We did so many amazing things on our trip to the Black Hills.

Day 1 (or should I say night)-We left our house about 7:30 hoping to make it to Sioux Falls or even Mitchell. We arrive in Mitchell, SD about 12:30. Can't wait for the drive tomorrow.

Day 2-We spent most of the day driving from Mitchell to Keystone with many stops in between. Our first stop was at the famous Corn Palace. From the Corn Palace we traveled to the Badlands. We tried to enjoy the Badlands the best we could, but with a temperature of at least 105, the girls were miserable. The Badlands are breathtaking, pictures don't do it justice. Our travels took us to Wall Drug for lunch. What an interesting place. You have to love the free water. Once we reached Keystone, we headed to Cosmos. This was the strangest place we have ever been. We couldn't stand up straight or walk straight. Water even ran upstream. What a crazy feeling-the girls loved it.

Day 3-We were off to Mount Rushmore. We are so proud to be an American. The sculptures are so impressive. The girls felt so lucky to meet someone who worked on sculpting Mount Rushmore and to become a jr. park ranger. In the afternoon, we looked at the numerous animals at Bear Country, goat, deer, raccoon, wolves, and of course bears.

Day 4-We traveled 723 steps underground today. Our first trip into a cave was amazing. We saw stalagmites, stalactites, bacon, dog tooth spar, soda straws, and calcite crystals. The girls worked hard to become a jr. park rangers again. Our afternoon was spent driving through Custer State Park. We saw deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs and 100's of buffalo. We can't wait to go back tomorrow to see what else Custer State Park has to offer.

Day 5-Our day started with quick trip to Crazy Horse. We got to bring home a rock that was blown off of the side of the mountain. Question of the day-When will Crazy Horse be done? We headed back to our favorite spot on our trip, Custer State Park. We walked around the beautiful Lake Sylvan, hiked in Needles Highway, watched more animals, and looked at miles and miles of beautiful country (despite the occasional shower or 2).

Day 6-We headed back to Mount Rushmore to say goodbye to Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln to end our trip in the Black Hills. We were off to Sioux Falls. What a long drive.

Day 7-We made the most out of our stop in Sioux Falls, when we went to Falls Park and The Great Plains Zoo. We had an interesting encounter with a rhino who tried to pee on us (it shot 10 feet to where we were standing and missed us by inches).