids to find. Don’t tell though…it’s our secret, and that great idea is there for the taking.

Now we’re ready to see Mount Rushmore. While you can see the monument from the highway, the view isn’t close and is obscured by the entrance fee station. Our government spent about a million dollars over 14 years, through the great depression no less, constructing the monument. They need to recoup some of that expense, right? It is impressive, and the trails leading up for a closer look are comparable to taking a stair stepping class. The kids were wiped out at the top. #4 collapsed on the ground and wouldn't go any further. The kicker is that I had carried him the whole way!

After stair stepping to a close-up of “The Big Heads” (my husband's term - not mine), we drove into Keystone to tour a gold mine. Our tour guide was very entertaining and informative, and great at keeping the kids engaged and calm. This tour further reinforced the fact that searching for gold is a boondoggle; the two Germans who owned the mine spent over 30 years mining and never found more than about 2 ounces of gold. Wow. Talk about an antiquated attention span. How long do you think our generation would hold out hand-drilling in a mine by candlelight? About a day? Maybe two days? Amazing. They have panning at the Big Thunder Gold Mine as well, but we’d used up our luck for the day so we skipped it.

After a little resting up at the cabin, we hopped on our bikes and took the Mickelson Trail into downtown Hill City. There’s a great market and liquor store, and on the way we went right past the train station where a fully operational steam locomotive still boards for travel back and forth between Keystone and Hill City. We were thinking that our 3 year old train-loving kid would like to ride on the real steam engine, but we had to think again. It must have been the noise of the engine that scared him, because he wouldn't hear of boarding that train. I'm sure the 2 hour round trip to Keystone would have been really amazing -- but not with a terrified kid on board. Maybe next time.

Hill City also has several restaurants to choose from, but we weren't in the mood for eating out tonight. We planned to head back to the cabin and fire up the Weber grill. On our way back, we spied a few great restaurants to check out tomorrow night. 

Look out Hill City - the circus is coming to town tomorrow night - and we'll be hungry.

Continue reading part 5.

First Day of Freedom - 2012

I danced a little jig and turned up the tunes this morning, when three of my monkeys got on the school bus and it magically carried them away. Priceless. 

You know that feeling in your gut when you kindergartner goes to school for the first time? Proud, sentimental, anxious, a little sad, and possibly elated? I didn’t feel any of that. He was on the bus and gone before I knew what happened. My neighbor had to inform me that he jumped up and down with joy when the bus pulled up, and she also pointed out that my #2 boy had kindly sat next to my new kindergartner. So, you’re probably wondering if I was already drinking celebration cocktails when the bus arrived, because how could a mom miss all those precious details on her kindergartner’s first day? Well, it starts with having 4 monkey-boys, then throw in a bus that’s 45 minutes late, and a #4 monkey who runs off to who-knows-where at the wrong moment. Then add the sign on the bus window, wrongly stating the bus is going to a different school. Throw that in the mix with not recognizing the bus driver or any of the kids on the bus, and you get why I was in deep worry about the bus situation and missing what was important. Sigh.

Can I get back that first-day experience? Sure, we’ll just have a re-do tomorrow. I’m getting adept at the re-do, because I’m pretty lousy at getting anything right the first time around. Maybe that should be my slogan. “We can re-do it!” I sure am thankful to my husband for taking pictures. 

Anyway, get on with the day! I’ve got so much on my list that I’ve been waiting to get done until school starts! Starting with washing all the smeared and finger printed windows and sticky doors, right on through cleaning all the baby stuff out of storage; my excitement is palpable. I’ve got a list long enough to keep me busy for weeks. It’s doubtful I’ll miss those monkeys at all.

What’s on the agenda today? The baby stuff – out of my house – and pronto. I’m yanking it out of storage and cramming it into my brother’s car this weekend. Anything that doesn’t go is getting donated. After that I’m going to wash the windows, because I’m really damn tired of looking through snot-smeared glass. (I'm not kidding. My kids wipe their noses on anything but tissues.)  

Whoa, wait a minute. I still have a kid around here somewhere. #4 monkey is home. Oh, and that kindergartner is half-day, so he’s only gone for a whopping 3.5 hours. Looks like I’m striking items #2-infinity from my list and hoping I get 1 single thing done today. Rats! Looks like my list will keep me busy until next summer after all. 

Can I get that re-do now?

Movin' On: The Falls and The Wall Drug

(This is part 3 of the Black Hills vacation series. If you'd like to start at the beginning, click here.)

So much for that "good night's sleep" idea. With all the bedbug drama last night, I didn't get much sleep. When you think about little bugs crawling in your bed, do you not get itchy all over your body? It doesn't matter at all if the little vermin are actually present. I was itchy and wide awake. But hey, lack of sleep is par for the course when sleeping in a hotel room with 5 boys, right? After a delicious breakfast and plenty of coffee, we’re splitting this joint and heading for The Falls Park. Pack it all up!

The Falls Park was a really fun place to climb for all the kids. Nothing is roped off, so keep an eye and a hand on the little guys. My 8 year old decided to cross the top of the falls; when I noticed him precariously perched at the top I nearly fainted. Common sense isn’t his strong suit, but he sure is a good climber!

After a morning at The Falls Park, here we are stacked back in the van like sardines, sailing down the highway, crossing the great state of South Dakota. Booooorrrrring. The most exciting vision you will encounter is windmills generating power. You’ll have miles and miles of straight highway to ponder how those futuristic behemoths work, and why they don’t look anything like a traditional windmill. Yawn. Oh, and then you might just lose cell coverage all together. Apparently our cell service provider, Virgin Mobile, doesn’t give a hoot about the great state of South Dakota. The Heart of America! 

After that long and dusty road, Wall Drug is a welcome sight. What a tourist mecca! We walked around for hours, found and discarded several possible souvenirs, and lost a couple kids more than once. Feeling anxious to get to our cabin in Hill City, we split the Wall Drug without any souvenirs, but with a plan that we’d come back on the way home. Took a turn through Rapid City, and made it to the cabin by dark.  

The cabin resort we stayed in was more odd and outlandish than a National Lampoon's vacation morphed with the Sturgis Bike Rally. Come to think of it, that's exactly what it was! The cabin was tiny - about 800 sq ft, and the whole floor tilted to one side. Luckily the creek was a good 100 yards away, or I'd  have feared the whole shebang would slide right down the hill. And there was a lovely white horse wandering freely on the grounds. The owner looked like a typical Harley rider with the long gray ponytail and his chopper parked next to the collection of rusty saw blades. Talk about character! 

I couldn't wait to see how we'd all sleep in this shack. The only saving grace was the two bedrooms, and the blow-up air mattress I brought along (just in case) the sleeper sofa wasn't usable. (It wasn't.) Here's a tip about air mattresses:  buy a $20 foam topper and it makes the mattress wildly more comfortable. Just let the foam air out for a few days before your trip, because they smell nasty out of the box.

If you are looking for a cheap, bare-bones cabin, clean but no frills, a step up from camping, at a great location in Hill City, check out this resort. But if you keep reading this series, you might yet change your mind.

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