Hiking

We made sure to get Isabella back to the camper every afternoon for her nap. Everyday, Monte's parents insisted that they also just wanted to stay at the campground, and relax while she was napping. They also insisted that Monte and I go do things by ourselves while she was napping. So almost every afternoon he and I went hiking in the Black Hills National Forest. It was very rough terrain at times, and also very remote. I was fine with it until we heard a RATTLESNAKE one day!! There were so many trees, rocks, etc. that we didn't see it, but it was loud, and unmistakingly a rattlesnake. Apparently they only rattle when they sense danger nearby, their rattle is their warning. Were WE the danger it sensed?! I'm guessing so! So with that, and also all of the warnings out that there are mountain lions in the area, I was DONE hiking, although I love it otherwise. That was definitely a scary moment for me, but if you ask my husband, he'll tell you it was the hightlight of his trip - hearing a rattlesnake in the wild.

And by the way, we opted to spend our alone time the next afternoon (our last day there) at the mall . . . just a little safer. :)

Hiking in the Black Hills National Forest

Palmer Gulch

We stayed with Monte's parents in their camper while on vacation. The campground/resort that we were at was called Palmer Gulch. There was so much to do there that we could have spent the entire week there, without even going anywhere. It had two big pools, two kiddy pools, a waterslide, horse and wagon rides, trail rides, live music, a huge playground, movie theator, candy shop, ice cream shop, restaurants, and all you can eat pancakes every morning under a big tent. We didn't partake in all the activities, but did quite a few.

Isabella and I heading to the pool. (I didn't realize there are so many pictures of me from the trip, usually there are no pictures of me, which is more than fine with me.)

A bit blurry, but Isabella and Daddy going down the big water slide.

Unfortunately Monte couldn't totally escape work, he had to check in every now and then.

Of ALL the things we did while away, her two favorite things were jumping on this bridge at the campground and swinging on the tire swing there!

The "Hill City Slickers" played there every other night. Isabella LOVED them, she's obsessed with music.

Pactola Dam

Now that things are back to being rather uneventful, I can resume my vacation posts.

Another very scenic place we went to was Pactola Dam, once again we spent some time walking around, taking in the scenery. We even got a group picture of all of us there.

On the Mend

Isabella is doing much better today. I didn't actually wake her up every two hours, but I did go in a few times in the night to rouse her without waking her up. All of her injuries are on the inside of her mouth, so the only problem she's had today is random bleeding in her mouth, especially when she eats. Eating and brushing her teeth are difficult, but other than that, she's just fine. I didn't even have to give her any Tylenol today until naptime, and that's all she got all day. She's quite taken with the blanket they gave her at the hospital. Monte and I were commenting on how it is in a little town. Our town is quite small, we've never been to the clinic/hospital here. We do all of our doctoring in the MUCH bigger town about 20 miles away. But last night we were very thankful to have an ER to take her to that was literally only a couple of minutes away. We were the only ones there, and she had all three nurses constantly gushing over her. Then they loaded her up with a whole sack of goodies to take home. Monte was (jokingly) wondering if they were keeping us there so long so that they would have something to do!

First Trip to the ER

We interupt the previously scheduled vacation posts due to an unfortunate mishap this evening. Monte was mowing the lawn in the front yard, and Isabella and I were at her swingset in the backyard. She's been all about the "big girl" swing lately instead of the baby/toddler swing. So tonight she was swinging on her tummy, exactly how she was pictured here, when she fell off head first right into the ground. She got up, screaming, and me, being the not so calm mother that I am, let out a huge gasp as I saw blood rushing out of her mouth! Her whole mouth was FULL of blood. I picked her up and raced over to Monte, while the blood was all over her and me by this point. So we took her to the emergency room, where they concluded that she had cut the inside of her cheek, and also knocked a tooth loose. They checked her over pretty good since she landed on her head, and she was so brave, we were so proud of her. I had no idea how she would be. We had to wait quite a while for the doctor to get a hold of the dentist, who concluded that we should just watch the tooth carefully for 2 weeks. In some cases, in children that young, the tooth can go back into place. In other cases the tooth could start dying, so if it starts changing color in the next two weeks we are to bring her into the dentist. We're supposed to rotate Tylenol and Motrin for the pain, and the doctor told us we should wake her up every two hours tonight to make sure she is okay, since she hit her head pretty bad. . . sigh. It could have been much worse, though, that's for sure! My poor little angel. She WAS pretty darn excited about her bag of loot from the ER, though - a handmade blanket, Dora stickers, and two suckers. I highly doubt her daddy and I will be very excited when the bill for that little visit comes, though . . .

Custer State Park

We went to Custer State Park while out in the Black Hills. According to the website:



Don’t be surprised if you encounter a roadblock of grazing bison in Custer State Park. A herd of 1,500 bison roams freely throughout the park, often stopping traffic along the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road. The herd is one of the largest in the world.
Bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. Historically, the animal played an essential role in the lives of the Lakota (Sioux), who relied on the “tatanka” for food, clothing and shelter.
Besides bison, the park is home to wildlife such as pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, wild turkeys, and a band of friendly burros.



Well, we most definitely came across the band of friendly burros! These guys were right in the middle of the road, waiting for food from all the tourists. We decided to get out of our vehicle and feed them too, like everyone else was doing. They loved Isabella's Ritz Bitz! We decided to head back for our car, though, when one burro started chasing after me.

I didn't take very many pictures there, but we did also see two huge herds of buffalo roaming free. Before we came across the herds, we saw just one lone buffalo grazing a few inches from the road, Isabella liked him and decided to call him "Spachulo"! Crazy girl, she's been talking about "Spachulo" ever since too!

Sylvan Lake

My favorite part of our trip was going to beautiful Sylvan Lake. I feel like pictures don't do it justice. We had fun walking all around the lake, and taking in the beautiful scenery. There was a hiking trail there that Monte and I hiked while Isabella went with Grandma and Grandpa to take in the different tourist shops, and have a snack. We hiked to the top of one of those huge rock formations, the picture on the right was taken from up there.