Gabbie here. The morning brought some relief to the group after some much needed sleep. Today was our tour day. After piling in and out of the bathroom (twice or so) we headed to Ft. Hays by Rapid City. The buildings on location were all moved from the set of Dances with Wolves, compete with rope-making, tin pan making, and coin pressing shops. We ate all you can eat pancakes and listened to a wonderful piano player. Then, our tour bus arrived, and the group boarded with twenty others from the Midwest, South, and Canada.
Our tour guide, Matt, had a long gray pony tale, vest, hat and boots. His calm voice told jokes and information masterfully as we traversed our nine hour trip across the hills. We started off the morning at Mount Rushmore under cooler windy weather and cloud coverage. There were small crowds and ample picture taking opportunities. We walked up and down 426 steps on the Presidential Trail that took us up to see up the Presidents' noses. We learned that there is a room that holds documents behind the heads that isn't open to the public. We hit the exhibit space, and most of Josh's questions we answered. We headed back to the bus and off on a scenic route through the hills towards Custer State Park. The trail was engineered to keep cars at a low speed so they would enjoy the drive, and every other turn you could see Rushmore framed perfectly, especially after the narrow tunnels we went through. The first tunnel we went through gave us six inches clearance on both sides. And that wasn't the narrowest....
We ate lunch at the park lodge. The lodge is famous for hosting presidents over the years...Calvin Coolidge actually spent three months working out of the Black Hills. We ate a delicious brunch, including buffalo stew and pork ribs, then headed to some beautiful features.
We climbed several boulders to see the narrow, vertical rock structures called the Cathedral Spires. We then went to the Needles to see similar formations. Grace fed a chipmunk out of her hand. Then, we went through the Eye of the Needle....the narrowest tunnel you could gains. We had three inches of clearance on each side of the bus....yes. Three inches. A crowd or tourists gathered to see if we could make it through. Our tour guide, being the joker he is, paused on the stressful journey through and put the hazard lights on. After the tourists took several pictures, we rolled out to safety to applause.
Lastly, we headed towards Crazy Horse, the (unfinished) monument honoring the Native American people. We then headed towards our Chuck Wagon supper. The supper was located in a barn with a large stage. The supper was also good...it included traditional western food and then was concluded by a diverse music show with a six piece band. Numbers ranged from Elvis to a capella gospel to modern country.
Needless to say, we were a bit tired when we got back to the cabin. We had ice cream to sooth our hot bodies and played Apples to Apples and Pit.
By this point, you may be wondering how we're all getting along. I will say we had some low points today. We had a come to Jesus and ice cream, and now things seem to be better. In my opinion, it's not that we're mean-spirited or want to hurt people's feelings...we really do have opposing personalities. Learning to deal with that has been a challenge, but I think we're learning life lessons. For example, I like some alone time at the end of the day. Josh likes to pace. Right up to you and away. Instead of telling Josh to stop pacing, I simply said I was changing behind a curtain and sat on the floor in with the lights down. Maddie had a little too many beans, and the bathroom was a nuclear waste site for a while. Instead of being mad at her for stinking up the cabin, we tried to laugh it off and Febreeze the heck out of it. Grace likes to jump on people, and Maddie has effectively dealt with this by stepping out of the way at the last minute. These are petty examples, but after nonstop contact, strategies to deal with these differences are necessary. Thankfully we're quick learners. Anne is also a saint.
Gordy is still livin strong.
Pancake breakfast!
Common rock formations...this is Sylvan Lake.
Grace had a couple naps on the bus...
Additional pictures will follow. Ask your kid about schitz.
No comments:
Post a Comment