We will admit that we were quite a bit disappointed in the Corn Palace. The only part of the structure that is made of corn is the facade. We were ready for an entire structure to be made of corn.
In case you can't read it, this statuette reads: "Ya keep calling me ugly, but you're the one that is using me for decoration!" Classy. Thursday night we arrived at our destination:
Following dinner, there was much revelry with an exchange of white elephant gifts. John should have actually purchased the pig from Wall Drug as it would have made a great gift. On Friday, we drove the Wildlife Loop at Custer National Park before heading to Mount Rushmore.
The Wildlife Loop is probably a windy 25 or 30 mile drive through both the forests and the plains where all the wild life "hang out." Lindsay was so excited to see the buffalo (or is it buffaloes?). Although she wanted (1) to pet them and (2) to bring one home, we decided better after being advised of the following:
There was a herd of them and one was lying down very near the road. For most of the drive we sang "Home on the Range" inspired by the wildlife -
A pleasant surprise was our encounter with the wild antelope followed by the wild mules.
The mules actually turned out to be one of the more entertaining and surprising experiences of the day. As you can see, they all walked toward us. As some passed on my side of the car, Lindsay was trying to get come close-ups.
What she didn't see was these two guys sneak up on her side of the car. The shriek was enough to wake our sleeping baby! And then again, as i began to put the window down to see what would happen, I was quickly reprimanded.
From there, we headed to Mount Rushmore where we had a baby that was very happy to see the sight. We did the short trail, saw the Sculptor's studio and enjoyed lunch and ice cream.
This time Lindsay won the tacky souvenior game with her 3D buffalo pillow.
On Saturday, my dad joined us for a drive through the Black Hills National Forest and did the "Needles Highway" where we saw the following: Road sign:
The Hole in the Wall
A pretty creek (of which there were actually many throughout Custer and which we had seen on our drive to Mount Rushmore - we just happened to photograph this one)
John, according to Lindsay, "risking his life and climbing on rocks." Good thing the life insurance is paid to date.
The Cathedral Spires
A tunnel through the rock (again, there were many throughout the park, we just had my dad along to photograph us for this one).
And the Needle's Eye rock formation.
The drive ended a Sylvan Lake, scene of the climax in the movie "National Treasure." This was a pretty lake with a nice trail around for walking. Reagan loved the Baby Bjorn carrier (as she had the day before at Mount Rushmore) so it was amusing to listen to her nearly constant giggles! Thanks to my Dad's help we were able to take several family photos!
After the adventure, we headed back to "camp" and took a McCarthy family nap - Reagan didn't sleep well at all for any of the nights she was away. That, in turn, means that neither Lindsay nor I slept well either. On Saturday night, the Cameron Clan celebrated my cousin Ruth's engagement to her fiance Adam with a wedding shower. The, early on Sunday morning, we began the long trek back home. With a 6:30 departure, we arrived home almost exactly 11 hours later, at 6:30 PM (thanks to the time change). Just in time to get ready to face Monday! We had a blast - thank you to all the Camerons for making it so much fun! And, if you have any pictures to share, send them on up!
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