“Happy Face on the Mountain, look I found the happy face!” Picture heavy

We spent the night at my parent’s house and then continued our journey to my husband’s parent’s house. They live in Wyoming but are very close to the South Dakota border, right near Mt. Rushmore and all the other touristy things you can do in South Dakota. The girls had learned about Mount Rushmore in school, so we thought it would be a great time to visit the real thing.

On Saturday, we arrived at the grandparent’s house. One of the reasons we timed the trip the way we did was because Chris’ brother was going to be in town. Uncle Jeff lives in a different state and we don’t get the opportunity to visit with him often. The kids really like their Uncle and had a great time wearing him out. They also have an aunt and another uncle who live there in town who are always favorites of the kids.

Sunday was the day we decided to visit Mt Rushmore. The day dawned sunny and clear but it promised to be hot later. We left bright and early and made our way to S. Dakota and all its wonderful things to see.

Mount Rushmore has always been one of my favorite places to visit. Not only is it historic, but a true monument to human ingenuity. There are two ways to get to see the faces. One way has the scenic tunnels that were created to frame Mt. Rushmore at nearly every turn. We went up the other side where you get the cool view of Washington’s profile. The kids were too involved in a movie to see anything. When we parked and got out, the kids finally noticed the faces for the first time. Very excited Lukey announced, “Happy Face on the Mountain, look I found the happy face!” I’m not sure who he thought looked happy I always found George, Thomas, Teddy and Abe to look rather austere, but I guess to little Lukey they looked happy!

We all had a good time running around and seeing the faces at all of the different angles. Rushmore is a very amazing place to visit. At the end of running around and getting all hot and sweaty, we decided some mementoes would be in order. The kids may have had even more fun picking out souvenirs. Olivia was the only one who didn’t want a shirt, she got a bell instead. All got Mt. Rushmore binoculars; this may be one of the best moments on the trip, all of them with their souvenir shop spoils looking through the binoculars.

During the afternoon, it started to rain, and rain and then rain a little more. To have some fun we decided to go to a rock shop in Custer, SD that we (Chris and I) had visited before. One of the great things about South Dakota is all the wonderful geology and by extension, the really great rock shops. They have some really unusual things there like this rose quartz. But one of the coolest things you can do is buy a ‘coconut’. A coconut is an uncut geode. You purchase the uncut rock not knowing if there is something great inside or if it’s not so great. After the purchase, they cut it for you for free. A coconut, in my opinion, is one of the best souvenirs to buy. All in all, it was a really great day and one I think the girls especially will remember for a long time.