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Here’s a recap of our summer vacation. This year, it was driving to Mt. Rushmore.

Day 6
Up in the morning, another round of pancakes for breakfast, and we were off. Packed up the van, checked out of the hotel, and left Custer. Destination: just a couple hours northeast to Wall.

First stop: the Badlands.

Of course, we got in free again. Showed the gate attendant the 4th grade pass, and had the 4th grader wave to her because she had to verify we had him with us.

At first glance, the Badlands looks like a lot of nothing. And it is. But it’s a scenic nothing. In fact, if you look at it the right way, it can resemble the Grand Canyon.

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Here’s a recap of our summer vacation. This year, it was driving to Mt. Rushmore.

Day 5
Up in the morning, another round of pancakes for breakfast, and we were off for a day of hiking.

One of the reasons I chose to stay in Custer was that it was in the middle of Mt. Rushmore (day 4), Wind Cave (day 3), and Cathedral Spires (day 5)

It was not that long of a drive to the trailhead. But to get there we had to go along a twisty scenic drive.

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Here’s a recap of our summer vacation. This year, it was driving to Mt. Rushmore.

Day 4
Since we were staying in Custer, there was not much involved in going to see Mt. Rushmore.

First off, and I don’t have any photos of this, was the hotel’s breakfast. This was a pancake buffet. There was a pancake machine that made pancakes. You grabbed a pancake or two and then added whatever toppings you wanted. It was a novelty that was fun the first time. My suggestion would be to have some protein available also – bacon, sausage, eggs, etc. Because the kids love pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate chips and everything, but it doesn’t last them very long.

After breakfast, we headed to Mt. Rushmore. I had heard the light was best in the morning, so that’s what we did. Got there around 9:30.

Our national parks pass was useless here, as the monument itself is free. You have to pay for parking (considered a “concession”) though.

It was just like it should be:

We had perfect weather and sunlight for photos that morning.

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Here’s a recap of our summer vacation. This year, it was driving to Mt. Rushmore.

Day 1

The first day was just a long day of driving. Made it to Des Moines, IA. The hotel there was fine – standard chain fare that meets our requirements (pool, breakfast, sleeps 6 per room, has a fridge, etc.). The main item of note with our stop in Des Moines was that our hotel was within walking distance of a Pizza Ranch. My wife had memories of visiting Pizza Ranches in her younger days, but I and the boys had never even heard of it.

If you have never been to Pizza Ranch, you need to change that. Especially if you have growing boys who like to eat. It’s an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, with additions such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, corn, and – my favorite part – dessert pizza. It’s a good thing we walked across the parking lot, because we needed that walk back to burn some of the calories we gained in the restaurant.

After a bit of time for digestion, we spent some time in the pool, then watched some TV because that’s tradition on vacation now, and then off to bed.

Day 2

The second day was just a long day of driving. Made it to Sidney, NE. Home of Cabela’s. The hotel there was great – it met our requirements and then some. It was called a lodge, so it had timber throughout the lobby and hallways to make it look lodgey. Our room was the closest one to the breakfast area, which was convenient. It was one of our favorite hotels of the trip.

We got there around dinner time. I took the kids to the Cabela’s store, which was about two buildings over. It was not as impressive as the newer Cabela’s back home, but it was a fun distraction after being in the van for 8 hours. We got back and had dinner than my wife had made in the room’s kitchen.

After a bit of time for digestion, we spent some time in the pool, then watched some TV because that’s tradition on vacation now, and then off to bed.

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I do not like camping. Details can be found in my previous post. Now on to the recap of my backpacking trip.

We started off in the parking lot. Not much there other than a dirt area for parking and some permanent porta-potties. Perma-potties?

I paid the post in order to leave my car overnight, and off we went. It was mid afternoon, overcast, and warm.

Since the area is used for a variety of activities, there were a variety of trails available. Those closest to the parking lot looked like this:

And that’s what we started on.

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I do not like camping.

Camping is pointless.

Campgrounds are annoying. I am not a social person. Why go somewhere to get away and relax when there are a bunch of people right next to you?

I take each kid somewhere individually each year. For example, this year I took Beta, just him and me, to Cedar Point for the whole day.

And I took Alpha backpacking.

People who know me were curious as to why I was rounding up camping equipment.

“A tent? I thought you hated camping…”
“I do. That’s why I’m not going camping. I’m going backpacking.”
“What’s the difference? You walk around, you go to a campsite, and you sleep in a tent.”
“No, there’s no campsite. The difference is you make your own camp, wherever you want.”

Some people still weren’t quite clear on the concept.

The key is to find a national forest or national park that allows for backpacking (or what they call “dispersed camping”). That way you can camp wherever you please. Well, almost – they don’t want you camping next to the trail or near water. But it’s great – you walk along as far as you want and then you camp there. No “we have to make it 3 more miles to the campground”. And from the time we left the parking lot to when we returned to it, we did not see or hear any other people.

If you’re going camping to enjoy nature, then backpacking is the way to go, not camping. Or “campgrounding” as some call it. That’s the way to enjoy crowds and inconvenience.

Here’s a tip for you if you are having problems with another guest at the hotel: complain to the management, not to the guest.

The story:

We were at a hotel, on the second floor, and it was bedtime. The kids were doing a lot of running around while getting ready. There may have been some jumping off the beds too. I went to grab something from the lobby and when I got back to the room a stranger was right behind me, trying to get my attention. I thought he was going to tell me I dropped something, but he told me we were being too loud.

I replied the kids were getting in bed and it would be very quiet. He was not satisfied with that answer and proceeded to tell me very sternly that we needed to keep it down, way down, because he had a 6 year old. I thought about telling him that we have a 5 year old, so we win, but I just reiterated that we would keep it down and then he left and I closed the door.

That was 9PM.

The kids walked very quietly to their beds and everything was calm probably before the guy even got back to his room.

It was a very awkward encounter, and the awkwardness continued into the next morning. Would I run into him then? What if he ended up in line next to me at the hotel’s continental breakfast? Should I ignore him? Ask how his night was?

I think they left early – must’ve had a long day of driving ahead of them or something. Or he was smiling at breakfast so I didn’t recognize him. Either way, I didn’t run into grumpy man the next day.

But all that could have been avoided. He should have called the front desk and complained. The front desk then would have called us and asked us to be quiet. The end result would have been the same, but all the confrontation and awkwardness would have been avoided. Because the front desk would not mention who was complaining, I wouldn’t have been able to look for them at breakfast.

And the complainer is lucky that I’m a calm person. What if he confronted someone who had a temper and was already having a bad day? Things could have gone badly.

Please, hotel guests, go through official channels whenever possible and do not confront other guests directly.