Molitor Family: 2017

Last weekend Paul, Daniel,Timothy and I headed out on a spring break trip. It was a last-minute decision. Since we rarely have spring break at the same time for family members, and this semester has been pretty intense, a break was truly in order! Where could we go that would be fun, yet not too very far away? Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands!! Although Paul and I have lived in the Midwest all of our lives, we had never been there before, nor have the boys. We were NOT disappointed!

First of all, we realized we needed care for our new pet guinea pigs, Buddy and Bo Jack. Thankfully the Lacy family graciously accepted the job!

Cameron Lacy with Buddy, looking very comfortable!

A great blessing to be able to share the driving! No one ever got too tired!

The Black Hills area is tremendously beautiful, and God blessed us with wonderful blue-sky days! When we came up this road in Mt. Rushmore National Park, and I saw the carved faces that I have seen all my life in history and travel books, I was truly thrilled! It is behind us in this picture. Even as we spent the rest of the day hiking around and reading the history of this place, I did not lose my awe. It was SO fun to finally see it in person and be up close to it!

We hiked up the tall hill across the highway. I have always loved rock hunting,
and I was amazed at all the beautiful rocks on the ground. They were all
different colors, and sparkled. After I picked up a few, I noticed that the soil
on my hands was sparkly like gold!

Coming to the observation point, there are pillars
built which have the names and flags of all the states.

The Minnesota pillar...of course!

We got the assistance of a stranger for this picture!

Some nice close ups!

Inside a tiny rock cave along the walk way.

Timothy looking as serious as Washington!

The Famous Wall Drug Store

Most People have heard of Wall Drug Store, but I only thought it was a chain of drug stores before I started planning this trip. Well, we chose to stay at a hotel in Wall, South Dakota, because it is a gateway very close to the Badlands. Wall is a small town that would probably not be on the map except for Wall Drug. I will leave it to you to look up its history! Wall Drug is considered by some to be just a huge tourist trap. And I would agree, yet it was very fun to still visit this icon. And if I go through the area again, I will try to stop for their (very good) 5 cent coffee, and the salt water taffy from their candy store!

After the morning spent at Wall Drug, we headed out to the Badlands National Park. Very good to see if you never have (like us!). We spent the rest of our day driving in this countryside and hiking. Then we drove through a wasted farm land on our return to Wall. Even that was interesting. I wondered why it was so devastated, and after some research on line, learned that just last year they had an extensive fire in the area.