Dispatches from South Dakota

After a grueling four-day week at work involving multiple up-past-midnight worknights to prepare materials for an executive meeting, I was dying for vacation when I boarded the plane in Minneapolis for Rapid City, South Dakota. A barely noticeable 45-minutes later I landed in the middle of the Badlands, in some of the most interesting geography I’ve ever seen. When I arrived at the airport Tim and Terrill were there to pick me up, but Shanleigh and Collin didn't know I was coming and they had fallen asleep in the car so they didn't even know about going to the airport. I showed up and Collin was pretty shocked to see me – he didn’t say anything at first and then he couldn’t stop giggling! Shanleigh didn't seem all that surprised – she’d be 10 years old tomorrow, so, you know, she's too cool for surprises :) Last night when we got back to the little cabin in the woods that we’re staying in all weekend in Custer National Park, the sky was so clear we could see more stars than I’ve ever seen (and that includes when I was in Africa!) Unfortunately it was pretty chilly outside, but stargazing even for just a few minutes was breathtaking. I definitely didn’t pack appropriately for this trip – all of the last two weeks I’ve been checking the weather in Custer, and it said 80 degrees and sunny! So I packed nothing but sundresses and flip-flops. Turns out when I got here, it’s due to be 50 degrees and rainy for the next few days… Guess I’ll be heading to Target to pick up some sweatshirts in short order. We went to Mount Rushmore today but it was so cloudy and rainy that we couldn't even see the mountain at all! We stayed for about three hours exploring the visitors center and the indoor exhibits, and watching a little movie about the construction, but still the clouds never lifted so we didn't even get a glimpse of the Presidents' faces. Shanleigh took it like a champ though, even though it had been her birthday wish to see it, and we promised we'd come back on Sunday if the weather is nice. This morning we gave Shanleigh her presents, and Collin was too cute - Timmy told him to go into the bedroom and get the present he had picked out for her. So he went in, came out with the present (it was a very nice watch), and offered it to her. Timmy said "Collin, what do you say to the birthday girl?" and Collin paused, looked right at Shanleigh, and said, "You're welcome!" It's really too bad that it's gray and rainy here because otherwise it's absolutely beautiful. The scenery is breathtaking - the amazing granite formations of the Black Hills, caves and canyons, geological surprises around every corner. And tons of wildlife! As we were driving up to Mount Rushmore this morning we saw three buffalo by the side of the road, just hanging out eatin' some grass. Collin was so excited! He's just starting to know how to read, and apparently at some point yesterday he saw a sign exhorting the dangers of wild buffalo. So about every hour or so while we were in the car, out of nowhere he would just say "BUFFALO ARE DANGEROUS. DO NOT APPROACH." It's hysterical the way he says it, just this little tiny voice piping up to remind everyone not to get close to buffalo. And speaking of buffalo, I was surprised to find out it seems to be the only thing they eat in South Dakota! Everywhere we go they're offering delicious food made with buffalo meat. For lunch I had a buffalo burger with some buffalo chili, Timmy had buffalo stew, and Collin had a buffalo hot dog! It's so delicious! I don't know if you've ever had a bison burger but it's really, really good meat. Once we got home I laid down and took a little nap, and then we all went outside to roast hot dogs and s'mores on the campfire next to our cabin. It's really nice being out in the wilderness, and even though it was still cold and a little rainy, it was warm by the fire and great to just sit outside in the quiet woods listening to the roar and crackle of the fire. This is feeling like a combination of homestyle camping trip and sightseeing adventure, which is absolutely perfect for me. I'm so happy to be spending time with my family and seeing new places. Tomorrow we're taking a longer drive and we're actually going to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower! If you've ever seen the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you might recognize it ;) I learned something interesting today, which is that there is this other big monument in South Dakota called the Crazy Horse monument, which is very similar to Mount Rushmore in that it is a giant statue carved out of a mountain. Except that they started building it forty years ago, and about twenty years ago they ran out of money. So it's just this partially completed statue in the mountain, which hopefully someday they'll finish, but maybe they never will. It looks pretty funny, you should look it up on wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_Memorial