South Dakota Travels

 On our recent Mumme reunion trip we spent a day visiting Sylvan Lake and Mount Rushmore. While our high hopes were somewhat rained upon (literally) by the cold and foggy weather, we still enjoyed seeing what we could of the sights. 

We all went on the same day, but we didn't realize that there would be no cell reception for anyone at Sylvan Lake. That, combined with the mist, made it that we could only meet up with people we ran into. We got to the lake about the same time as Melinda and Nathan, so we went around the lake with them. 

Nathan bought a very fancy blanket at the gift shop to keep warm and bravely led the way through the fog by its brightness.

We found a cool tunnel, a cave, and a tree...

Everyone had the same idea with the tree, of course. 

Then we came back for the bridge.

By this time, though, little Pip and little Hett were freezing to the point of shaking, so mommy and daddy took them back to warm up while Gwen went on with Nathan and Melinda (with daddy going after to catch up once we were safely back at the car) 

While Gwen enjoyed her hike, the younger girls and I ran into Abby, Logan, Ali, and Emily, and hung out in Logan's truck, warming up and eating snacks ("carrot chips" aka cheeto puffs)

Then we decided to try out Mount Rushmore despite the fog. 

Unfortunately it was so foggy that you couldn't really see Mount Rushmore. But we stayed and took some photos anyway and eventually the fog moved out for a bit so we could kind of get a view. 

The girls got binoculars as souvenirs and were so excited about them.

Two Theodores 

Pippa and the other girls really loved "the faces," despite not having done American History yet.

Despite being a very cold and wet day, it was fun to explore. The kids are still talking about "the faces" and how much they liked them, and now we have a reason to look forward to going back and getting a better view!