Gammie’s Visit Highlights

 

We took Gammie to all of our favorite places during her visit to Rapid City. This was so fun to do as we wind down our time here. You can click through some of the longer posts that will be linked if you missed any of them. 

 

Our first stop was Storybook Island because they close after Labor Day weekend. It was so sad to say goodbye to one of our favorite places of the summer. Rapid City is a place I want to come to visit regularly once this amazing tour is over. We rode the train twice and the carousel once as it was our last visit! And we collected a couple of crushed pennies to add to the growing collection. Gammie later took M to ride the Buffalo Hunt roller coaster. He was hooked and wants to go back right away. It is a quick little ride that goes side to side and you get to shoot pretend buffalo with a laser.

 

 

On day 2, we made a day out of going to Custer State Park. We started with a drive down Needles Highway, and did some hiking at the needles. It was a fun hike and doable for M. We carried X, but it is so cool to climb up into the rocks and just explore. The pictures here are from our hike up into the rocks.

We headed to Sylvan Lake after the hikes. We've been to a few lakes here, and this is hands down my favorite. The water is shallow, the beach is sandy and softer on your feet. It is a short walk to the shore, and there are bathrooms nearby. What else could a girl ask for...oh and there are amazing views. I decided we needed the wagon and our inner tubes (inflated because I didn't want to go through that again) and we had an extra person in the car, so I sat in the back with the wagon and tried not to get smushed. X and M played with the inner tube throughout the ride. There might've been some sibling screaming about it not touching their legs or being pushed into their legs for part of the ride. They sorted it out eventually. The inner tubes were so fun at the beach and all of us went for a paddle/float throughout the lake to get some better views. We even climbed out onto some of the rocks which we've done before, but the tubes made it much easier for M to reach the rocks. This may have been our last swim trip to the lake of the season, and I am not ok with that. Maybe we'll get another heat wave before we leave.

Day 3 took us to Mt. Rushmore and a quick drive by Crazy Horse Memorial. Gammie said she wants to see Crazy Horse when it is a little more finished, so we didn't go into the museum this time. The boys were a little sad to not get to ride the buses up to the monument, but maybe next time!

 

 

We had planned to ride the Alpine Slide and Tubing Hill with Gammie this day, but they closed during the week for the season!!! I wish I had looked this up sooner because we would have taken her there the day before. We were all really bummed about this, but decided lunch and ice cream in Hill City would make up for it. We went to the famous Alpine Inn for lunch. This place is so neat. They serve German food which we all love and only accept cash payments. They have a big menu at lunch, but for dinner they only have two entrees. They're pretty hoppin' for dinner, so you have to get your name on the list early. Especially during tourist season. This isn't the best picture, but their umbrellas are just too cute. M was so surprised that you could stay at the inn above the restaurant and I joked with him that he has eaten at a restaurant at a hotel, but he is surprised you can stay at a hotel at a restaurant...After lunch we went to Cream for the best ice cream in the area. We did a sampler flight of 4 mini scoops and it was perfect. I just love X's chubby little hand in the picture.

        

Day 4 was a trip to Reptile Gardens for the boys and Gammie. I knew she would love all of the plant life here. The boys got to ride their favorite penny (quarter) rides and pet the snakes. Of course they also made a stop at the prairie dog haven because the prairie dogs are just the cutest! EZ and I were able to go on a longer more difficult hike without the boys. What an incredible blessing that was for us to have a few hours alone.

Day 5 was some exploring at Canyon Lake and around Rapid Creek. We started at the playground then walked to one of the creeks to catch some crawfish (crawdads?) and minnows! We caught a couple babies and one big guy. We even tried to catch a trout that was hiding under the bridge. No luck there.

Later that day we went to the Dinosaur Park to catch the amazing views and see the dinos. Someone gave the triceratops a makeover with lipstick and nail polish.

Day 6 we drove to Spearfish Canyon to see the waterfalls. We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and Roughlock Falls. It was cold and rainy, but it made the colors so bright! The moss on the waterfall was so beautiful. We even saw an entire family of deer including a buck and a few babies. We headed to Deadwood for the first time after, so I'll post that separately! This was Gammie's last day in Rapid City, and I know the boys will be so sad when she leaves, but we will see her in Des Moines soon! We were so thankful to have date day and nights while she was here. You can read about our hike here.