South Dakota!

I didn't expect much going into South Dakota, and so I was pleasantly surprised! There was actually a lot to do, much more than we had time to do, so we just hit Mount Rushmore. It was very interesting. I added to my little library of random facts that I will never need again (unless I somehow make it on jeopardy, in which case they will still probably be useless). For example, Jefferson's head was originally supposed to be to the left of Washington, but there wasn't enough workable granite, so they just blew up what they had and started over on the other side. Also, there was supposed to be a hall of records behind the faces where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would be kept. Alas, they ran out of money with WW2 and all that was blasted was a small entrance. And, the sculptor behind the whole thing, Gutzon Borglum was Mormon. At least his parents were. Lastly, there is an ancient city made entirely of gold somewhere behind the heads - oh wait, that was the movie I saw last night. Anyways, now you have added to your library as well. Wonder what you will push aside to make room for that.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the trip:

I'm not sure how Samantha got a hold of the entire box of cereal, but she was sure glad that she did.
On the way out of Wyoming, we had to stop for a herd of cattle crossing the street. This is what the road trip is all about! Carter loved the sound of all the cows. I loved the cowboys. Especially the one on a dirt bike (not pictured here).

I saw buffalo for the first time! This was one of my major expectations, so I am glad that it was fulfilled. We saw some closer, but Mike wouldn't stop long enough for me to get a picture. So this is all you get. Mount Rushmore!
Somehow Mike ended up carrying both of the kids. What a man.

You can't go to South Dakota without having a buffalo burger! We stopped at Al's Oasis and Mike had one. It wasn't great, but at least we can say we tried it!