Summer Vacation: Part Two (South Dakota)

That's right, that is Harley attire (Elanor and Ryan in Harley Davidson T-shirts, Wilken in an orange bandana, and you can hardly make out Ryan's handlebar mustache). Notice all the motorcycle's parked in the background? Those aren't staged! After Michigan, we traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit Wilken's Great Grandma Katie. We were appropriately decked out in our Harley garb as we were there during the week of the the Sturgis Motorcycle rally (where 100'000's of bikers convene to eat, drink, ride, and be merry). The Bikers spend the week prior to the actual rally touring the beautiful Black Hills, home to both Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. We felt we would fit right in with the crowd. When in Rome...


We had a phenomenal time in the Black Hills spending time with Ryan's family. Ryan's grandmother, mom, Armen, Traci, David, Grey, and Ryan's dad's cousin Ron and his wife Beth had a mini family reunion of sorts. Wilken again had cousins to hang with throughout the trip. David and Grey spent a lot of time watching out for the little guy and entertaining him which was a great treat for his parents. Here is a shot of the 3 cousins chillin' in the Cabin.

We spend most of our days outdoors. Grandma Katie lives in a log cabin in the hills surrounded by a forest. She has beautiful flowers, which Wilken loved to attempt to destroy. One of his new words is flower, which he pronounces "o-wa."

One day, we took a trip to Sylvan Lake to go hiking. Ryan and I had taken part of the hike on our last trek to the Hills BW (Before Wilken).

So, we thought we knew what we were getting into. The first 1/2 hour or so, we knew was straight downhill, climbing on boulders, through a gorgeous forest and trickling creek. We checked a map and realized we could go further than we had gone last year, and actually loop around to the Lake. An hour into the hike with Wilken on my back and nephews in tow, Ryan, Traci and I knew we were in trouble. We couldn't turn back as we knew we would have to go back at least and hour, but we had no idea how much further we had to go until the end of the loop. Thankfully, we had 1 small water bottle each and grapes and goldfish for a hungry and increasingly impatient young Wilken. We made it! Wilken and the boys were troopers. We hiked for over 2 hours (3+ miles) in the hills and were so thankful we didn't know what was in store, as we most likely would not have attempted it if we knew. Here are some shots of our hike.
Overall, it was a a very relaxing trip with family. Wilken slept like a log for all of his naps and most of the nights as he was so worn out by all of the fun (and we think elevation). After our hike, he even felt the need to hang loose and decided to sample Grandma's martini. Relax! It was empty. We can't wait for our next trip back to the Hills!