We love the Black Hills

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July 25th, 2007

We have decided that we love the Black Hills, and if we knew it was here, we would have been here sooner. The rolling hills, the pine trees, the quaint towns make this a really cool place to visit. We are staying here until the 27th, then onto Cody Wyoming and then Yellowstone.

We are staying at the Rafter J Bar resort. This has got to be one of the best campsites we have ever stayed at. Our friends Scott and Laura recommended this place and they were right! It is just beautiful, and the kids are enjoying roaming around, climbing and swimming.

We went on a bike ride on the 100 mile trail right near our campsite. We biked into Hill City where Joe got his obligatory head shave for traveling. The bike trail is gravel, but Ethan again was a total trooper about biking.

We had a huge storm in the afternoon, so were stuck playing pictionary. Our kids are pretty good at this game, Elise especially. I think if you counted points, they would have beat us. More swimming after the storm, then onto the tourist attractions.

We went to the Mount Rushmore night presentation. We had heard that there were fireworks, and then we heard that there was a light show. In reality, they just lit up the faces. They showed a movie and the narrator sang accapella (which was interesting). The most moving moment was when they asked everyone who either served in a war or lost a family member in a war to come to the stage. The entire audience clapped for them and sang to them. We realized that Ethan is at the perfect age for this, and he is soaking up all the information. We will need to eventually come back when the other two are older.

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Comments

[Aunt Cindy]

Love the Pictures!
Hi Everyone! Sounds like and looks like you are having a wonderful adventure! Keep the pictures coming! Love, Aunt Cindy

[deleted_44479]

Fireworks & Internet
Glad you fell in love with the Black Hills! I am, too, and now I live here... The fireworks at Rushmore only happen on July 3rd for the Independence Day holiday. It's an amazing show - probably one of the better displays in the country - and it's definitely worth coming back for. Just be sure to get there early. I think there were around 50,000 people that showed up this year. As for lack of Internet, I know exactly what you mean. More and more hotels, lodges and campgrounds are getting it installed, but it isn't always the best, and some still don't have connections at all. It's a bit of a blessing, though, not to be connected to home, the office and all that for a few days. A lot of people who travel here prefer it that way. In fact, I know of several cabins up here that don't have phones, let alone cell phone service.

[lisa]

black hills
Aren't they great - it is a place we overlook to visit but I need to take my kids there too! (maybe not in July)