South Dakota or Bust!

 The past few years we've been hearing some buzz about South Dakota and its kid-friendly attractions.  So as we planned out our summer we had to put S.D. on the list - an easy 5-hour road trip with the camper was a no-brainer.  Luckily our great friends, the Deegans, were up for a fun trip as well.

So we packed in (literally) Thursday morning and headed out, stopping in Wyoming for lunch and arriving at our Flintstones campground late afternoon.  The kid-friendly campground was equipped with a pool, playground, and even mini-golf to entertain the kids during our downtime.

Not even an hour out and Ady's already passed out!

The campground was close to Custer State Park, so we drove over there for a light evening hike, which ended up being one of my favorite hikes EVER!  The wildlife was abundant - buffalo, pronghorn, snakes, birds, and lots of deer.  I never believed South Dakota actually had some beautiful scenery!

The kids loved all the makeshift bridges

 Herd of kids

 This big guy was right on the trail and wasn't happy with us!  After carefully examining him from a distance we concluded it was just a bull snake, but he was super aggressive!

 Landscape of Custer State Park

Friday morning we woke up and made the short drive to Mount Rushmore.  Definitely an amazing monument and we all enjoyed learning the history of the mountain.

 Whole group

On our way back we spotted a rock climbing area, and we knew Chandler would get a kick out of it.  Turns out even Brooklynn hiked up.  

 Saturday morning we drove to the "tourist trap road" to Reptile Gardens.  They had some great shows, including gator wrestling and some angry venomous snakes amidst beautiful grounds.

Petting a viper

 Chandler petting a 105 year-old tortoise

 Brooklynn petting a baby gator

 Worn-out kids

 That evening we went back to the park for another hike - this one up a mountain.  The kids were real troopers with all the hiking!

 Finally a buffalo!

 Mini-golf at the campground

Sunday morning it was back to the park for yet, another hike - an easy one around the lake.

Brooklynn with the "Needle" 

 She's at it again....climbing as high as she can!

 Finally some swimming time before heading home!

 Of course the drive home seemed to last forever with our many bathroom breaks and food stops.  I was astonished at how much fun is to be had in South Dakota, and we even started making a list of what we'll do next time.