Day Twelve

What, no day eleven? Well, that could happen, but the truth is that we drove all day, and there was not really anything noteworthy. We drove from the Twin Cities area to the Chicago area.

So, day twelve. Chicago.

We went to the Planetarium, aquarium, Navy Pier, a sightseeing cruise, and to the top of the John Hancock building.

We got a little artistic here. The planetarium was the best of the 3 I have been to in my life.


The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is pretty cool. By far, the best I have ever been to. They even had a Komodo Dragon, which happens to be Andrew's favorite reptile.



Sweet dolphin show too! A little bit about entertainment, and a lot about education.


The 'cruise' was marginally worth while.


Quite possibly, the most redeeming quality of the 'cruise' was the tip we got to not waste our time with the Sears Tower, and go instead to the John Hancock Center. It was a very impressive view.




That said, Abigail was not impressed. She actually fell asleep on my shoulders as we walked to the Hancock.


After the Hancock, we walked back to Navy Pier, had dinner, snapped this photo (with the Hancock in the background), then went back to our hotel.


It was a very busy day in Chicago.

Day Ten

We should have known that once the kids saw the amusement park in MOA, that they would be fixated on that and that alone. So, our day at the MOA centered around the amusement park.

You might be able to make out Brenda's hair higlighted by the sun in this one.


Some of the Lego creations in 'Lego Land' are truly impressive in both size and complexity.



The real highlight of the visit was Underwater Adventures. It was really cool to walk through these passageways UNDER the aquarium. There were a couple hundred feet of these glass (or lexan) tunnels.


I know Andrew loved it!


Beauty is sometimes found in the simplest of things.


What are you smiling about?


Abigail recognized this as Nemo.


The 'touch' pool was pretty cool! Both of the kids touched stingrays and sharks.


Andrew was not excited about going on the 'baby' rides with his sister, but he did a good job of riding with her.


Andrew liked the 'thrill' rides. So did daddy.


We ended our day at the MOA at 'Famous Dave's' barbeque. It was good!


And, of course, no day would be complete without a swim at the hotel pool!



By the way, both of the kids are getting to be really good swimmers!

Day Nine

So, after you get east of the Badlands, there is not a whole lot in South Dakota. That is, until you get to Mitchell. We got into Mitchell a little late and set up our camp, swam in the campground pool, then went to bed. The next morning, we got up and went into town to experience The Corn Palace! Yeah, it was a 'corny' thing to do, but hey, you gotta lower yer standards sometimes!




On the other side of the interstate is a very large Cabelas sporting goods store. We needed some camping equipment/supplies, so we made the stop. They had an impressive collection of taxidermy, and Andrew began his budding photography career there. This first shot is of a bunch of record deer.


I gotta say I'm impressed with his composition here.


Nice staging/coaching of his 'model' here.



This day's destination was Bloomington, MN, home of the Mall of America, a truly impressive mall. It is also home of 'Legoland' and an indoor amusement park. We just stopped over there for dinner, and snapped these couple of shots.



More MOA fun tomorrow!

Day Eight

Today, we head out of SW South Dakota. On our way out, we went back to the Crazy Horse Memorial and walked through the visitor's center and all of its exhibits. This is a phenomenal memorial, and I hope to see it when it is finished.



Next, we stopped at a place called "Bear Country", where they have a drive through animal park, and a walk through area that includes young animals. This is a baby cougar playing.



This little fella is begging for Cheerios that park workers were dispensing to guests to feed the cubs.


Fun times!




Next, we visited "Reptile Gardens". This place has a great collection of all types of reptiles, including an impressive group of crocodilians.


They had a few of these giant tortoises running around.


Continuing on, we drove through the beautiful Badlands.



It was a long day.

Day Seven

We started off our first full day in SW South Dakota at the Mammoth Site. It was very interesting and fascinating to see the numerous specimens they have unearthed there.



Andrew even got in on the action carrying around a Columbia Mammoth mandible for all to see. Okay, it was a cast reproduction, but still heavy enough to be a challenge for him!


This is a real mammoth skull in an authentic dig!



One of the scary things they have unearthed there is the remains of the giant short faced bear. Imagining this creature is a truly frightening thing. Andrew dramatizes it well in this photo!


On our way to the next stop, we saw this cute little family.


That next stop was Wind Cave National Park. It was really cool (Literally! While the surface temperature was in the middle 90's, the caves were in the middle 60's) to go underground and see these geological formations.



This was Andrew's favorite formation: "Dog Tooth Spar".


Next, we went on a nice scenic drive on our way to Mount Rushmore. Did I mention that there were bikers in the area?


Mount Rushmore is very cool!





Did I mention that there were bikers in the area?