Theodore Roosevelt National Park

 Day 2 of our trip had us driving another 5 hours to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. It was my first, and probably last, time in ND. It is a beautiful state, but man- it must be the least populated state in the union. There is NOTHING there.

We went to the park and were able to use Camille's fourth grade national parks pass (Thanks, Obama!), and we did the whole loop, with hikes and views and everything else. It took us about 5 hours and it was wonderful.

Theodore Roosevelt's cabin:

This was probably my favorite view. It reminded me of The Grand Canyon.

Unlike Yellowstone, there wasn't very much wildlife. So we were thrilled when this buffalo came wandering down the street:

And then there was a herd of buffalo:

We stopped for ice-cream, of course. I got Juneberry, the ND state berry, flavored. It was delicious!

It was a perfectly lovely day. The landscaping is so perfect! The kids were in good spirits despite the long drive, the hikes were stunning, it was truly wonderful.

Mount Rushmore and Storybook Island

 Ben shot down my 10 day long road trip of church history sites. We will do it, but we are going to hold off. So, I decided to take the girls on a very quick 4 day trip to South and North Dakota.

We started off by driving to Mount Rushmore and Storybook Island. We took the girls there 7 years ago, so Camille of course doesn't remember it at all, and the only thing that Claire and Audra remember is Storybook Island, a fantastic fairy tale themed park. Initially we weren't going to stop in Rapid City, but when I realized it was only about an hour out of the way and would break up the really long drive, I decided to add it in.

This was my third time at Mount Rushmore. I hate to admit it, but it wasn't as impressive the third time around. Isn't that terrible? It just didn't seem as majestic the third time. But I'm still glad we went because now the girls will remember it, and really- it's a must-see for all Americans.

Here we are- ready to go!

Audra helped me drive! She did great!

At the Colorado flag:

Eventually Claire said, "Mom, stop taking pictures- I look the same in all of them!"

Rushmore only takes about an hour or two, so then we headed to Storybook Island. The girls pretty much just ran for two hours straight.

Of course, Claire had Piggy. She brings him everywhere, and he always gets tucked in nicely.

I was going for cheap on this trip, so we stayed at, well, less than stellar hotels. It was a little shady, but cheap.