We finally met up with Jessie, Rylie and Nico Wednesday morning at Storybook Island in Rapid City. The kids had a blast playing on everything and it was good to catch up with Jessie.
Not sure about entering a bee hive...
"Logan...look grumpy." Nailed it.
We spent about 3 hours at Storybook Island before we finally felt they must have climbed on just about everything. We took Rylie with us from here and went over to Cosmos. She's been wanting to go there so I saved it for something to take her with us to. It was interesting! The kids had a blast. It definitely is a mystery. I mean sure, the main cabin is built into a hill.... but
still. Not a place for someone with balance issues!
Luke got picked to be the helper with a tennis ball trick. It rolled
up the wooden ramp!
Bottles and cans roll
up a decline...
After Cosmos, we met Jessie and Nico in Keystone for lunch at BrGr 61. One of her foster sons works there, so we got some special treatment. It was really good, kind of like Fuddruckers with all the burger toppings. Dave and I had elk and buffalo burgers, Luke tried their famous (according to Jessie :) ) pizza puffs. Here the little boys are playing in the old chair lift in the restaurant. The kids did the mirror maze next door after lunch and then we walked the main street shops with Jessie and the kids! Dave, Jessie and Nico went to a couple rock shops since she knows the owners and I took the rest of the kiddos to Big Thunder Gold Mine for the tour and panning.
Logan's hard hat wasn't staying on right. And he was tired. The tour could have went one of two ways.... luckily, he stayed composed and we got through it. The tour was interesting, luckily we got a good guide. It's amazing that after all that work so long ago, they only mined about $200 worth of gold.
The panning here was ok, not as good as Wade's for us. I think we were just spoiled with one on one attention. They didn't give much direction here. The girls gem mined, Logan played in the trough.
They did find some gold though! It may or may not have been pyrite gold and mica, but gold is gold is gold to kids!
Mount Rushmore from Big Thunder Gold Mine.
While the big kids were finishing up panning, the little boys played with trucks in the parking lot. Probably the most fun
they had all day! We walked around main street some more, grabbed a pizza at Cruizzers since another one of Jessie's foster sons works there, stopped at Jessie's house for a while and visited with Jessie and her family, and went back to the cabin! Keystone had an amazing sky that night. Looked like a forest fire.
