South Dakota

Hey folks!
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I went on a two-week media fast and have been super busy, but that's another story in another post.
I wanted to tell you all about my recent trip to South Dakota! My mom, sister Rebecca, and I went to SD with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Debbie in their 2014 Chevy Silverado truck. It was nice. But it was a 15- hour drive one way to Rapid City, so we were all super tired. We drove up to Colfax, WA from Tri-Cities on Monday, June 1. We left from Colfax the next morning at 3:00 A.M. We drove all 15 hours through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and then South Dakota. We got there late at night at around 9:30, because we gained an hour passing through time zones. (SD is in the Mountain time zone, while Washington is Pacific). We slept in the next morning, but Uncle Bob and Aunt Debbie still had to drive 5 more hours to get to their sons house in Madison, SD.
We stayed at an AmericInn hotel for five days, and our rental car was a nice, new Dodge Grand Caravan. That's the car my family has, so we were pretty comfortable with it. Our hotel had a free breakfast and a pool with a slide. It was nice.
Day one after we arrived we decided to start our trip off with a bang by visiting Mount Rushmore. WOW. It was great. I couldn't believe I was actually standing there, right in front of my dream. It was more magnificent than any movie or Discovery Channel show. Don't worry, I got plenty of pictures. We then visited the Needles Highway, which is a highway that winds through formations of mountain rocks. You'll understand what I mean when you see the pictures. On that highway we saw mountain goats and prairie dogs and deer.

The next day, Thursday, June 4, we went to Reptile Gardens, which, according to the Guinness book of world records, has the largest collection of reptiles in the world. We saw the deadliest snake in the world, along with alligators that were in James Bond movies, lizards, and giant Galapagos turtles. We then headed over to Bear Country, USA, which is a drive-thru wildlife park, where all the animals are fenced in, but can roam around. We saw elk,  bighorn sheep, and lots and lots of bears! That was pretty cool. There was one bear that would not stop walking back and forth along the road. It was because of the cattle guard blocking the bear from crossing the bridge, so he just kept walking back and forth. It was seriously hilarious. The baby cubs were the cutest.

After that, we headed over to an old legit ghost town called Rockerville. There was an old bank, saloon, and a couple more broken down buildings. Right across the street was a new building called 'The Gaslight'. This is the conversation between me and my mom.

Mom: "What is that?"
Me: "I don't know. Looks like a bar."
Mom: "Look there's a sign. Bluegrass every Thursday night. It's Thursday!"
Me: "Looks kinda creepy. Let's go."
Mom: "Lord, what do you want us to do?"
Me: "Hey look. Jack Daniels beer sign right on the side of the building."
Mom: "Jack Daniels isn't beer."
Me: "And look, smoking people hanging around."
Mom: "I think I'm going to call them."

And before I could stop her, she called and asked if they were family friendly. Of course, the waitress said. So we went. It was just like a Bob's Burgers and Brew, only better because there were 8 people in their 70s playing bluegrass for us. It was great.

The next morning, we went for a one-hour horseback trail ride, which was also cool.
After that, we went to Custer State Park, saw deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs, and best of all, BISON!!! It was the awesomest thing ever. We were literally all in awe. One of the herds was grazing not too far away, but they were slowly making their way over, so we stopped the car, and waited. They eventually walked right by our car. I was so scared when the big bulls walked right by as my window was rolled down with my camera sticking out the window. The calves were so cute though! Look at the pictures, you'll fall in love with them too.

The next day, Saturday, we went to the Watiki water park in Rapid City. They had awesome slides like the Super Bowl, which I was going down backwards the entire 5 hours. After that, we went back to the Gaslight to get Dani and Lizzy some good, old fashioned sarsaparillas. I went in by myself, went straight to the bar, and using my most manly voice, asked for two sarsaparillas please. She gave me two after I paid, and right before she handed them to me, she popped the caps off for me to drink. "Could you give me those caps back? I'm bringing these home to my sisters in Washington State."
"Nope. Threw 'em away. Sorry hon," was her reply. I went back out to the car, dejected, and told mom the story. She just gave me back her debit card and told me to buy two more. So I go back in, order two more, WITH THE CAPS ON, and while I'm waiting, I got to see American Pharoah win the Triple Crown, to become the first horse to do so in 37 years. Me and Becky both got a sarsparilla, and I got to see the end of the Belmont Stakes, so I was happy.

So that was our awesome, amazing, wonderful, luxurious, beautiful, trip to South Dakota. I hope you all liked the story.
Dream accomplished.
-Jake