South Dakota Trip-BEWARE LOTS OF PICS

The waterslide exit at the hotel in Mitchell---THANKS MIKE AND NOREEN

The Pirate Ship at theMitchell Hotel....it shoots water out too, but Shelby didn't like that-Thank goodness we were the only ones in there Thursday!

The Pirate ship again--the water was FREEZING cold, so the "splash" pool was good so Mommy and Shelby didn't freeze too bad

Smaller turtles at Reptile Gardens--they were so small compared to the BIG ones

The big turtles--Shelby's favorite part! They loved having their necks scratched, but they were so poky slow that only 1 ever came over to us.

Shelby and Cheyenne the Bald Eagle...she was afraid it would fly out and get her. I have to apologize for the U of M sweatshirt....should be Bobcats instead!!

The Prairie Dogs were so fat...they grunted every time someone stuck their heads up through the bubble....Shelby wasn't sure about this though

He's got me Mom, but I will get him back!

Daddy being a dork, but having fun (notice my pic is not included....the joys of being the author of a blog-LOL)

Shelby's turn

Inside the dome....the flowers were so pretty, Shelby kept wanting to take them home

A little foggy due to the condensation, but maybe a good thing---we all looked a little tired--or maybe I was the only one that did?!

We had to go back and see the turtles--She loved them...even bought a stuffed one at the Gift Shop. They stunk too though!!
We went to the Snake Show too, but I didn't take pics of that...I was too worried about the snakes getting over the plastic barrier...wasn't going to happen I know--and worried about blinding the guy with my flash. When the Cobra almost jumped out of the box he was in, Shelby was on my lap before that, but I was about on Brad's lap at that time. No way will my kids ever have a snake or rodent for a pet....I put my foot down there!!!

Cosmos Mystery...total mystery to say the least....Shelby is standing up normal, but the force of gravity was pushing her forwards....can't explain, all I know is I felt sick when we got into the little house and Shelby was very unsteady on her feet....Brad had been there before, but I never had. Very different and perplexing...Shelby still can't figure out why a tennis ball and a pop can can roll UP hill....she is confused too. I was just trying to keep my balance instead of taking pics.

Mount Rushmore or like Shelby says "Mountain Rush" She was amazed at how those guys' faces were on the mountain side....we took her to the museum to show her how they did it, but she really didn't care that much, it was "just cool"


We had a great time on our FAST trip. We made it out to the Crazy Horse Memorial site too, but the fog had rolled in & it was raining a bit more. We were all hungry by that point anyways.
We left for Mitchell on Wednesday afternoon by around 4:00 pm, arrived at 2:00 am (how I managed to stay awake the whole time I still don't know). We left Mitchell (Yes, we did visit Cabela's, but Menard's was better in my opinion--all Thursday night before swimming) on Friday afternoon around 5:00-ish, got into Rapid City as the snow was really starting to fly and stayed the night. Saturday turned out to be a good day for the site-seeing, even though it was a bit chilly. We hit up Reptile Gardens, Cosmos, Rushmore and Crazy Horse all in the time frame of 10:30-4:00. It was great! We left Rapid by 5:00-ish and were home in our own beds by 10:30-11:00 Saturday night. We still had a day to catch up and get laundry done. Brad even got my new kitchen light installed too!!
It was a very fast trip (1200+ miles in 3 1/2 days), but we had a good time.....Brad is already talking about going back to Rapid in a couple of years and doing some of the stuff we didn't get to this time. A wonderful first family vacation I do have to say!!