Vacation after the Mission Trip

After we left the Reservation we had planned on staying a couple extra days to see the beautiful sites of South Dakota. Our initial thought was that we were this far we might as well see some stuff...especially Mt. Rushmore since we were only a couple hours away. But after having the experience of the mission trip I was so thankful to have some time as a family before we returned to the "real world". It was nice to be together and "debrief". Honestly, we were so busy doing different things during the week that I don't remember a time when we were all in the same room together except for our nightly team meetings. We all took away a different experience and so it was nice to be able to discuss them as a family. It felt very weird acclimating back to civilization. One night we went out for pizza and Olivia said "The Lakota kids never get to order pizza". It was hard struggling through the "feeling guilty" phase of life off the Reservation. I was so thankful to have these days together and we actually had a blast! Here are a few highlights: Our first stop was through Bear Land. I thought it might be some cheesy, touristy deal but actually it was really cool. You drive through the park and are surrounded by some pretty amazing animals....bear, reindeers, mountain goats, mountain lions (behind a tall fence thankfully!) and buffalo. We thought at one point a bear was going to get ON our car...the screaming probably deterred the poor bear. We even saw one bear stand up to scratch his back. Afterwards, you get to walk around an area where there are a ton of cubs. They were adorable. We watched them play for quite some time. They were pretty rambunctious! We went to Mt. Rushmore the first night we were in Rapid City. It was a very moving event. They play patriotic music and slowly the monument is visible as the lights come on. They called all of the servicemen and women on stage where they gave their name and what branch they were representing. One little girl on stage had a picture of her father who was currently serving. The crowd erupted in applause...it was awesome! We then saw Mt. Rushmore the next day from a hiking trail we were on. I was scared to death that one of the girls was going to fall off the cliff...especially Olivia. She has a hard enough time walking on even pavement! But we made it!

We then went to Custer State Park where the buffalo roam freely and are often in the road...they definitely have the right of way! We even fed some hungry donkeys who came right up to our car window. Jordan found some pretzels but she basically just threw the pretzels at the donkeys where I gently placed them in their nasty mouths. They loved them! We now call pretzels "donkey sticks" in our house. :) We drove through some very narrow tunnels and saw some beautiful sites. Quite amazing!

We were lucky enough to spend more time with the band that played at the reservation, A Rotterdam November. Since they were heading to Rapid City like we were, Aaron told them that we would love to take them to dinner. And low and behold who was outside of our hotel when we arrived? The band! The girls were thrilled since they felt like they had found 4 older brothers! We had a great evening and even went in their tour van to Mt. Rushmore at night. We had so much fun with them! The next day we even caught their concert (along with Casting Crowns...one of my favorites!) at a Christian music festival. After a tearful goodbye we parted ways. They promised to come and play in St. Louis very soon.

We stopped at the World Famous Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD. You almost have to stop because you see about 5,000 signs advertising it on the way. I felt like I was in the movie Vacation...I could totally picture Chevy Chase there trying to tell his kids how cool it was. Much like we were trying to convince Rachel and Madi. :) It is basically a drug store, souvenir shop, donut and coffee bar, jewelry store and part amusement park all rolled into one. Very entertaining. We were happy to escape the store only spending $100 on useless crap!

Our last stop before heading home was to the Badlands. It was spectacular! We couldn't take enough pictures. Rachel had us pull the car over every few seconds to take another picture. Needless to say the 40 mile drive took WAY longer than we anticipated but we had a blast. I was a little concerned when we saw the "Beware of Rattlesnakes" sign. We quickly got back into the car!

We made it to Kansas City about midnight where Grandma and Grandpa graciously had our beds all ready for us. We slept like babies in a real bed! And then made it home to St. Louis the next day. This is what we came home to after our 10 day adventure...a clean house, a very spoiled dog and even a cookie cake! Thank you Grammy and Papa who had their own mission trip right here in St. Louis! :)

And so we ended our 2000 mile journey by logging more than 40 hours in the car! I must say it couldn't have been any better....we served people, met wonderful new friends and even had a family vacation at the end of the journey. This summer will hold a very special place in my heart!