Vacation in South Dakota and more!

 Vacation in South Dakota and more!
By Allan Olson

Oh boy, where to start when writing about six days jam-packed full of vacation fun! (Last week I wrote about our adventures on Day Six in Ludlow, SD.) I guess I will start with Day One.

We left our hotel in Fargo after continental breakfast; I found one geocache that morning just beyond the hotel parking lot! We headed for the gas station and were out of town by about 7:30 a.m.

Our destination was Hermosa, SD, where we had reservations for the next four nights. That day we made stops in Ellendale, ND, where my brother and his wife lived and attended college for several years, and in Aberdeen, SD, where they also lived, and where we made a long-anticipated visit to Storybook Land.

We were cruising along what I call the back roads of North Dakota at a clip faster than I like to drive (but apparently you are still legally allowed to) and were approaching Ellendale when we spotted a fighter plane on display next to the airport. My brother, in the lead, hit the brakes and I followed suit. Everyone got out and we all went to look at the cool plane, which wasn’t there the last time my brother lived in the area. We took a few pictures, then piled back in the vehicles and hit the road. After a tour of the college, we headed to Storybook Land. The last and only time my wife and I visited the place, Nikolai was a baby – it’s crazy how time flies. The kids enjoyed all the park had to offer in a short time. We took a lunch break, visited the adjoining zoo, and then hit the road again. (Of course, I took the time to find two geocaches in the park, with help from a couple of the kids.)

We were starting to see signs for Wall Drug, and my brother wanted to make a brief stop there on the way, so we did. (For the record, we went back on Thursday, and I still wasn’t impressed.) We finally made it to our cabins about 8:30 p.m. Mountain Time and started unpacking. The next morning, the Reptile Gardens was on our agenda.

We arrived at the Reptile Gardens about 9:30 a.m. We thought it would take two, maybe three hours and we could be back on the way to relax at the cabin. Well, that plan failed. We arrived just in time for the crocodile/alligator show, which was pretty entertaining and informative. Of course, I don’t remember all the technical mumbo jumbo, like the difference between the two critters, but I’m sure the kids do. Next up was the bird show – now I would’ve just skipped that if it was just me, but Abigail especially wanted to see the bird show, and I’m glad she did. It was excellent, and she got to participate. At one point they asked for volunteers, and she raised her hand, but to her disappointment, not quickly enough. Later on they announced that the first kid to raise their hand with a $1 or $5 bill would get to help. I reached in my pocket and tried desperately to hand her two $1 bills; her aunt who was sitting nearest helped me out, and Abigail was chosen (perhaps because I made such a fuss trying to get her the money!). The announcer told her that the biggest and most ferocious bird was going to come and take the money from her, so she needed to say goodbye to her family, because it was going to get her also. While the audience laughed, Abigail shot her a look that said, “Lady, my dad feeds me those lines of BS all the time. You’re gonna have to do better than that to scare me!” Anyway, a big chicken comes running out from one side of the arena to the other without coming near her or the money. She got a poster for being so brave.

After the bird show, there was time to look around the place, and then take in the snake show. Finally, five hours after we arrived, we left. We ate lunch in Keystone – that is a story unto itself as to how we ended up there and toured Mount Rushmore and finally headed back to the cabin for the evening.

On Thursday, it was back to Wall Drug – YAWN – more stores, more shopping. That pretty much sums it up. From Wall Drug we headed to the South Dakota Badlands – talk about GORGEOUS! That was a pretty neat tour of the park. We stopped and grilled burgers and dogs on the grill and took many, many, many pictures of all the different formations, and at our first scenic stop we even saw a bison in the distance. With a little prompting from me, my nephew Trevor came up with a name for it – Bill.

The day was fading and we had one more stop on our agenda – Ellsworth Air Force Base – before heading back to the cabin; the younger three were getting crabby and in need of a nap. Susan and I decided that we were not stopping. Nikolai was riding with my brother and was going to go with, and ultimately acted as their tour guide at the base. We would’ve enjoyed going, too, but we needed a timeout. Once we got back to the cabin (the kids napped in the vehicle), I took them to the pool. Later, it was time for an evening treat: a drive-in movie theater. We went to Roy’s Drive-In, America’s first all-digital drive-in facility, for the low price of $16 per car load. Showing on the 80-foot wide big screen was “Despicable Me 2.” It was a good family movie, the temperature was excellent for sitting outside, and the occasional flash of lightning behind the Black Hills was phenomenal. All seven kids sat and enjoyed the movie probably better than in a theater.

Once we got back, I tried to capture the lightning with my camera and succeeded a couple of times before we headed to bed – late.

Next week I will sum up the rest of the trip – the 1880 Train Ride and more.

Thanks for reading, and remember to be safe on the lakes while enjoying what’s left of the summer. Be sure to spend some time with kids! Thanks for reading, and have a great and safe weekend. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.