South Dakota

The night of our departure we stopped at Kris Sauer's house in Rochester.  She lives right next door to her son, so Drew had some art project time with Astrid and Frances.

Our first night in Spearfish was really hot, and Beth's kids were really excited to see her, so Drew and I went to dinner at a cafe.

On Saturday we found a refreshing and beautiful swimming spot in the Black Hills.  http://www.pactolalake.com/

Pactola Lake

It was so nice we all wanted to go back and camp there, but it was full.   The kids thought we should just camp on the pull out.

Of course, a visit to Mt. Rushmore was necessary.  Drew was so excited to tell his dad that he saw Mt. Rushmore.

We also visited some other small cities.  These are photos from Hill City, SD.

We camped at  Whistler's Gulch campground about 1 1/2 miles south of Deadwood.

Drew stayed up super late that night.  He learned how to start a fire, collect fire wood, and use a headlamp.

This was the old abandoned mine at the campground.

We drove about 4 hours and stayed in  Mitchell, SD. The only state with a corn palace.  We found a hotel with a water park, air conditioning and breakfast.  

Drew practiced jumping from bed to bed with all of his friends on his head.

I've always wanted to stop at Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, MN.  We couldn't find the buffaloes, but we found the tipis that are available for group camping.

It was a fun trip.

We are off to Duluth next!