Western Vacation Recap:: Day Eight

Day Eight = BUSY!  We woke up in our Rapid City hotel and hit the ground running.  We decided to take another trip over to Mt. Rushmore.  Since it was rainy and near dark the night before, we wanted to see it in the full morning sunlight.  And it didn't disappoint!  We got a few good photos and then we walked the trail around the park.  The trail took us up to some scenic outlooks which were great for photos (I just had my phone, while Mike brought his nice camera).  We learned a bit about each president and stopped off at the sculptor's studio.  It was a very interesting and beautiful walk that we all enjoyed.

Entering the National Memorial

Stopping to rest

We explored a small cave

One more shot....

After our second Mt. Rushmore trip, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Dinosaur Park for a picnic lunch.  Dinosaur Park was built in 1936 as a WPA project at the top of a mountain overlooking Rapid City.  It was fun to play on and around the dinosaurs, and the view of the city was pretty stunning.

 Dinosaur overlooking city

Brontosaurus and T-rex

After lunch, we met up with our friends, The Wimmers!  They drove in from Casper, Wyoming so we could vacation together for a few days.  Maria is my good friend from Little Things are Big, and we met for the first time (after three years of blogging friendship) back in May when I flew to Casper to meet her.  She and her husband, Eric, and their beautiful daughter Cordelia took us to Storybook Island.  A fun, whimsical, FREE park in Rapid City where our kids ran wild playing in Snow White's castle, Peter Pan's pirate ship, and The Cat in the Hat's house.  So fun!

Leah in Captain Hook's ship

Hannah sitting still for her silhouette.  We had both girls' silhouette's done by a great artist who was cutting them out freehand!  We were impressed and they turned out very cute.

Maria and Me taking a magic carpet ride

Hannah as Snow White and Leah as Cinderella.  I tried to get Mike to be Prince Charming, but he declined.

The girls on a train ride through Storybook Island

Maria and I on a lovely giraffe

Mike and Me

photo by E.K. Wimmer

Riding off into the sunset on a unicorn

photo by E.K. Wimmer

Our fun-filled day ended with everyone eating dinner together at Chili's and then a walk through downtown Keystone, a full on tourist trap of souvenir shops and old-time photo booths and saloons.  It was great.  We all chatted and shopped and enjoyed the warm night air. 

Mike and Lucas and "Snake" in Keystone

photo by E.K. Wimmer

Our first full day in So Dak was a success!