An Official Family Reunion!

When I was growing up there were family reunions on both sides of my family every year.  On my Dad's side of the family it was my grandparent's family.  My Dad came from a family of ten children so it didn't take long before reunions were bringing in 60, 70 and more people.  The big reunion was always held at the family home.  Since my grandparents were ranchers there was plenty of room for everyone. Some camped in tents, some came in camping trailers, and some came in RVs.  Everyone made an effort to attend.  There were always lots of pictures of everyone sitting around eating since that was usually the only time anyone held still long enough to be photographed.  In my Mom's family there were only two children and they lived within 20 miles of my grandparents so they saw each other all the time.  As a result reunions were back a generation but still nearly every year.  So, yeah, I grew up doing family reunions all the time.  And I loved it. I knew all my cousins pretty well and they were always lots of fun.

Thirty years ago Brombeere and I moved across the country so from that point on all our vacation time each year has been spent traveling back to see all that family we moved away from.  Then, as our kids have grown up, married, and settled into their own lives they have scattered all across the country.  Some are near, some are far.  With 3/4 of them married now, getting everyone together gets harder and harder each year.  The last picture we have of all our kids in the same picture was taken nearly ten years ago.  As the years have stretched out we talked off and on about having a reunion where we would all get together and all be there.  A couple of times we made an effort but always something would come up and it would fall through while still in the planning stages.  Finally, a couple of years ago when we had a bunch of us together we decided to pick a date far enough out that everyone would have time to save up a bunch of money and keep their schedules open so that we could all get together for an official family reunion. And this time we were determined to make it happen!

The destination we had talked about meeting at for years was Mt Rushmore in South Dakota.  Back then it was fairly central for everyone and there is lots of stuff to do there so everyone wanted to go. However, while still in the planning stages, things happened and for a while we had moved the venue to Kansas City, Missouri, in an effort to keep it centrally located.  That wasn't as appealing as Mt Rushmore but there is still lots of interesting stuff there.  But then things changed again and suddenly Mt Rushmore was back on the table.  Happy day!

Back when we first started planning, we had figured that if everyone made it we would have 24 people.  By time to actually go that number had grown to 28!  Amazing!  Unfortunately, life does not always cooperate. When it was still almost a year out we had picked the place, a campground near Mt Rushmore, and made reservations for enough space to accommodate all of us. But as the time got closer job changes began to make it so that some people were unable to go; one family at a time, we began to lose people. In the end, only Erdbeere and Heidlebeere and their families were able to go. Nevertheless, we decided that those that could make it would still go.  And so we continued to plan and prepare.

Finally the big day arrived and it was time to pack up and go!  The first step is always to clean out the car.  Lots of help with that!

Because Heidlebeere and her kids are staying with us right now we had a lot of stuff to pack.  That, plus we were taking a few things that others would be using at the reunion.  So we decided to take our small trailer.  We've made the trip out west with this trailer before and its always done just fine.  So we laid out all our stuff in the garage.

The plan was to load the trailer and have it ready to go in the garage the night before.  We also packed the car with everything we could, everything we didn't need for over night.

Then in the morning we threw the last of the stuff in the car and hooked up the trailer and we were all set!  We actually made it out only half an hour after our target departure time!

The trip from our house to Mt Rushmore is just a little bit farther than we wanted to do in a single day, especially with small children.  Since Heidlebeere's oldest is a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan we had been looking around earlier to see where the books were set.  We found that there are actually four locations where the Ingalls family lived, one of which was conveniently located in De Smet, SD, which was right on the way to Mt Rushmore and at a good place to stop on the way.  So that's what we did!

Just outside of town is the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead, built to illustrate how the Wilder family lived when they were in the area.  Heidlebeere's oldest was in seventh heaven and it was actually quite interesting to see all the exhibits.

There was a dug-out set into the side of a hill - a tiny space for a family to live.  It was just one room with a stove in the center.  Cramped quarters but it did them for their first season.

Nearby they had a replica of the first cabin the family lived in after they were able to move out of the dug-out.  In it they had some period clothes so the ladies in our party had to try them on for fun!

The next stop was a barn with a straw roof.  The fun parts was they had some animals!  The kids got to see some chickens before going inside the barn.. Inside there were kittens.

The kids loved the kittens!  They also loved climbing on the bales of hay stacked in the barn.

There was also a calf in the barn.  The bravest of the brave actually pet the cow!

Next stop was a water pump.  A nice place to wash and clean up since some among us are allergic to cats and wanted to wash.

One young lady, when she heard that had she lived there in Laura's time, it would have been her chore to pump and carry water.  She gave that pump a good workout but when she was done admitted it wasn't something she wanted to do on a regular basis.

The other two were quite happy to just play in the water.

A stop or two later were some carriage rides, horse drawn carriages.  That was a hit!

On the pony ride, they rode across the field and then got to feed the pony some treats before coming back.  They liked that!  Only the kids rode the pony carriage.

The next ride was a much bigger carriage and much bigger horses.  The driver got the team out and started but then let the people riding hold the reins.  Fun!  The ride was pretty long, they went quite a ways so everyone that wanted a turn was able to.

Beautiful animals pulling that wagon.  Two of them. Very well behaved, very gentle.

There was another horse there that was available for rides but no one in our party got on that one.  Alas, we were running short on time and needed to get on the road for Mt Rushmore.

Our next stop was not so pleasant.  We had come down the back roads and made it back to the interstate but hadn't gotten very far when we had an equipment failure.  One of the tires on the trailer blew out in a major way.  While this was still 30 miles from the nearest town of any size, the blessing was that we were on the interstate and not literally out in the middle of nowhere, like we had been before reaching the interstate.  The nearest town was Murdo, SD, 30 miles away.  Drama, drama - our tire iron did not fit the lug nuts on the trailer so we were not able to take it into town with us.  Anyway, we ran around town trying to figure out what to do and finally bought a tire iron before heading back to where we'd left the traler.  Since all this was only ten minutes before the only tire store in town closed we figured we'd have to take the tire off and somehow secure the trailer so we could unload it to be able to leave it over night.  But when we got back, just as we were starting to take the tire off, some very helpful young men working on the road construction crew stopped (all this was happening just at the beginning of some road construction) and offered to help.  After talking with them and amongst ourselves about our options, we decided that they would take the trailer and dispose of it.  We, then, would repack so that the stuff that had been in the trailer would be either inside the car or tied up on top.  This enabled us to continue on to Mt Rushmore without having to stop overnight.  Being that close to closing time so that we were unable to get the tire fixed turned out to be a blessing!

When all the tire drama was over and done and we were back on the road we went back into Murdo to the ice cream place we'd discovered while we'd been in town the first time.  All this had happened at the side of the road on a hot day and we were all tired, hot, and hungry.  We all bought some yummy ice cream and were back on the road; we wouldn't have to stop over night after all!  Hallelujah!

We're getting to the point where our idea of camping is pretty much with all the comforts of home so we were in a cabin, along with Erdbeere and her family.  Heidlebeere was in a tent in a spot right next to the cabin.  Turned out to be a very nice arrangement because the cabin had water and a bathroom (with a shower!) that were a lot closer than where Heidlebeere would have had to go otherwise.  Very nice.

Tents are novel and fun and have to be thoroughly explored and played in!

There was also a big rock right behind the cabin that the kids had checked out and climbed upon!

Lots of stuff to discover!

The kids were all over the rock, which was pretty high but not so challenging that it was a serious problem.

The cabin made it so we had both ends of the spectrum as far as camping goes.  Heidlebeere brought her hamock ...

and inside the cabin there was a fairly comfortable couch for those that wanted to stretch out.

We did make it to Mt Rushmore.  We made the trek up the Avenue of the Flags,

Found our state near the end

and saw the carvings.  This was the third time now that Brombeere and I have been there.  I still find this monument amazing.  The scale is incredible.  This time we went into museum and learned more about how they did it and how they picked the four presidents that are on the mountain.  We also learned about some of the challenges they overcame to do this carving. Amazing.

From the viewing balcony there is a hiking trail that goes down closer to the base of the mountain.  I didn't go but from where I waited there were a few spots where I could see those that took the hike.

The hike was a little more challenging that anticipated, mostly because there were a lot of stairs.

But Brombeere and Heidlebeere and family made the trek, along with all the kids.  Impressive.

Later, back at the cabin, we had a birthday to celebrate!

Lots of help opening presents!  Help from an expert!

A little while after dinner we went outside and started a campfire.  What is camping if you don't have a fire?

Heidlebeere was the resident pyromaniac.  The goal was to get the fire started with just one match. Unfortunately, the fire did not cooperate. But she did get it going and it was very nice.  There is something very soothing about watching a campfire.

Of course, others preferred more modern technology.  Camp lanterns are great toys, right?

The nice thing about camping is that mornings are slow and easy.  No rushing.  Get up when you wake up. Mornings camping are nice, you get to hear the birds singing and see the morning sunshine. Very nice.

I like being out camping, even if it is "wuss camping."

Brombeere, on the deck outside the cabin.

Me, in front of the climbing rock behind the cabin.

The deck was nice, a very comfortable space.

Townsend enjoyed being out on the deck as well.

We did get a picture of everyone that was able to make it.  The rock made a good backdrop.

On our second day we made the trip down to the Wind Cave, some 30 miles south of Mt Rushmore.  A very interesting place.  Unfortunately, we miscalculated the popularity of the cave.

The Wind cave is one of the larger, more extensively explored caves in the world and a popular place for tourists.  There are only a limited number of tours each day and they fill up fast.  By the time we got there, for the tour we wanted to do, only the last tour of the day had any openings left and the line to get tickets was half an hour or more long.  We decided not to do the tour.  So we looked around the visitors center instead.

That, by itself, was pretty interesting.  This cave has features that are unique in the world.  We may have to make a return trip some day and plan our visit so that we can get on the tour.

We also walked outside toward one of the entrances to the cave a bit.

That was a nice walk.  And it was enough to wear out one certain young lady.

Not too far from where this was taken there was a vent from the cave.  You could feel the cool air coming out.

On our way back to the campground we decided to go through Custer State Park.  They keep a herd of about 1,300 free roaming bison in the park.  As we entered park we were hoping to get a glimpse of the herd.

As it was, we came around a bend in the road and there was a good sized group of bison walking along the road, heading the opposite direction as we were going.

Actually, it was a good thing they were going the opposite direction as we were going.  Even as it was it took quite a while for them to walk passed us.  It would have taken forever if they had been going to same direction.

Going farther into the park we saw more bison but they weren't right on the road.

We also saw antelope. They were pretty used to having people around.  They didn't spook at all.  They just stayed there, undisturbed and at ease.  They are pretty animals.

On our way to the cave we had passed through Custer, SD and seen a very attractive pie and ice cream shop so we decided we had to stop on our way back to camp.

The Purple Pie Place.  And they have pie as good as their decor!  It was yummy!

Back at camp we got another fire going after dinner.  This time the goodies came out; marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers: s'mores!

Everyone at least tried their hand at roasting marshmallows.  And everyone has their own opinion as to what constitutes the perfectly roasted marshmallow.

This young lady did pretty good.  She was patient enough to keep it in there a while and it didn't catch fire.

Lots of help for the younger ones.

Some didn't have the patience to wait for them to get roasted.  Straight out of the bad was good enough.

Heidlebeere went all out and layered mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips in a waffle code.  Then she wrapped it in tinfoil and set it in the coals long enough for all that goodness to melt and mix together.

Others went for the quick roast method.

I believe the comment was something to the effect that "if it isn't done enough to contain carcinogens it isn't done."

There was also some entertainment.  Erdbeere brought some soda and Mentos candy.  A fun combination.

She even had a gizmo to be able to stage the mixture so she could get it all ready and then "pull the plug" to mix them.

Fun chemistry!

The campground has a Fun Zone where the kids could play.  Lots of stuff, including swimming, if you want. We took the kids there near the end of the second day.

Townsend was in heaven - construction equipment!

All too soon it was time to break camp, pack up, and head for home.  That always happens; the good times take forever to get here but then go by too fast.  But it had been nearly perfect; hardly any bugs, hardly any rain, good, fun food, lots of fun stuff to see and do.

We stopped on our way out for once last look and then headed for home.

Once again we broke the trip into two days.  The kids loved the swimming pool at the motel.

Pools and kids naturally go together.

Playing with the kids was a lot of fun.

Even though she couldn't swim even the littlest one wanted to be in the water.  There was no fear at all - she loved it!

One of our last stops was a rest stop on the way.  All those days of travel, adventure, and time in the car always make the trip home seem to take a little longer.

Or maybe its just the result of knowing the fun is over and its time to go back.

Lots of time with grandbabies - the perfect trip.

It was a real good time.  And while we were there we made the beginnings of the plans for the next one.  Door County 2018!  Mark your calendars and start saving your pennies!