After the Needles Highway we did the Wilderness Loop. We saw a butterfly, several prairie dogs in one field, and some deer like animal. We almost named it the Wilderness-less Loop…then right as we were turning left onto Iron Mountain Road all the bison we ever wanted to see charged out. (We contribute the lack of animals because ideally you should ride this road dawn or dusk and we didn't).

The deer like animals.

The dandelions (I assume?!) are HUGE!

Each bison (they do call them Buffalo some too) are numbered and the herd is managed. The stories about every out here are great. GyPSy app for the win!

Bison rule and cars drool. They came out of a creek area and walked the whole Iron Mountain Road to their destination.

Babies!

It's her "4th grade trip" - in case you were wondering

When the tunnels are so tight you can touch them.

Somebody tells Scoops they represented all day long.

After another hike the tunnel was wide open for another picture.

Little hiking to get the blood going.

Doesn't look dangerous at all…

Picture time

I saw a lot of butts today. Mainly because an adult needs to be the caboose.

If you stick with me…we will get some good shots. This one was a tricky one. This is the eye of the needle tunnel and a tour bus squeaked through. It took him so long that a line had formed. The said line allowed me time to tell the girls to run in the tunnel for a good shot. 🎉

I wouldn't even try that.

After enough "take my picture here" comments, I told them to take mine. Haha. Regrets shortly followed

I should have guessed they wouldn't wait for a good moment. 🤣

As soon as we landed in Rapid City, we hit Wal-Mart for essentials, bought a tour on GyPSy and hit the road.

We started with Black Hills National Forest. The tour guide on the app is the best thing ever. He told us stories and guided us through the three roads we wanted to see.

We started with Needles Highway. There were three one way tunnels and they were tight!

It rained as we began but after this little hike it stopped. ECV got her fill of climbing real quick. Every other step I had one or two kids yelling at me to take their picture.

The second tunnel was at the eye of the needle. Here is said eye of needle.

She made me retake her picture. Much better Cousin It.

Suddenly the little one cares how she looks. Killing me. Hats and blue light glasses instead of the googles and/or face shields I originally said. If anyone gets sick, I tried to tell them. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

4:45 am is a little early for the teenager. 😴

It’s THAT Time!

The one time a year that Daddy let's us go crazy with candy and snacks…VACATION time! 

Stay tuned to all the fun that's about to be had. 

--

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We purchased combo tickets and hit the Creation Museum the next day.

Don't make me pick a favorite. They are similar in many ways but also different. The Ark provides a true visual and experience of what life would have been like. The Creation Museum does a great job of comparing two views of the same evidence. How do scientists come at what is discovered and what do believers see.

The flood is a big part as well as evolution.

I could return and learn more at both. Jodi and spent a lot of time reading at the CM. It's a lot to process and think about. Questioning what you believe and have thought about. It easy for us to assume many things because we don't have first hand experiences or because our experiences are different.

Sometimes you see what you want to see.

While there was a great deal of reading they also had videos and audio throughout.

This trip followed or national parks trip perfectly. Going out and seeing layers of rock and hearing "millions of years" were needed to create this and that and then having biblical explanations of what we experienced was wonderful. SKV had asked me questions in Utah around the time references. This trip starts new conversations.

The door.

The families.

The wild children.

The tired children.

There are things that we don't think about until we are forced. I don't know that over ever thought much about the systems and intelligence that was needed to make the ark work. Feeding thousands of animals, watering them, removing waste, living for a year in an enclosed space.

Visiting the ark takes you to a place to think back to what it all must have been like. The pushback and mocking Noah must have experienced.

The images we grow up seeing of the ark are cartoon, oversized animals, in a small boat. Not reality. But it goes with the story right? Maybe that's why we never stop to think what it was really like.

It was neat to read the biblical references and artist interpretations made to complete the scene of what the Bible doesn't say. Dinosaurs on the ark, juveniles and small versions of animals versus full grow animals. Not ever version of every bear, etc.