Back to July...Mt. Rushmore

When we were in NZ in 2004, we spent a couple of nights in the yard of a very nice couple, Kaye and Alan. That time was an absolute treat! Then they came to America to tour around in 2006 with another couple, Neil and Barb. They stayed with us a couple of nights. Well, Kaye and Alan gave our names to this third couple, Walter and Olive. We began corresponding via email with Walter and Olive this spring planning to meet them in South Dakota at Mt. Rushmore sometime during the summer. As the summer progressed, the dates were chosen and it landed on our anniversary! So we had a nice time with some very fun friends. These first pics are of Sylvan Lake. It was an approximate 1 mile hike around the lake...wonderful views, interesting rocks, very cool...

Here's Michael helping Jonathan down climb a rock. He did really well. (Jonathan, that is!;-)

Jonathan and Annisia enjoy their Camelbaks. We like them too except they seem to need to hike slower and stop to drink lots, and then we need to find an outhouse or little boys/girls tree...you get the picture.

Walter and Olive with the kids by the dam at Sylvan Lake.

Then we drove the Needles Highway. Here's a blip from the National Scenic Byways Program:

"Driving through rock tunnels and winding past rock spires, the Needles Highway was labeled impossible when it was constructed in 1919. That didn't deter Governor Norbeck, who supplied more than 150,000 pounds of dynamite and the determination needed to construct the roadway.

The Needles Highway curves and winds through 14 miles of magnificent rock formations called 'needles.' One of the most prominent rock formations on the Highway is the Needles Eye, reaching 30 to 40 feet in the air with a 3 foot wide slit."

The eye of the needle...
Check out how Annisia is standing...like father like daughter!

Walter and Olive on the way in...

Crazy Horse. This is a sculpture of what the finished product will look like.

This is what is currently done...

...a zoom in on the excavator for my son!

Then on to Devils Tower. We walked around the monument,

saw about a dozen climbers in different spots, like these close to the top...

then continued on to home where Leilani had prepared a delish meal for all of us. We finished up the day with a wonderful Bible study...Happy Anniversary to us...way back in July!