The Black Hills

Saturday and Sunday were spent in the beautiful Black Hills. I'm not even sure how many times I have been to the Black Hills, but every time we visit, I fall in love again and again. The wildlife, the lakes, the peacefulness... Even the touristy towns... Draw me in every time. This year we forgoed the major monuments... Rushmore and Crazy Horse... And spent our time driving the wildlife loop and enjoyng the serenity of our campground, Clear Lake. Saturday night was another weather adventure as we endured hail the size of ping ping balls. If you have never experienced hail inside a camper, it is quite an intense sound. By the time the storm was over, which seemed to last all night, my nerves were shot :) 

The day after the storm, we enjoyed a quiet day at the lake swimming, catching frogs, and craw dads. A young boy's dream! If you ever visit Custer state park, Clear  Lake is an excellent campground with a creek running through it. Try to get a campsite in the lower campground as it is closer to the lake and creek. Also campsite 20 looked particularly tranquil. We love the Black Hills and Custer State park. Can't wait to go back!

Auntie Em, Auntie Em....

We're not in Wisconsin anymore. After a 12 plus hour day of traveling, we made the decision to stop for the night in Wall, SD. For those of you who may be considering a road trip with kids, Day 1 is definitely the day to push it as far as you can.... Distance wise that is. By Day 2, my kids have turned into whiney blobs of complaining.... We're hungry, we're tired, we're thirsty. We bypassed my favorite place to stay, Murdo, SD, to get to Wall. The Best Western in Murdo has a great outdoor pool and delicious deluxe continental breakfast...in case you ever find yourself there.  It was a good decision to push it to Wall. That means we only have a few hours in the car till we reach our campsite. As we approached Wall, we could see a storm in the distance. By the time we settled into the hotel, the storm was no longer in the distance but right on top of us. Watching the lightening was better than any fireworks display. Each bolt lit up the sky like a baseball stadium at night. Unfortunately, that meant I could see the intense and bizarre cloud structures that certainly meant a tornado, or at least a storm that could produce a tornado, was brewing. My fear of a tornado was confirmed when the tornado siren went off... Less than 50 feet away. It was eerie,panic inducing, and time to get the kids out of bed and down into the hotel's basement. We had chosen to stay at a very retro, no thrills, albeit clean establishment called the Welsh Motel. We have stayed there once before.The hotel   managers were friendly and accommodating. After a two plus hour stay in the hotel basement, we finally went back to our room. No electricity, no air, and completely exhausted. The next day was gorgeous and we strolled around Wall Drug and headed off to the  Black Hills. It wasn't until later that day that we realized how magnificent the storm truly was. 

Day 1....

12 plus hours of travel... Made it to Wall, S.D. Kids are still awake. Need to find a hotel. But overall, a successful day of travel. Two stops.... First, at our favorite rest area in MN and second, Cabelas in Mitchell, S.D. (and of course the random stops for gas). We always try to push it on the first day as day 2 is always much harder. We have found that getting back in the car for a second day of travel is pretty much the worst form of torture for active boys.  He's hoping we get some sleep tonight and the boys can sleep in past 5 a.m. Did I mention the time change?!? 😉 peace and love, Jori 

"In 20 years, we won't wish we had traveled less....."

No truer words have ever been spoken. As we were preparing for our trip this summer, I began to feel a bit down. I thought about the summer activities and time with friends our family would be missing out on. You know the saying... Out of sight, out of mind. Trevor could tell I was having  mixed emotions about leaving and set me straight. "Jori, in 20 years, we won't look back on our lives and wish we had traveled less." True. True times 1000. We don't travel lavishly. We pack up our 2007 mini-van and travel cross county to visit Trevor's family in Wyoming. For the past few years, we have chosen to extend our time and add on our own family vacation... Moab, Arches, Yellowstone, Teton's.... Have been a few adventures. This summer, we are off to Glacier National Park in Montana. Trevor and I are both teachers so summer is the time we choose to travel... And we are blessed to be able to do so. We know this won't last forever. Eventually, there will be summer jobs, sports and other commitments. But for now, as long as we can and for as far

as we can, we choose to travel. 5 Ruffs, 6 states, 1 month. Peace and love, Jori 

Brushing up on my blogging skills!

Sweet, I can blog from my phone! This is gong to be an epic adventure... Leaving in two days for a month. South Dakota, Wyoming, and then the family vacation to Glacier National Park. Boys are 5, 7, and 9 months. We may buy stock in coffee and beer! 😉