Monday, June 17, 2024

Rapid City to Sioux Falls

Our first stop after leaving Rapid City was Wall Drug.

There were lots of shops inside Wall Drug and
of course we checked out the pharmacy!

Next, we went to Zesto for lunch.

After that, it was time for The Corn Palace!

We got a little corny

and pressed a penny souvenir.

The Corn Palace was certainly memorable!

We made it back to Sioux Falls in time to grab
Fazoli’s for dinner and relax in one more hotel pool!

We saw so much in North Dakota and South Dakota, and we are looking forward to checking more states off our list in our next adventure!





Friday, June 14, 2024

Rapid City Day III

We started our last day in Rapid City at the
 WaTiki Indoor Waterpark.

Harper loved the big water slides

and the lazy river.

She tried out the lily pads 

and got soaked in the waterfall.

She loved the slides in this area too, as long as the giant bucket of water didn’t dump on her head.


Later, we found a good playground

to burn off some energy.

We ate lunch at Sickies Burger Garage.

The food was excellent at this old fashioned diner.

Harper decided we should go bowling.

Harper was winning for most of the game, but Ashley had a last minute strike to take the lead.

At the hotel, we played giant Jenga



and more cornhole.

It was opening night for Inside Out 2, 
so we had to go see it!

Rapid City was so much fun!










Thursday, June 13, 2024

Rapid City Day II

Our second full day in Rapid City started with a trip to Jerry’s Donuts.

All of the donuts were so soft and delicious.  Favorites were banana, peanut butter with chocolate, the apple fritter and the cherry donuts.

Next we went to Custer State Park.  We drove the wildlife loop and saw a few bison and some very friendly burros.

We drove down Needles Highway which has several narrow tunnels you have to drive through.

We made it to Sylvan Lake 
and decided to rent a canoe!

The scenery was so beautiful!





We grabbed a quick lunch and did some shopping.

Next, we slid down the Rushmore tubing hill.

The tubes went VERY fast!

It was scary but fun!



After that adrenaline rush, we headed to Rush Mountain Adventure Park to ride the mountain coaster.

The views were amazing!

We never used the brakes 
until we needed to stop at the end.

Our next stop was at Nerdy Nuts where the girls got to create their own peanut butters.  First, they chose different flavors of peanuts to grind.

They got to mix in sauces and toppings. 
Harper chose no less than 30 toppings!

They sealed and labeled the jars, 
then got to color the labels.

We had so much fun at Nerdy Nuts and the peanut butters are both super tasty!

Later that night, we played cornhole

and went to Armadillo’s for some cold treats.

There is so much fun stuff to do in Rapid City!
























Rapid City Day I

On our first full day in Rapid City,
we went to see Mount Rushmore.

We checked out the avenue of flags

and watched a short movie showing
 how the monument was created.

Next, we went to the Cosmos Mystery area.

Gravity does not act normally here.  Balls roll uphill and you can stand on the walls of the cabin.  I’m hanging from a level chin-up bar, but my feet pulled heavily to my left.

After that, we decided to check out Bear Country.
We drove through the park and saw lots of animals.

including bears!

We saw them eating

and playing in the water.
We loved the baby bears

and we saw a bobcat too!
During the afternoon, we shopped downtown and found a lot of the president statues.

Harper was so excited to see the giant Quarter Pounder statue at McDonald’s 😁

Later that evening, we headed out for some mini golf.

On this hole, Ashley got a hole in one

and I hit my ball in the water 😖  I had to grab it quickly before it fell down the waterfall!

There were lots of laughs and 
lots of challenging holes.

The weather was perfect for our night at Pirate’s Cove!