I caught this shot as I waited in line to pay for the souveniers. The Indian pottery in the window nicely framed out the monument in the distance.
I was bending down to take a picture of the model and noticed that if I moved around...I could align the model with the actual monument in the background.
Katie...hard at work...see the sweat busting out?? AND her hair looks good!!
KATIE: Hey ya’ll! {I miss hearing people say that.} Yellowstone was great, but it still doesn’t compare to Yosemite. It could have been a little better if the remains of burnt trees weren’t scattered everywhere that you look. They looked like a bunch of sewing pins. Anyways, I think my favorite part was the Midway Geyser Basin. It’ like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It looks like you could dip a plain white T-shirt into it and it would come out Tie-Die. What made it even more thrilling was the wind and steam almost blowing me into the bacterial mats, but it was fun. The funniest part was the Elk ordeal. That guy needed to get a life. He reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite with an attitude problem. Oh yeah, this was also the first time I had seen a bear in the wild before. It scared me when he walked onto the ledge beside the camper like he was planning an aerial attack or something, but he was cute, in a way.
Next big thing we went to was Mt. Rushmore. It was smaller than I thought it would be. It was very detailed, down to the allusion of Teddy’s glasses. We went back at night and saw the “light show”, or should I say movie with a big light. It was still good though. After we went to Rushmore, we went to Crazy Horse Memorial. I couldn’t really tell exactly how big it was because we never drove up too close to it. I could tell it was pretty “honkin’”. Other than that that almost wraps up my sight-seeing, except for the Gateway Arch. I hope I’m not forced to go up in it. I don’t mind the heights. It’s just that I heard that you have to ride in a scrunched up elevator to get there and I’m claustrophobic.
I’m yawning myself to sleep so I have to go. I’ll see everybody when I get back.
SHARON: It’s so much fun to read what the kids say in our blog. I’m always surprised by what they say and amazed at some of their insights. It makes a mom proud.
Well, we are definitely on our last leg of our tour. That last sentence sounds like it came from someone who’s been on vacation too long. This is Sunday night and we should be home Wednesday. Somehow the awesomeness of the sights we are seeing seems to be winding down also. Not that Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse aren’t awesome, but somehow man’s handiwork can never compare to that of God’s handiwork as in the Pacific Ocean, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains. The thing I enjoyed most about the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorials were the stories behind them.
As Katie mentioned, the St. Louis Arch is our last planned sight-seeing stop. I’m with her about not entering the arch, but not for the same reason. I can handle the claustrophobic elevators, it’s the height I can’t take anymore. Mark and I went up there before we had children many years ago before my height fright developed.
Although we are still having a good trip and everyone is still getting along amazingly well, I have to say, I think we are all looking forward to seeing Jackson, friends, family and mostly home, again. These trips are great but they also make you appreciate “home sweet home”.
Thanks to all of our friends and family for your help, encouragement, comments on our website, and prayers. I don’t think our adventure would have gone nearly so well without all these. If you like travel, my fondest wish for you is that you can one day do what we are doing and see this amazing country of ours. We don’t realize how blessed we are in this country to have such a diverse land. God has put astounding wonders right here in the U.S. for us to enjoy and take care of. All of the different people you can meet is a huge part of the fun also. If you ever get the chance to see some of this country, just go for it. You’ll not regret it. See you soon, Sharon.
Mark: They explained it well. Thing I don't get is this: WHY AIN'T NOBODY HELPING THIS FAMILY???
I'll just say this: this was started by a man from Boston with Polish decent, in the 1940's. After seeing Mount Rushmore, the Indian chief then asked him to build it in honor of all the Indian heritage.
The builder worked all on his own, until he married, had 10 children, and they helped until his death. Now those children are working on it full time. There was no mention of any other groups/tribes working on it.
I asked a young Indian lady who I paid for the souveniers about it.
My question to her: Is anyone else helping this family build this???
Her answer: "no"
My question: "can anyone help them?"
Her answer: "I dunno"
My question: "Do any of the tribes help this family?"
Her answer: "I dunno, that'll be $52.50 please"
hmmmmm
Maybe there is more to this than was visible. I sure hope so.....
Regardless, it's worth seeing, if nothing more than the sheer size of it all. It's HUGE.....
Oh, that'll be $25.00 to park please. :)
Sidenote that this KOA that we are staying at in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has the most blazing interent speed of anything I have ever used. I mean, it's faster than our cable at home, DSL, or the T1 at work. It's amazing. It's just like turning a page in a book. No time at all to sip coffee... haha
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