Camping in South Dakota
We packed up and drove to South Dakota on July 4th. It definitely wasn’t a traditional 4th for us but we celebrated in red, white and blue with friends the night before. Mount Rushmore had it’s grand celebrations on the night of the 3rd with fireworks over top of the monument but there were no camping spaces open when we went to book a spot so we arrived on the 4th. The weather looked a little sketchy on the weather app — several cloud and lightning icons throughout the coming days — but the temperatures looked good so we hoped those lightning storms would quickly pass each day like they do in Colorado.
When we arrived at the WHITETAIL Campground it was pouring rain. We checked out the campground from our van and then headed down to the nearby Whitetail lake to wait it out inside the van. We took turns reading from THE WORK and THE GLORY until the rain dissipated and then we headed back to unpack. The rain had made everything even more green. Loved that we could see the lake from our campsite.
It was 5:00 when we started to set up. The boys gathered wood from the forest and we set up a collection on a tarp to protect it from more overnight rain. Dad started a fire for our tinfoil dinners and the kids and I set up the tent and arranged all the sleeping bags. So fun to be camping again!
Our tinfoil dinners were great! It was fun to eat and sit around the campfire. We made a dutch oven blueberry cobbler that was really good as well.
The kids were in a funny mood laughing about movie show quotes and such and the boys quickly started looking for stick weapons for their zombie game. So great to have no internet connection.
Chris and I played a game of cribbage, which was fun to relearn. All of a sudden it started to rain. We quickly put the chairs in the van and headed in the tent. We were settled in bed by 10:30.
Even though the temperature was great, I had a hard time sleeping. The ground was hard and I tossed and turned. At 3:00 I woke up and just laid there. Then at 3:45 I finally put on my rain boots that my jacket on and headed up to the bathroom. I took a flashlight with me but didn’t need it at all because of how bright the moon was. I got all set in bed again and laid there for another 15 minutes just in time for the birds to wake up at 4:15. Finally about 5:00am I fell asleep.
I woke up at 7:00 and got dressed and headed outside. Ryan was already up and reading on one of the camp chairs. The morning sun was hitting the lake and it was beautiful. It was the perfect temperature for a sweatshirt. Breakfast was pancakes, eggs and bacon.
BEAR COUNTRY USA
We prepared our campsite for the inevitable rain storm that was heading in and then took off for our days adventure. It was a little hard to plan without internet but we headed in the direction of the Badlands and then revised our plan to include BEAR COUNTRY USA when we passed it.
It’s essentially a drive through bear zoo. There were several other cool animals to see but the highlight was definitely the bears. Loved seeing so many of them roaming through the park, crossing the road right in front of us, playing in the water and climbing tree stumps. It was so fun!
After driving through, we stopped and enjoyed the bear cubs area. They were adorable! Most of them were wrestling with each other until one of them decided to climb a tree and the rest of them immediately followed. It was pretty cute to watch.
Badlands National Park
As we drove the hour from Bear Country USA to the Badlands the temperature went up and up until it was almost 20 degrees hotter. At a humid 98 degrees, we got out and checked out the viewpoint of acres of rugged white and pink geological formations and green prairie grass. It was pretty cool to see.
That’s Megan on the top of that formation, with Luke and Matt climbing up to meet her. Of course they couldn’t help but do some climbing.
We did the NOTCH TRAIL which was a short hike with a cool wooden stairway to climb half way through.
Exhausted and red faced we headed back to the van.
Whitetail Lake
When we got back to camp, the kids wanted to swim in the lake. Dad got started on dinner while I took them down.
Playing Zombie
The kids got dressed and sat by the fire to warm up a little bit. Luke and Matt went straight into finding weapons for their Zombie game. They were excited about each new weapon they created. Each were specifically picked and then designed with Dad’s hatchet to trim it just the way they wanted it. Then one of them would be the ‘storyteller’ creating and announcing the Zombie plot, while the other one reacted to the ongoing story. So fun to see them being creative and lost in their own little world.
Dinner in the Tent
Dad and I got the rice and chicken dinner cooking in the dutch oven. We started preparing the area for the storm rolling in. With everything put away, we climbed into the tent just as the torrential rain started. Everyone except Dad, who stayed outside with two umbrellas to tend to the dutch oven. Luke and I played a game of Cribbage and Ryan and the girls played Sleeping Queens. When the dinner was finally finished Dad was soaked. We ate our dinner in the tent with a couple of mint oreos for dessert. We were tucked into bed by 9:30.
The rain stopped about 12:30am. I didn’t hear it, but Chris noticed. I slept better. Was slightly awake to hear the birds start at 4:15 but was able to go back to sleep easily. The mask helped a lot. Woke up at 7:00.
Hot chocolate and Christmas breakfast in the Dutch oven. Original forecasts for the day included thunder storms starting at 11:00am but since the weather was perfect and the sky looked clear we decided to hang out and play some card games before we headed out: Hand and Foot.
The Devil’s Bathtub
Once again navigation without internet was an issue but with a small detour to a little mountain town we picked up enough reception to put us back on course. We listened to Hamilton though, which was so much fun.
The Devil’s Bathtub was the destination… a highly rated water hike up to a natural mossy waterslide.
First we stopped at a picnic place with a table in the shade and had sandwiches. Then over to the the Devil’s Bathtub trailhead. We passed a lot of people on our way in and out but there were multiple trails in and around the stream so we could social distance just fine. It was beautiful.
Luke and Matt still like to try and match where possible. I love it.
It was so slippery here that Megan choose to crawl instead of try and stand up. It was pretty funny.
Above - Luke and Matt find their own waterslide and have a practice run before trying the big one.
So funny watching the kids go down this mossy waterslide for the first time. Every one of them had faces full of nervous anticipation and pain.
Love these pictures of Luke!
Dinner and S’mores around the Campfire
Back at camp we started the fire, got the chili cooking in the dutch oven and started to roast our hot dogs. Matt’s was quite ‘blackened’ which was mostly by mistake. We rarely have hot dogs anymore so it was kind of fun. I cut mine in half lengthwise. Loved it!
Then we went straight into S’mores. Especially good on the fudge stripe cookies!!
The kids were in such a silly mood playing ‘would you rather?’ Then we talked about favorite vacations for a long time.
A Walk to the Lake
After s’mores we walked through the campground and down to the lake just as the sun was setting. Nice to walk around and enjoy the views. It was so fun to be able to see the lake from our campsite. Next time we want our paddle board and kayak!
Back at the campsite we played a family game of BANG at the picnic table with the lantern as it got darker. It ended up being great weather today. A couple big gusts of wind that blew our cards off the table but other than that it was great. So grateful to avoid any rain today. Tucked into sleeping bags by 9:55pm.
The Mount Rushmore National Monument
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a massive sculpture carved into Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Completed in 1941 under the direction of Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, the sculpture's roughly 60-ft.-high granite faces depict U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln
It was so fun to visit the Mount Rushmore National Monument. We walked down the cement pathway with state flags lining the way. Of course we’ve seen pictures, but we’ve never seen it in person before and it was so fun.
Because of fireworks on July 3rd and thunderstorms the past couple of days they hadn’t been able to clean up as fast as they were hoping. Because of that, the Presidential Trail was closed to the public. We were pretty bummed about that but still found this great view from down by the visitor center.
We ended our visit with ice cream. Ryan and Dad ordered vanilla from the original Thomas Jefferson's vanilla ice cream recipe! Taste like homemade. It was such a fun stop!
Back in the van and all packed up we started on the 7 hour drive home. Such a great trip!!
