Day 5: 7/20/10 Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

See?  We can smile at a national monument!

Soldiers' Monument

At first Liv and Tony were quite upset at the thought of having to learn so much history at one stop, but they (mostly meaning Tony) got over it rather quickly.  We went on a walking tour with one of the park rangers and learned so much about the Unity Monument, Custer's Last Stand, the Soldiers' Memorial, and even the Memorial for all the horses lost in battle.

Soldier Headstones

Statue in the UnityMonument

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4: 7/19/10 Keystone, SD

Tony with his new "hog" in Keystone, SD.  Well, it was his until the 

guy that paid for it showed up!

Day 4: 7/19/10 Mt. Rushmore

Us, like many, had already seen the 4 Faces.  However, what was really memorable about this trip was that we met one of the last surviving workers that helped build Mr. Rushmore.  His name is Don "Nick" Clifford.  He was so nice to visit with and encouraged all kinds of questions.  He was even on the Rushmore baseball team that was so successful.  Mr. Clifford wrote a book titled, "Mount Rushmore Q &A: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions"  He signed our copy after our visit.  The book is almost as amazing as the man himself!
Don "Nick" Clifford

Day 4: 7/19/10 Mt. Rushmore

Family pic on the walk to the 4 Faces

Day 3: 7/18/10 Hot Springs, SD Evan's Plunge

What a great day to play!  This place has changed so much since I was a kid.  It has plenty to do inside and out.  We played a little bit of volleyball inside and relaxed on the inner tubes.  Outside, the pool is set to the perfect temperature and Liv and Tony enjoyed going off the waterslide.

Liv and Gram playing in the outdoor pool

Tony and Pappa hang'in in the outdoor pool

Dobbie's Frontier Town: Alliance, NE 7/17/10

Kind of creepy, kind of cool.  This little replica of a frontier town exists in Alliance.  I had never heard about it but Jeff found it on the internet.  When we arrived, we were not sure whether we should really be there or not.  No one else was there, however, tools were left here and there so it looked as if someone had been working on restoring the "town".  Only Tony and Jeff were "game" enough to join me on this adventure.
The jail was pretty cool.  The dentist office looked scary and contained many interesting and scary items.  Tony freaked out when he tried to walk through the doorway from the dentist office to the doctor's office.  There was an examination table with a boy mannequin on it.  A doctor mannequin is examining him.  Tony took one peak at the shoes and ankles attached and bolted for the door!  We did visit a couple of other buildings but it was obvious Tony was relieved when it was time to return to the car!

Overall, good place to possibly film a horror film and thus boost Alliance's economy?
~Brenda

Carhenge: Alliance, NE 7/17/10

"Uhhh...OK" were Liv's words describing Carhenge.  Tony and Jeff thought it rocked.  I was impressed at how much work the artist went to to come up with a similar representation of Stonehenge.  There were so many people visiting today.  I was surprised.  The lady working in the visitors' center said that many Special Olympics participants stopped on their way to Lincoln and had the parking lot and highway filled with cars, buses, and vans.
The artist is retired and now lives in New Mexico.

"Look! I'm Home!"

and out of nowhere, Tony's long lost home appeared around a corner.  He was so elated that we jumped out of the car to take a few pictures.  If all else fails, he can always return to his home that must be waiting for him.  We were somewhere near Bridgeport, NE.

Day 2: Saturday, July 17th, 2010

We drove by Lake McConaughy this morning.  It was amazing to see the water back up to 90%.  We stopped by the Lake Ogallala spillway as well.  Wow!  I've never seen water coming through with such force.  Check out these photos.

Day 1: July 16

We were scheduled to pick up Jeff from his office downtown at 4:30.  We were fairly on time, arriving at 6:00 to find him pacing at the corner.

The day just flew by, getting everyone's last minute things together.  The dogs made us feel guilty all day.  Fluke was so stressed, he lost a bucket-full of hair through shedding!  

Thanks to my friend Catie for coming and picking up Speedy today!  There would have been no way I would have made it over.

Tonight we drove to Ogallala.  Liv & Tony  were upset they could not swim by the time we arrived. We will make it up to them!
~Brenda