Day 45 - Mount Rushmore

Yep. That's right. Next stop: Mount Rushmore!! Why wouldn't we stop since we were already in South Dakota? Actually, Mount Rushmore was the reason we took longer to get to our destination. It was the main reason we drove to South Dakota. The Corn Palace and the Badlands were just fantastic places to go while we were already there!


Mount Rushmore is everything you have heard of, and way more. It was so cool to be able to see how it was made and to see actual pieces of the practice piece...which, although not nearly as large as the real thing, is still huge! I was absolutely fascinated by everything in the museum and the facts. It's hard to believe that the faces were formed by blasted rock. The workers blasted exactly the right amount of stone to form the facial features. I just loved looking at the masterpiece...even though it's not finished. 

As you can see in this picture, there are a lot of flags. They are the USA State Flags! Each pillar has four flags on it. On the side the flag is mounted on, etched in stone is the number each state is (for example, Michigan is the 26th State admitted to the Union), and the date the State was admitted into statehood. There are also flags from other countries as well.


All in all, Mount Rushmore was definitely one of the coolest places I've been in my entire life! 

Day 44 - Another Sunset

Yes, I know. I've already blogged a bunch of sunset pictures...but why shouldn't I? They are gorgeous! 

This is a picture of the sunset at the Badlands...beautiful isn't it? A picture of our next stop will be posted tomorrow...and that picture is pretty cool. Not the photo, but what it captured. :)

Day 43 - Happy Faces

  Do you hate colds? I do. I was sick all weekend...I was pretty miserable. For me, being sick is a big deal. I never, I repeat NEVER, get sick. I can count the number of times I've gotten sick on my hands, so this weekend I was not very happy. But now, all is well...well, I am well...I mean...I'm better...not sick anymore...ah whatever. You get the point I'm sure. So...back to our lovely vacation.

  We stayed in South Dakota that night at a hotel. Before we found a hotel, however, we stopped at....da da da da: The Badlands National Park!!! Badlands are different types of rocks and soil that have been worn down by weather over time. The result of this is beautiful mini-mountains that are layers of different colors. When we stood on the observation area, all you could see were miles and miles of this beautiful terrain...and a few bison. It was breathtaking. We drove through the National Park, which is 30-some miles. We stopped to walk around in places where you could hike. We saw animals and animal tracks. We also stood on the tall hills and saw mountains in the distance. I will never forget it.

  When the sun was sinking down, it was casting shadows everywhere. Our favorite of all is the smiley face! This isn't that great of a picture, but there is a smiley face! That makes it the best picture ever!!! 

Day 42 - The Corn Palace

Hopefully, you really would like to know where we went for our vacation and you returned to my blog. Unfortunately, I still can't tell you. But, once again, I can tell you where our next big stop was: The Corn Palace!

The Corn Palace is located in Mitchell, South Dakota, and is made entirely out of corn cobs. It was a sight to see! Plus, they even sell corn inside! Go figure! :) It was pretty fun to see. 

Day 41 - Wisconsin

  Wow. School has started and summer is gone. Literally. It's freezing cold outside today! I miss summer because of the time I got to spend doing nothing (honestly, I told people I was too busy doing nothing), the warm weather, the freedom of sleeping in, and the family vacation. We never go on vacations...NEVER. I think the last time we went out of state for a vacation was two years ago. So, as you can see, vacations are a big deal. Guess what we did this summer?


  Oh yeah! We took a road trip to........wait for it........eh. Not going to tell you. You'll have to come back and read about it later. I'm not going to tell you until I post a photo about it...which might take a while. (By the way, this is why I couldn't blog for about two weeks, and then I left my camera at somebody's house a couple of weeks ago. I know. I'm stupid).

  But I WILL tell you about our first stop: Madison, Wisconsin. We stopped there to eat, walk around, and find a hotel. The best part was probably the amazing food we ate, and the Capitol Building! It was so pretty at night.


  So, stay tuned for more pictures of our stops on the way to............ ;) Like I said. Stay tuned.