Being a family of five together again has been wonderful! The transition to having Ryan home feels seamless, almost as if he'd never left. But he did. And he's back now. And we are grateful!
We're also grateful for the R&R time Ryan was granted. After completing the required in-processing steps, he was given two weeks before he had to report back to work. We laid low for the first week, and then took a little trip during the second week. A new family adventure! And it truly was the perfect get-away for us.
Rapid City is about 6.5 hours away. After all of our summer travels, the drive down felt relatively easy! The kids were PROS in the car. We stopped at a local church-turned-cafe for lunch on the drive down. The weather was wonderful and the food was good for the second half of the trip.
We dumped our bags in the hotel room, watched some of the Seahawks game while eating a light picnic dinner, and then headed out for an evening hike in the beautiful Black Hills. The kids were ready to run! On your mark . . . get set . . .
. . . GO!
We hiked around part of the Stratobowl. It was a beautiful evening, a wonderful introduction to our stay in Rapid City, and a satisfying way to end our first day.
The next day was spent almost entirely in the Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park.
We started out after breakfast to see Mt. Rushmore!
Being there early, on a weekday, made us one of the few visitors to see the monument.
While at the visitors center, Gretchen worked on her Junior Ranger badge.
The aspen trees were still holding on to some of their vivid color as we went on the short "presidential walk".
After Mt. Rushmore, we drove on into Custer State Park and stopped for a picnic lunch at Sylvan Lake. The kids barely sat long enough to fill up before climbing all over the rocks.
We took the easy hiking trail that went around the lake.
A little ways further in the car along the Needles Highway, and we reached the Needles Eye rock formation. It was another fun place to climb and hike around.
The "cathedral spires" rock formations seen from a distance:
Day three started at the Ellsworth AFB Air & Space Museum.
We stopped for a morning treat at Jerry's Cakes and Donuts. You know the donut is going to be good when they have swivel seats at the counter, and the tables are filled with octogenarians drinking coffee and playing cards. =)
We took our treats to Main Street Square before walking through the streets of Rapid City's small and quaint downtown area.
The city has bronze statues of the presidents on the street corners.
Hi five, Jimmy Carter!
This alley seemed to be the designated spot for tagging, and lent itself to some posing. . .
Rapid City has some beautiful parks
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Watiki Water Park! It was a blast!
That blur is Ryan and Gretchen being shot out of the water slide tunnel!
We spent our last morning exploring some of the higher points in the city and doing a little geocaching before lunch and the drive back home.
Our short trip was a beautiful gift of time spent together and enjoying some incredible parts of God's creation.
