Black Hills, SD.
Outdoor More, Worry Less. These are words I saw on a t-shirt during our trip to the Black Hills. After spending seven full days in the forest, I have to say I couldn't agree more.
Last fall, my dad asked if we would like to go to the Black Hills with him this spring. This is one of my fondest vacations from my childhood and one that was on my bucket list to do with my children. As we had just purchased our camper a few months prior, we didn't even hesitate to say "yes" to the trip.
Last week, we packed up the camper with plenty of food, clothes and linens for our trip and headed west. We did the entire trip in one day. Mapquest will tell you it is a 9 hour drive, but with 2 young kids and a truck getting 7 mpg as it pulls the trailer uphill, the drive is actually 12 hours long. I have to say though, I was super impressed with the kids!!! I don't think Rylee ever complained at all, and Wyatt only a couple times. Luckily his restlessness always coincided with our tank nearing "E" and we were able to let him out to stretch at the gas stations. We stopped 5 times, including a lunch break at a park to get the wiggles out. Even though I had packed some food for the road, it was really nice to be able to go into the camper to make a sandwich or grab another water when we stopped. No gas station food nor fast food restaurants needed.
We rolled into Custer State Park (our destination) around 8 pm and were welcomed by 3 large buffalo on the side of the road -- close enough to touch had we tried. That was super fun to see and a great way to officially start our vacation!
On our first full day, we jumped into Grandpa's truck and drove the wildlife loop for what would be the first of five times during our trip. If you've never experienced "the loop", it is an 18 mile long road that winds through the hills where buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs, elk and burrows roam. It's not uncommon to have to stop on the road to wait for herds of buffalo to cross. We also got out each time to pet and feed the burrows. We did this when I was a kid too.....so fun!!!! Wyatt stayed in the truck until the very last drive through the loop when he decided it was time to be brave. We were so proud of him!
That afternoon, after we went back to the campground for lunch, we piled back into Grandpa's truck and headed to Mt. Rushmore. It really is a sight to see and I appreciated the artwork more as an adult. Next time, we will plan to see it at night, as we have heard that is amazing as well.
On Father's Day we made breakfast with my parents and then did some hiking in the park, just the 4 of us. We went into the town of Custer for supper, where I had my first buffalo burger - yum! I have to say, it really didn't taste much different than beef. As luck would have it, some of our friends back in Iowa who recently acquired a buffalo farm, posted on Facebook that they had buffalo meat for sale.....SOLD!
It was nice being close to the little town of Custer. Though its a very small town, it's quite quaint with plenty to offer vacationers like us. It has an old west feel to it. We went into a few of the shops, patronized two of the restaurants, shopped in the grocery store (ran out of coffee creamer in our camper!), and took the kids to the mini golf course. This was both of their first times mini golfing....they were beyond excited the entire 18 holes!! It was a fun experience for us to watch through a child's eye.
After mini golf, we went to this adorable ice cream and pie shop. It was a big decision to make, but we all went with ice cream (can't resist a waffle cone!). I wish we would have gone back a second time, as it was delicious!
Days 4 and 5 of the trip were going to be the warmest, with temps in the 80's. Up to this point the temps were only in the 60s and 70s (perfect, actually). We decided to spend these two days doing things that the kids wouldn't be able to do - stand up paddleboarding, kayaking and a big hike.
The big hike. The locals all told us we had to do the Harney Peak hike (now called the Black Elk Peak). It is the highest point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees in Europe. 3.5 miles uphill to an elevation of 7,200+ feet. No thank you.
James was excited about this hike, and I wanted to get some good exercise in, so I set a few goals for myself. 1 - hike for an hour with James (the roundtrip hike is supposed to take 4-5 hours), 2 - hike until I see something cool and 3 - enjoy myself.
We could see the fire watch tower from the ground and I just knew there was absolutely no way I could hike all that way --- It looked SO FAR AWAY!!! And it was. As we were approaching the hour mark, where I had planned to turn back, it seemed like we were still a day away from the tower. I had accomplished goals 2 and 3 and was mentally deciding to turn around and head back. But for some reason, I just kept walking. I evaluated my body and realized I really wasn't tired, so I didn't have any legit reason to stop yet. Plus, the thought of hiking back for an hour by myself was a little harrowing. We sat down to rest for a minute and I ate a few peanut butter crackers. After a 3 minute break, we hopped back up and continued to climb. Before I knew it, we were finally running into some people coming back down and they said, "it's only a half mile more to the top and we spent 90 minutes up there - it's amazing!". Okay, I can totally do this!!! What the heck is there to do for 90 minutes on the top of a mountain though?!?!!?
When we got to the top, WOW! Just wow! We could see for miles (supposedly you can see 4 states). As I looked out across the large rock formations, I spotted a mountain goat not far from where we were. Then we saw a few more. I was not expecting that at all. Realizing that I was standing on such a high point and was among mountain goats, made me completely forget about the hike up (or that I still had to hike 3.5 miles back down - which was actually harder than going up). It was a pretty amazing feeling and I was definitely glowing with pride in myself! James told me numerous times, "I never would have imagined I'd see you hike that in my lifetime."
I was glad we did the hike early in the day as the sun began to beat down on us towards the end of it. Neither of us put sunscreen on and regretted it that evening. We didn't see many hikers on our way up the mountain (because they were all hanging out at the top!), but there were so many people going up as we came down. I can't imagine having hiked that when it was so much warmer out. It was fun to be motivators for those hikers though. "Keep going, you're doing great. It will be so worth it when you get to the top, " we would tell them.
As if 7 miles and 4 hours of hiking wasn't enough, we decided to walk another mile around the lake at the bottom of the mountain when we were done. I was worn out after that and needed a nap!
While we were hiking, the kids spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa. They did another drive through the loop, went mini golfing again and stopped for ice cream. Having them there to help with the kids was wonderful! Not only did we get to do things we wouldn't have otherwise gotten to do, but it was just nice to have a break from the kids for an hour here and there. Grandma and Grandpa's camper was a few sites away from ours, which turned out to be good for a true break from kiddos.
I enjoyed vacationing with my parents a lot. We had a good balance of doing things all together and doing things separate. One of the days we barely even saw them. I think we only had 3 meals together (a breakfast, a lunch and a supper), but a couple of nights we all sat around the campfire together and cooked dessert (s'mores and apple pies). Speaking of eating, on the entire 8 day trip, we only ate out 3 times! We always returned to camp for meal times, which saved us a lot of money. In fact, our entire 8 day trip only cost us $450! Well actually that's not true, I forgot gas...add another $300. But seriously, we spent 7 nights there and did so many fun things, and spent less than a roundtrip airfare for one person. This is just part of why I love camping! Another big thing I love about is having your own stuff. I just cannot get comfortable in a hotel room, thinking of all the gross stories you hear about hotel rooms.
Anyway, day 5. This was probably my favorite day of the trip. No, it was definitely my favorite day of the trip. I really wanted to try stand up paddleboarding. I was hoping my yoga training would make this a piece of cake. All 6 of us headed over to the lake where we could rent the paddleboards. The kids wore their swimsuits and played on the beach with Grandma and Grandpa while watching us attempt this new adventure.
So, I got up on my feet right away...that was the easy part. However..... I couldn't get my legs to stop shaking!! This went on for about 10 minutes before I finally was able to relax. Then I really enjoyed it. We paddled around the lake several times and then we both discovered our feet "falling asleep". We paid for an hour, but after about 25 minutes, James decided he wanted to spend the last half hour trying to kayak. I hadn't planned to join him, but as he paddled back to the dock to grab a kayak I thought, "why not? i'm on a roll trying new things this week." So we grabbed a tandem kayak and jumped in.
This turned out to be such a great idea, that before our hour was up, we had already decided to buy a kayak when we got home! New kayak lovers, right here!
That night, we drove 40 minutes to the drive-in movie theater to see the movie Cars 3. We promised Wyatt (HUGE Cars fan), that we would see it while we were on vacation. We were stoked to see a drive-in theater on our way into the state park the first night, and even more stoked to learn it would be showing Cars 3! We definitely didn't do a very good job picking which night to go (I picked this one because it would be the warmest), as we had forgotten it was the longest day of the year!!! The movie didn't start until 9:30 and was over around 11:10. Wyatt made it through the entire thing! Rylee fell asleep a little before the end. We all enjoyed the drive-in experience a lot!
On our final full day at Custer State Park, we went into town for lunch at the famous burger joint (it was good!) and then hiked to the top of the hill in town, where we could look out over the town and see Harney Peak way out in the distance (I still cannot believe I hiked up that far!). After that the kids played at the town park for about an hour and rode their bikes on the bike trail nearby, while we walked behind them. When we headed back to the campsite, James went for a solo hike/run and then we all hiked down to the lake together one last time.
One thing, among many, that I really loved about the Black Hills was how open the forest was. In Iowa, I cannot walk through the woods without ducking or stepping over branches. In the Black Hills though, the big tall pine trees are so spread out, making it easy to hike anywhere you want. You can see so far away too. While it's definitely preferred to stay on the trails, one can easily hike anywhere in the forest. Our campsite opened up to the forest with no trails and I spent lots of time hiking around back there. It was such an amazing feeling to know I was in the middle of the wildlife's home. I was never scared that I'd come across a buffalo, elk or other forest creature (okay, I was totally freaked out about the rattle snakes though!! Never saw one, thankfully). Being in the forest brought a true peacefulness to my soul.
On our last morning (the only day we set our alarm), we struggled to get out of bed. None of us wanted to leave. Right before we pulled out from our campsite, I took one last long look into the forest and took several deep breaths. I was sad to leave this spot. Sad to leave a week of calm, of no agendas, no schedules, no cleaning, etc. Not to mention, the sweet smell of the forest. Nature smells so good!! Normally after a week of vacation, I'm ready to get home. Not this time. Not even a little bit. I could have used another week in the Black Hills.
On our drive home, we made two fun stops. The first was to a FREE park in Rapid City, called Storybook Island. This place was too cool! As we walked in, we saw this sign at the entrance.
This set the tone for our hour in the park. James even said he was a little uptight before we got there, but being inside the park calmed him down. Not only was the park just amazing, but there was music from all of our favorite Disney movies playing as we walked along. We decided it might be better than Disney World (because it's Free of course). We did so many free things on our trip. Plus, Wyatt still being 3 helped as he was free for several of the things we did.
Our final big stop was Wall Drug. After having a quick lunch in our camper, Wyatt led us into all of the chotchky stores :) We did good passing most of it up, but did buy a t-shirt, puzzle, coffee, smoothies and an ornament for our Christmas tree. Oh, and fudge of course.
As we neared Sioux Falls and decided we better stop for supper (it was almost 7pm after all), we asked the kids where they would like to eat. We could have eaten in the camper again, but wanted a longer break from the truck. We were sure they would say "McDonalds" (because when you are 3 and 6, no other restaurant exists), but instead Wyatt said, "I want cheese pizza," and Rylee quickly followed with, "Pizza Ranch!". As we hadn't seen a single restaurant since leaving Wall Drug 290 miles ago, we knew Pizza Ranch would not be found. We told them, "I don't think there is a Pizza Ranch here guys, We'll just stop at the next restaurant we see." We weren't too far from Sioux Falls and figured McDonald's would likely be the first restuarant in our path (though we both realized we never saw a single McDonald's on the entire trip....nor did we see much of any chain restaurants and stores....nor business parks or housing developments....we were pretty much in nowhere-ville for 8 days).
It wasn't 5 miles down the road, when what did we see???? A sign for....... Pizza Ranch. Okay, this town only had 1,000 people in it. It was tiny. We hadn't seen a McDonald's on our entire trip......but we find a freaking Pizza Ranch right after the kids ask for it?!?!?!?!?! We were pinching ourselves. Lucky Kids.
We got home at 1:25 in the morning. As we approached our driveway, I told James, "please don't turn into the driveway, I don't want this vacation to be over." Our headlights shined over the cornfield...we were surprised to see the corn had doubled in height since we left. It was a small reminder that life still went on here while we were living in slow motion for a week. It was also a reminder that we can live a slower pace of life, like we did on vacation, if we choose to. We don't have to attend every event we are invited to or have something on the calendar to fill our days. We can chose to just sit on our porch and watch the corn grow in front of us,without feeling like we are missing out on life outside of our driveway.
I constantly see quotes about why we should travel. I've always felt content just staying in my own little area. This trip though, really opened my eyes to the reasons we are encouraged to explore new places. This wasn't my first trip to another state or region of the country. I've even been out of the country. But this trip brought me to a place that touched my soul. Perhaps it was just something I needed at this moment in my life, or perhaps it is something I need more of going forward. The peaceful tranquility and the wide open spaces of the forest spoke to me. As did the "no agenda, no schedule" days. Maybe it isn't a coincidence that this was my favorite vacation as a child. Perhaps my childhood memories of the trip are supposed to be a reminder to me of the effects of peacefulness.
James and I had such a soul-touching time in the Black Hills (it also helped that the weather was amazing and there were NO bugs!), that we spent most of our drive home talking about where we could live that we could experience year round outdoor adventures to feed our souls every day. We also discussed who all would think we were bat-sh*t crazy if we just up and moved ;) Or maybe we will just spend our summers working in National Parks (we talked to the campground worker about her experience doing this....I'm in!).
Of course, we know that we can live as peaceful of a life as we want, right where we are. We know we don't have to live busy lives like many others do. Several times during our trip and even on the way home, we pointed out to the kids how much fun we were having NOT watching T.V. (our kids are tv watching CHAMPS!!!). They agreed that being outside all day, every day was definitely more fun than sitting in our dark basement watching tv shows. Today, at 3:06 pm, they have not watched a single minute of tv. I am extremely impressed by their creativity today and ability to play so well together. They are getting things out that I didn't even remember they had. They are laughing hysterically and truly enjoying their time together. Their genuine happiness is filling my bucket today :)
As I sit on my front porch on this beautiful 70 degree day, watching the corn blow in the breeze and listening to the sound of the leaves rustling, I remember why I love it out here in the country....but it still doesn't compare to the tranquility of being at our campsite in Custer State Park. I'm ready to go back.
Thanks again Mom and Dad!! I'm glad we took this trip together! Great memories were made!
An excerpt from a book we read on vacation, called Declutter Your Mind:
"The experience of being in green spaces and forests is so powerful and mind-clearing....."
Numerous studies have shown the mental and physical benefits of spending time in nature. Being in forests and green spaces can:
* boost the immune system
* lower blood pressure
* reduce stress
* improve your mood
* increase your ability to focus
* accelerate recovery from surgery or illness
* increase your energy level
* improve your sleep
Last fall, my dad asked if we would like to go to the Black Hills with him this spring. This is one of my fondest vacations from my childhood and one that was on my bucket list to do with my children. As we had just purchased our camper a few months prior, we didn't even hesitate to say "yes" to the trip.
Last week, we packed up the camper with plenty of food, clothes and linens for our trip and headed west. We did the entire trip in one day. Mapquest will tell you it is a 9 hour drive, but with 2 young kids and a truck getting 7 mpg as it pulls the trailer uphill, the drive is actually 12 hours long. I have to say though, I was super impressed with the kids!!! I don't think Rylee ever complained at all, and Wyatt only a couple times. Luckily his restlessness always coincided with our tank nearing "E" and we were able to let him out to stretch at the gas stations. We stopped 5 times, including a lunch break at a park to get the wiggles out. Even though I had packed some food for the road, it was really nice to be able to go into the camper to make a sandwich or grab another water when we stopped. No gas station food nor fast food restaurants needed.
We rolled into Custer State Park (our destination) around 8 pm and were welcomed by 3 large buffalo on the side of the road -- close enough to touch had we tried. That was super fun to see and a great way to officially start our vacation!
On our first full day, we jumped into Grandpa's truck and drove the wildlife loop for what would be the first of five times during our trip. If you've never experienced "the loop", it is an 18 mile long road that winds through the hills where buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs, elk and burrows roam. It's not uncommon to have to stop on the road to wait for herds of buffalo to cross. We also got out each time to pet and feed the burrows. We did this when I was a kid too.....so fun!!!! Wyatt stayed in the truck until the very last drive through the loop when he decided it was time to be brave. We were so proud of him!
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| the burrow whisperer |
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| obligatory nose-picking photo |
On Father's Day we made breakfast with my parents and then did some hiking in the park, just the 4 of us. We went into the town of Custer for supper, where I had my first buffalo burger - yum! I have to say, it really didn't taste much different than beef. As luck would have it, some of our friends back in Iowa who recently acquired a buffalo farm, posted on Facebook that they had buffalo meat for sale.....SOLD!
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| What a beautiful place to be in time-out! |
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| Buffalo poop on our hike |
It was nice being close to the little town of Custer. Though its a very small town, it's quite quaint with plenty to offer vacationers like us. It has an old west feel to it. We went into a few of the shops, patronized two of the restaurants, shopped in the grocery store (ran out of coffee creamer in our camper!), and took the kids to the mini golf course. This was both of their first times mini golfing....they were beyond excited the entire 18 holes!! It was a fun experience for us to watch through a child's eye.
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| The first hole....he was ECSTATIC when it went in!!! |
After mini golf, we went to this adorable ice cream and pie shop. It was a big decision to make, but we all went with ice cream (can't resist a waffle cone!). I wish we would have gone back a second time, as it was delicious!
Days 4 and 5 of the trip were going to be the warmest, with temps in the 80's. Up to this point the temps were only in the 60s and 70s (perfect, actually). We decided to spend these two days doing things that the kids wouldn't be able to do - stand up paddleboarding, kayaking and a big hike.
The big hike. The locals all told us we had to do the Harney Peak hike (now called the Black Elk Peak). It is the highest point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees in Europe. 3.5 miles uphill to an elevation of 7,200+ feet. No thank you.
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| It looked like an entire state away! |
James was excited about this hike, and I wanted to get some good exercise in, so I set a few goals for myself. 1 - hike for an hour with James (the roundtrip hike is supposed to take 4-5 hours), 2 - hike until I see something cool and 3 - enjoy myself.
We could see the fire watch tower from the ground and I just knew there was absolutely no way I could hike all that way --- It looked SO FAR AWAY!!! And it was. As we were approaching the hour mark, where I had planned to turn back, it seemed like we were still a day away from the tower. I had accomplished goals 2 and 3 and was mentally deciding to turn around and head back. But for some reason, I just kept walking. I evaluated my body and realized I really wasn't tired, so I didn't have any legit reason to stop yet. Plus, the thought of hiking back for an hour by myself was a little harrowing. We sat down to rest for a minute and I ate a few peanut butter crackers. After a 3 minute break, we hopped back up and continued to climb. Before I knew it, we were finally running into some people coming back down and they said, "it's only a half mile more to the top and we spent 90 minutes up there - it's amazing!". Okay, I can totally do this!!! What the heck is there to do for 90 minutes on the top of a mountain though?!?!!?
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| .5 mile in |
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| 1.5 miles in. |
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| almost there. |
When we got to the top, WOW! Just wow! We could see for miles (supposedly you can see 4 states). As I looked out across the large rock formations, I spotted a mountain goat not far from where we were. Then we saw a few more. I was not expecting that at all. Realizing that I was standing on such a high point and was among mountain goats, made me completely forget about the hike up (or that I still had to hike 3.5 miles back down - which was actually harder than going up). It was a pretty amazing feeling and I was definitely glowing with pride in myself! James told me numerous times, "I never would have imagined I'd see you hike that in my lifetime."
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| the back side of Mount Rushmore |
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| I was almost as surprised to see water on the top as I was to see goats! |
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| Who doesn't do a headstand at the top of a mountain??? |
I was glad we did the hike early in the day as the sun began to beat down on us towards the end of it. Neither of us put sunscreen on and regretted it that evening. We didn't see many hikers on our way up the mountain (because they were all hanging out at the top!), but there were so many people going up as we came down. I can't imagine having hiked that when it was so much warmer out. It was fun to be motivators for those hikers though. "Keep going, you're doing great. It will be so worth it when you get to the top, " we would tell them.
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| "Life is a journey, take time to enjoy every step." |
As if 7 miles and 4 hours of hiking wasn't enough, we decided to walk another mile around the lake at the bottom of the mountain when we were done. I was worn out after that and needed a nap!
While we were hiking, the kids spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa. They did another drive through the loop, went mini golfing again and stopped for ice cream. Having them there to help with the kids was wonderful! Not only did we get to do things we wouldn't have otherwise gotten to do, but it was just nice to have a break from the kids for an hour here and there. Grandma and Grandpa's camper was a few sites away from ours, which turned out to be good for a true break from kiddos.
I enjoyed vacationing with my parents a lot. We had a good balance of doing things all together and doing things separate. One of the days we barely even saw them. I think we only had 3 meals together (a breakfast, a lunch and a supper), but a couple of nights we all sat around the campfire together and cooked dessert (s'mores and apple pies). Speaking of eating, on the entire 8 day trip, we only ate out 3 times! We always returned to camp for meal times, which saved us a lot of money. In fact, our entire 8 day trip only cost us $450! Well actually that's not true, I forgot gas...add another $300. But seriously, we spent 7 nights there and did so many fun things, and spent less than a roundtrip airfare for one person. This is just part of why I love camping! Another big thing I love about is having your own stuff. I just cannot get comfortable in a hotel room, thinking of all the gross stories you hear about hotel rooms.
Anyway, day 5. This was probably my favorite day of the trip. No, it was definitely my favorite day of the trip. I really wanted to try stand up paddleboarding. I was hoping my yoga training would make this a piece of cake. All 6 of us headed over to the lake where we could rent the paddleboards. The kids wore their swimsuits and played on the beach with Grandma and Grandpa while watching us attempt this new adventure.
So, I got up on my feet right away...that was the easy part. However..... I couldn't get my legs to stop shaking!! This went on for about 10 minutes before I finally was able to relax. Then I really enjoyed it. We paddled around the lake several times and then we both discovered our feet "falling asleep". We paid for an hour, but after about 25 minutes, James decided he wanted to spend the last half hour trying to kayak. I hadn't planned to join him, but as he paddled back to the dock to grab a kayak I thought, "why not? i'm on a roll trying new things this week." So we grabbed a tandem kayak and jumped in.
This turned out to be such a great idea, that before our hour was up, we had already decided to buy a kayak when we got home! New kayak lovers, right here!
That night, we drove 40 minutes to the drive-in movie theater to see the movie Cars 3. We promised Wyatt (HUGE Cars fan), that we would see it while we were on vacation. We were stoked to see a drive-in theater on our way into the state park the first night, and even more stoked to learn it would be showing Cars 3! We definitely didn't do a very good job picking which night to go (I picked this one because it would be the warmest), as we had forgotten it was the longest day of the year!!! The movie didn't start until 9:30 and was over around 11:10. Wyatt made it through the entire thing! Rylee fell asleep a little before the end. We all enjoyed the drive-in experience a lot!
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| America's largest drive-in theater screen - 80 feet wide! |
On our final full day at Custer State Park, we went into town for lunch at the famous burger joint (it was good!) and then hiked to the top of the hill in town, where we could look out over the town and see Harney Peak way out in the distance (I still cannot believe I hiked up that far!). After that the kids played at the town park for about an hour and rode their bikes on the bike trail nearby, while we walked behind them. When we headed back to the campsite, James went for a solo hike/run and then we all hiked down to the lake together one last time.
One thing, among many, that I really loved about the Black Hills was how open the forest was. In Iowa, I cannot walk through the woods without ducking or stepping over branches. In the Black Hills though, the big tall pine trees are so spread out, making it easy to hike anywhere you want. You can see so far away too. While it's definitely preferred to stay on the trails, one can easily hike anywhere in the forest. Our campsite opened up to the forest with no trails and I spent lots of time hiking around back there. It was such an amazing feeling to know I was in the middle of the wildlife's home. I was never scared that I'd come across a buffalo, elk or other forest creature (okay, I was totally freaked out about the rattle snakes though!! Never saw one, thankfully). Being in the forest brought a true peacefulness to my soul.
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| My reading spot |
On our last morning (the only day we set our alarm), we struggled to get out of bed. None of us wanted to leave. Right before we pulled out from our campsite, I took one last long look into the forest and took several deep breaths. I was sad to leave this spot. Sad to leave a week of calm, of no agendas, no schedules, no cleaning, etc. Not to mention, the sweet smell of the forest. Nature smells so good!! Normally after a week of vacation, I'm ready to get home. Not this time. Not even a little bit. I could have used another week in the Black Hills.
On our drive home, we made two fun stops. The first was to a FREE park in Rapid City, called Storybook Island. This place was too cool! As we walked in, we saw this sign at the entrance.
This set the tone for our hour in the park. James even said he was a little uptight before we got there, but being inside the park calmed him down. Not only was the park just amazing, but there was music from all of our favorite Disney movies playing as we walked along. We decided it might be better than Disney World (because it's Free of course). We did so many free things on our trip. Plus, Wyatt still being 3 helped as he was free for several of the things we did.
As we neared Sioux Falls and decided we better stop for supper (it was almost 7pm after all), we asked the kids where they would like to eat. We could have eaten in the camper again, but wanted a longer break from the truck. We were sure they would say "McDonalds" (because when you are 3 and 6, no other restaurant exists), but instead Wyatt said, "I want cheese pizza," and Rylee quickly followed with, "Pizza Ranch!". As we hadn't seen a single restaurant since leaving Wall Drug 290 miles ago, we knew Pizza Ranch would not be found. We told them, "I don't think there is a Pizza Ranch here guys, We'll just stop at the next restaurant we see." We weren't too far from Sioux Falls and figured McDonald's would likely be the first restuarant in our path (though we both realized we never saw a single McDonald's on the entire trip....nor did we see much of any chain restaurants and stores....nor business parks or housing developments....we were pretty much in nowhere-ville for 8 days).
It wasn't 5 miles down the road, when what did we see???? A sign for....... Pizza Ranch. Okay, this town only had 1,000 people in it. It was tiny. We hadn't seen a McDonald's on our entire trip......but we find a freaking Pizza Ranch right after the kids ask for it?!?!?!?!?! We were pinching ourselves. Lucky Kids.
We got home at 1:25 in the morning. As we approached our driveway, I told James, "please don't turn into the driveway, I don't want this vacation to be over." Our headlights shined over the cornfield...we were surprised to see the corn had doubled in height since we left. It was a small reminder that life still went on here while we were living in slow motion for a week. It was also a reminder that we can live a slower pace of life, like we did on vacation, if we choose to. We don't have to attend every event we are invited to or have something on the calendar to fill our days. We can chose to just sit on our porch and watch the corn grow in front of us,without feeling like we are missing out on life outside of our driveway.
I constantly see quotes about why we should travel. I've always felt content just staying in my own little area. This trip though, really opened my eyes to the reasons we are encouraged to explore new places. This wasn't my first trip to another state or region of the country. I've even been out of the country. But this trip brought me to a place that touched my soul. Perhaps it was just something I needed at this moment in my life, or perhaps it is something I need more of going forward. The peaceful tranquility and the wide open spaces of the forest spoke to me. As did the "no agenda, no schedule" days. Maybe it isn't a coincidence that this was my favorite vacation as a child. Perhaps my childhood memories of the trip are supposed to be a reminder to me of the effects of peacefulness.
James and I had such a soul-touching time in the Black Hills (it also helped that the weather was amazing and there were NO bugs!), that we spent most of our drive home talking about where we could live that we could experience year round outdoor adventures to feed our souls every day. We also discussed who all would think we were bat-sh*t crazy if we just up and moved ;) Or maybe we will just spend our summers working in National Parks (we talked to the campground worker about her experience doing this....I'm in!).
Of course, we know that we can live as peaceful of a life as we want, right where we are. We know we don't have to live busy lives like many others do. Several times during our trip and even on the way home, we pointed out to the kids how much fun we were having NOT watching T.V. (our kids are tv watching CHAMPS!!!). They agreed that being outside all day, every day was definitely more fun than sitting in our dark basement watching tv shows. Today, at 3:06 pm, they have not watched a single minute of tv. I am extremely impressed by their creativity today and ability to play so well together. They are getting things out that I didn't even remember they had. They are laughing hysterically and truly enjoying their time together. Their genuine happiness is filling my bucket today :)
As I sit on my front porch on this beautiful 70 degree day, watching the corn blow in the breeze and listening to the sound of the leaves rustling, I remember why I love it out here in the country....but it still doesn't compare to the tranquility of being at our campsite in Custer State Park. I'm ready to go back.
Thanks again Mom and Dad!! I'm glad we took this trip together! Great memories were made!
An excerpt from a book we read on vacation, called Declutter Your Mind:
"The experience of being in green spaces and forests is so powerful and mind-clearing....."
Numerous studies have shown the mental and physical benefits of spending time in nature. Being in forests and green spaces can:
* boost the immune system
* lower blood pressure
* reduce stress
* improve your mood
* increase your ability to focus
* accelerate recovery from surgery or illness
* increase your energy level
* improve your sleep
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