Traveling to see Family

Sunday, July 17th

The first day of our trip was Sunday, due to a fiasco with getting our rental car the day before.  It meant a long drive 10.5 hours.  We stopped in Iowa for church we attended the Normal Ward.  They had a Linger Longer which provided a wonderful lunch.  We also stopped at the Jolly Green Giant statue.  It rained for most of the day, making for some beautiful skies.

 Monday, July 18th

Monday was a day of 1 hour drives separated by activity.  The first stop was Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota.  It is an active Native American pipestone quarry.  The Pipestone is an easily carved stone that they use for peace pipes and prayers.  There were artists at the visitor center that we could watch work and ask questions. We went on a couple of short hikes, but it was hot! It was a fun stop. 

The second stop was Sioux Falls.  We stopped to see the falls and have a picnic lunch.  Again it was super hot, so our walking and viewing of the falls was limited.  Still we had fun.

The third stop was the Corn Palace.  This interesting spot in the middle of South Dakota celebrates corn.  Each year a new theme is picked and new murals made from different colors of corn.  The corn is all grown in the surrounding areas. I have to say I have never seen corn as a medium for art, but it was fun.

The final stop was our hotel.  The kids were excited to get there early enough to use the hotel pool.  It was very humid in the room, but we had an enjoyable time splashing around.

Tuesday, July 19th

Tuesday, we visited Badlands National Park.  We did a couple of hikes, the Notch Trail and the Fossil Exhibit Trail.  The Notch Trail had a ladder that brought us up the rocks and then hiked along them to a beautiful view of the valley.  The Fossil Exhibit Trail allowed us to walk around the rocks while learning about all the fossils and bones found in the different layers of rock.  We also stopped at numerous overlooks.  We saw some birds nests and lots of Prairie Dogs.

What a fun gang to hang out with.

4th of July

 The start of our 4th was returning to the United States of America.  We then stopped at a Master Gardener Display outside of the county offices in Allen County.  It was beautiful!  We then arrived home and rested.  Kyle got some small fireworks for us that evening that the kids really enjoyed.  We were also able to see some bigger ones as we were celebrating.  I love living in this Promised Land.

Wendy discovered a mole trapped in an unused water feature.  There was one already dead and one running in circles trying to climb the plastic walls, but unable to.  Sabrina and I found a way to save it.