There is nothing better than a week’s vacation surrounded by family in the heart of God’s beautiful creations. That is what my husband and I and our children and grandchildren did earlier this month. Our destination was Lead, South Dakota, an awesome area to stay.
We rented a three floor house there with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. There were two decks and one had a hot tub. There was a community pool near a common area in the development. We had plenty of space and lots of activities. When we were not at the house enjoying the hot tub or games, we visited a few of the local attractions.
As in most tourist areas there are many things that charge admission and can end up costing a lot for big families. Instead we found things that were either free or had a one time charge for parking or traveling through. One of these was Custer State Park where we only bought a park sticker and did many things. We saw lots of animals including buffalo, swam and picnicked at a beautiful lake and traveled the twists and turns of Needles highway. The beauty was unbelievable.
We ended that day at Mount Rushmore which never fails to astound me. Our children stayed for the programs and lighting ceremony at night which they said was spectacular.
On another day we again packed a picnic lunch and headed to Spearfish Canyon. What a glorious area of mountains, valleys and waterfalls. Once again the children did more than the ‘old’ folks as they hiked to a large waterfall and basin where they could slide down the rocks and jump off cliffs. The grandkids all said this was their favorite part of the trip.
We also enjoyed the shopping, food and free shows in Deadwood. My favorite story was telling granddaughter Josie about a shoot-out when she asked what it was. I told her how the guys would meet on the street and the first one to draw was probably going to win. Her response was “what do they have to draw?” They needed a lesson about the wild west.
It was such an amazing week and very hard to say goodbye when it came to an end. This will probably be a once in a lifetime trip and hopefully the kids and grandkids will remember it for a long time. I know for my husband and I, we will cherish it forever.
