My Summer Vacation Part 2: South Dakota!

I have a lot more pictures for this post.  If you've never been to South Dakota, it is really just a different kind of place.  It's hard to describe, but I think some of these pictures will help.

Our traditional stop on the way into see my family at the ranch: AL'S OASIS. 

And look what you can buy! RATTLESNAKE EGGS.  Dude.

This is what the drive looks like pretty much all the way across the state. Along with the occasional herd of cattle and field of hay bales.

And when we arrived, we were invited to a wedding!  A distant relative's wedding.  In a bar. It was fun!

My uncle's cows.

I think this is the Little White River where it comes through my uncle's property.

Martin, SD. 'Nuff said.

This is an old truck on my uncle's farm.  My husband desperately wants to come get it someday and rebuild it. But anyway this is how they do things in SD. When you're down with your truck, you park it somewhere on your property and go get a new one.

Here's a picture of my uncle baling.  They cut the hay, then rake it into rows, and then bale it.

Here's my dad and one of the kids on a four-wheeler. My husband even got me to drive one. Wheeee!

We drove up to see Mt. Rushmore.

So that's South Dakota!  It's really fun, and a unique place to go.  I couldn't live there because of the weather 70% of the year (I hate snow), but I love to visit.  I forgot how much I loved my uncle's ranch (formerly my grandma's ranch) until I got there.  Even the smell was comforting and familiar.

My Summer Vacation Part 1: Vegas!

What a crazy fun trip! First, being away for two weeks is just weird. Our house even smelled different when we got back.


Anyway, we began the trip in Las Vegas. My parents actually live in Henderson, which is a suburb.

Here’s the view from my parent’s backyard:

And here are some pictures from the window of the hotel my husband’s conference was at:

I tried to stop by the local high school from my parent’s, but no one was there. I did manage to take a few pics through the gates. As I thought, it’s a lot like some schools here in Florida—with open air hallways.

If you’ve never been to Vegas, it’s definitely an experience. The casinos are strange with flashing lights everywhere, but they feel like it’s night all the time. And you have no way of knowing what time it is, since there are no windows or clocks around the casino areas.

There are slot machines in the grocery stores.

It is crazy hot. And dry.

We also drove about an hour and a half into the mountains to visit a friend of my dad, who has horses, donkeys, and chickens:

That’s pretty much it. Let me know if I can answer any questions!

Next: South Dakota!