Mount Rushmore

Started the week with a visit to Mt. Rushmore with the Colorado Gilberts (and Ruth and Katie). 

It's free!  Yes, parking is $11, but they give you a year-long parking pass. 

Really, I am not joking.

It's a nice place to visit. They have a boardwalk path which runs along the base of the mountain, which we happily took.  Along it, we saw this guy:

Not much to add, except that I have come up with the best ever slogan for Mt. Rushmore. It was carved by Gutzon Borglum. (Fun fact: for at least some time of his life, he was a member of the KKK. Well, except it sounds like he had to be just so he could do a big carving for them. So his heart wasn't in it.)

Anyway, the slogan is, "If you can't beat 'em, Borglum!"

 I refuse to feel guilty for that.

Jewel Cave

There are two main caves which you can visit and tour in the Black Hills: Jewel Cave and Cave of the Winds. We have been to Jewel Cave before and decided to show it to Sam, who hasn't. Ruth and Katie were kind enough to watch Josh. Susan, Sam and I got up very early, since Paul said when he and his brothers went there recently, they got there mid morning and were told the wait was many hours for the next tour.

They start filling up tour groups at 8 AM. We arrived at 8:20, and were able to join the 9:00 tour. Woohoo! We just barely missed the 8:30 tour, as did four Europeans, who complained bitterly to the ranger than they should be allowed to go on it, since they'd arrived before 8:30. And they complained in a French accent, which is somehow way more entertaining.

Jewel Cave is immense. 167 miles of it have been mapped, and scientists estimate that this is only 2-5%  of the total cave size. It's second only to Mammoth Cave and to another cave in Mexico. If it turns out that it connects with Cave of the Winds, which many thing is the case, it will be the largest cave system in the world.

It was found by two young fellers wandering the countryside looking for precious metals. They heard a whistling and tracked it back to a hole in the ground through which wind was blowing. (The cave is connects to the outside and is always equalizing pressure, either blowing in or out depending on the atmospheric pressure at the time.) It was too small to fit through, so the naturally decided to blast it open, and thereby made the first entry into Jewel Cave. 

They found a huge system filled with gorgeous quartz and calcite. Upon learning that this isn't worth anything, they did the only thing left to them and started giving tours! Under Teddy Roosevelt the cave became government land. 

The tour was an hour long of wandering through the cave and looking at the various fascinating deposits, and learning about the geological history which created them. Some photos are below.

Note the "soda straw"--the thin vertical line of rock where a stalagmite and a stalactite have met one another.

The 1880 Train

We were urged while in the mountains to take the 1880 Train, which runs up through them from Keystone to Hill City. 

It was a very pretty ride--lots of nice views. It goes past an old tungsten mine which was active during WW2. And a Baptist camp for kids which is still in use. Susan went there growing up, as did Katie and probably other Mansons and Gilberts. 

And it's fun riding in something which is literally 100+ years old, and still going strong.

Josh got wind of the train ride while we were still back on the way to the Hills. He said, "Train ride?" Susan told him we weren't there yet. Josh, ever hopeful, said, "Another train?", as if it were just a matter of choosing a different train leaving from wherever we were.

The ride was one hour each way with 15 minutes in between.  The first hour was perfect for Josh. The second was not, and so wasn't perfect for anyone. Josh was so unhappy being confined that he at one point demanded the train go off in a different direction. When Susan suggested it really can only go where there are tracks, he was unconvinced.

The steam engine and cars are all vintage. The conductor even appears to be from a century ago, except for the watch.

The cars have all been meticulously restored. Nothing but wood and metal and glass. The windows even have a green stained-glass panel.  Sadly, they frowned upon hopping from car to car during the ride. Or even walking around. Or letting your toddler stand up.

Brookings' dinosaurs

These two movies are holdovers from the Brookings trip last week. They are of the animatronic dinosaurs at the Brookings Children's Museum. Since Josh still speaks of the mama and baby ROARING, I thought I'd share them. The smaller dinosaur is furry and lives in a small cave, which I believe they roll him back into in inclement weather.

Josh found the mama T. Rex particularly alarming and yet compelling. He wanted to be near it, but never was willing to go up close.

The brick building in the background is the museum, which is housed in an old school. There are black and white pictures from the school's past in the old entryway. One shows an old wrestling team, which led me to believe it used to be a high school. When Susan said it was actually an elementary school, and I pointed out the wrestling team, Uncle Alan said it was probably a picture of the faculty.

I like how they engender a real sense of panic in the kids, especially when more than one child is present.

Notice that Sam is in a sweater. What a cold August! No wonder the dinosaurs went extinct.

The Badlands!

When nearly to Rapid City, which I like to call the gateway to the Black Hills (I am sure no one else ever thought of that), you pass on 90 next to South Dakota's Badlands. 

The Badlands is one of the quickest eroding parts of the country. 75 million years ago the region was submerged in a shallow sea. Then various geological things happened, and voila! it is now a starkly beautiful region littered with canyons, gulches, mesas and hoodoos. Yes, hoodoos. It's a truly alien landscape, something out of a science-fiction movie. 

It's like a playground to a seven-year-old, with all the wonderful formations to climb. And it's like a playground of hidden death and rattlesnakes for a two-year-old, who doesn't understand why his dad insists on holding his hand half the time. (Susan: "What? Half?!")

We drove through a cool cloudy day which gave way to punishing sunshine shortly after our arrival. We hiked the two easiest trails, tiny things meant for the elderly, Easterners, and those with small children. And we off-roaded a little so the boys could rave with joy at clambering unfettered, and then complain bitterly when forced back into the car. In fact, you get the full experience of why it's called the "Bad"-lands if you time it so that your kids are hungry and tired and an hour and a half overdue for lunch as you speed out of nature's stark beauty smack into Wall, with its famous tourist shops and restaurant.

Didn't see much wildlife. Just these guys and their cohorts, a couple of jackrabbits, and several vultures circling over us waiting for Josh to falter.

There were truly a huge number of really fun formations, especially fun for little people.

Sam modeling the horizon.

Did I mention the tremendous clamber appeal? 

If you look closely you can see the aforementioned fussing out of Josh. 

Next visit we'll time our arrival better so we can fit in a longer hike, and we won't do it on an empty stomach. Still, this time was both fun and memorable.

West to the Black Hills

Amazingly, I got no photos from Jon and Layne's wedding, so I swiped this one from Jon's fb page:

As I said, they had a great wedding--very spiritually centered. Uncle Paul did a great job and they carried it all off with an enviable mixture of penache and solemnity. 

We were in charge of making people sign the guest book, and of transporting the cards to a safe place, and making sure no (es)strange(d) uncles tried to make off with them for the wedding loot. 

We achieved our goal.

And, since Joshie was in the nursery with Katie and Katie, the former the sister of the boyfriend of Katie, Jon's sister, we were able to pay attention to the whole ceremony without having to chase Joshie around the church.

Which, admittedly, had its own full-sized gymnasium and no fewer than three nurseries, so there were plenty of places to roam. But that's a digression.

After Jon and Layne's wedding in Pierre we headed West with Katie and Ruth to a cabin in the Black Hills. This trip was almost all highlights, so I will start with a modest description of the cabin and it's environs.

It was all in natural wood--floor, walls, ceiling. Here's J. chillaxing on the couch which folded out for Katie to sleep on. The four Collins/Gilbert-Collinses were in one room, which was cozy, but spacious enough to be comfortable. The hosts provided a stack of firewood and makings for s'mores. The only thing lacking in this cabin was internet service, though you could argue its absence was a plus. If you wanted it, you had to go stand outside of one of the cabins down the road, and even there it was a trickle. 

Katie spent the summer working at a Dunkin' Donuts in Myrtle Beach with a team of CRU student ministry workers, who lived together and used their off hours to spread the gospel. Not sure how that resulted in her wearing a bottle of water on her head, but somehow it seems tied in.

She also gave Joshie some rides. Well, we all did.

Sam counted 21 wild turkeys who would wander by daily.

Sam and Josh and I took a little hike up the hill/mountain behind the cabin. Partway up was this shell of a building left from some bygone era. The ground was littered with gorgeous chunks of mica and quartz, including some really nice specimens of rose quartz. Oh, and Josh spotted a small snake on the way up. Sam kept asking whether we'd be likely to see a bear, or a bison, and what to do if we did.

This is Sam on an outcropping near the top. The rock formations were really fun and interesting. The Black Hills are separate from the Rockies, though geographically proximal, and are a good order of magnitude older. They reminded me of the Adirondacks, another range which makes the Rockies look young.

This is a view from near the top. 

Next installment: The Badlands!

South Dakota 2013: Brookings... and Beyond!

On Tuesday we left for SD, to spend time first with Susan's Dad in Brookings, then to attend nephew Jon's wedding to Layne in Pierre, and finally to spend a few days in the Black Hills with Aunt Ruth and Cousin Katie. Below is installment #1...

Josh was understandably excited about flying. And thanks to a great play area in Chicago we had a very easy trip.

Grandpa Gene insisted on letting each boy pick out a toy at Runnings, a local store. Josh chose a long-haul trailer, and Sam got an evil killer robot mask with glowing red eyes and a voice modulator. Took a while for Josh to warm up to it, but he eventually did.

For two days we passed the time at the Children's museum. It's smaller than the one in Rochester, but it has some nice features. It was funded entirely by a local businessman, Larsen, but you'd never know it--if his name appears anywhere I didn't see it. The big hit were two aninamatronic dinosaurs, a mam and baby T. rex. Josh was captivated by them. When he first saw them he said with great emotion, "AMAZING DINOSAUR! HE EAT YOU!" He would start whenever they roared, and refused to go close to the mama even with us along. And he would tell anyone who'd listen that they were ROARING. 

On Thursday we met Susan's Aunt Glenda and Uncle Alan and were treated to a very pleasant lunch by them at the museum cafeteria.

We made sure before leaving town to eat at Susan's favorite pizza place, George's. 

Now to Pierre, the state capital. We had some free time before the wedding today, so we joined the Colorado cousins in a tour of the capital building.

It has a lot of beautiful architecture befitting a capital building.

This is a sculpture of two horses fighting. It commemorates Governor Michelson, who died in a small place crash. Not sure why they chose two fighting horses. 

Josh and I walked, well, mostly ran, around the lake outside the capital. Apparently it is the site of a natural hot spring, so the temperature is something very high--Marlene quoted 96 deg F. Ducks swim there year round, Susan says. We glimpsed what must have been a river otter.

80 years ago they brought in workers to repair some cracks in the beautiful tile floor. Each was given a heart-shaped tile to place wherever he wanted. We only found one of them. When the tiles were first laid they brought in Italian workers, and each was given a blue tile to hide. Only 55 of the 66 have ever been found--we spotted six.

This is a senate chamber. Layne's mom is a state senator.

The reservation was held at a rodeo conference center and banquet hall. It was a very nice place up on top of a ridge overlooking Pierre and the Missouri river. Inside were exhibits about various titans of rodeo. Here are Sam and Megan, who hung out a lot in the last 24 hours.

This is one of four statues in the entry hall. I can't quite make out who this is. Progress?

Here's Susan with a portrait of her relative, Harvey Wolman (sp?), who was for half a year promoted from Lt. Gov'r to governor. This is opposite a portrage of Roger Wolman, another relative, who is on the federal apellate court. She says Roger rarely talks about work but when he does, it's fascinating.

That's the news. We'll be out of internet contact until Wednesday...

Summer Seabreeze Trip

Once a year we go to a local amusement park situated right next to Lake Ontario. It was built in 1879, and has some nice old rides and some newer ones too, as well as a water park. Because of its age, much of it is shaded by some beautiful old trees. 

We like to arrive around noon and leave when it's starting to get dark. Halfway through the afternoon we go to the huge wave pool to cool off, though this year we didn't stay long, as it was too chilly. This year we went on a Wednesday, which meant the lines were short.

Josh is a year older and able to handle a few rides this year. Sam is starting to enjoy more of the bigger-kid rides. 

The big old carousel is always a hit. They have a calliope playing continually at the same time. You can tell it's an old one, because it occasionally plays a hymn.

Josh was happy to repeatedly ride a little ride in which he motors around a small course in a '56 Thunderbird and with other hapless toddlers. Usually it doesn't occur to him to put his hands on the steering wheel--he just enjoys the ride.

Sam was nice enough to take a turn with him at first, which made it less scary.

Sam also joined Josh for the boat ride the first time. The second time, later, Sam and Susan were off watching some gymnasts do a tumbling routine, so I let Josh do it by himself. He only made it halfway around before he was overcome and started crying, and I got him out. A little too much new stuff late in the day.

Here's are Susan and Josh on a ride which always pleases, a train ride we can all take together. Pure fun for Josh. We must have done it five times.

This is called the "music express." The cars go around in a circle at high speed while music blares. It's meant to resemble a big turntable, an image which is probably lost on everyone under 40. This is one of the best rides. Smooth, fast, exciting. 

Sam took us on a medium-sized rollercoaster several times. Moderate hills, and a good time.

The Yo-yo is always a favorite

Susan and Sam on a kiddie rollercoaster

This is what we get to look forward to as Sam gets older!