We were so excited that the Iverson Family Reunion was in the Midwest this year! Yes! A location close to us! South Dakota is close to Chicago, right?
Turns out, it's still 14 hours to get to Mount Rushmore. But, our disappointment at the driving distance didn't last long, when we remembered how much fun we had on our road trip to Utah last summer. The boys were maybe more excited to ride in the car than they were to get there!
Given the length of the drive, Jenn and I decided we needed to put together a road trip mixtape. It's the perfect mix:
1. On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
2. Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts)
3. Can't Complain (Relient K)
4. If You're Going to San Francisco (Scott McKenzie)
5. Ticket to Ride (The Beatles)
6. Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley)
7. Truckin' Down the Highway (Bread)
8. New York, New York (Frank Sinatra)
9. Route 66 (John Mayer)
10. Why Oh Why Did I Ever Leave Wyoming? (Satisfiers)
11. I Get Around (The Beach Boys)
12. Carolina on my Mind (James Taylor)
13. Rollin' in my Cadillac (Mest)
14. American Pie (Billy Cassidy)
15. Joyride (Roxette)
16. Chicago (Frank Sinatra)
17. Ridin' in the Car Car (Woody Guthrie)
18. California Dreamin' (The Mamas and the Papas)
19. Tune Out (The Format)
20. Animaniacs States and Capitals
21. Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
22. Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel)
23. Country Road (John Denver)
Finally, we arrived in the Black Hills above Rapid City, SD.
The side-by-side cabins we rented were the perfect spot for our ever-growing extended family.
Although this reunion was technically in the Midwest, the western side of South Dakota was the epi-center of the Wild, Wild West back in the late 1800s. Accordingly, this reunion had a decidedly cowboy flavor to it.
Starting with cowboy stories told each night by Grandpa Iverson to all the grandsons. I still remember my dad's stories from when I was little, and couldn't be more pleased that my boys got a little taste of this experience.
On day 2 of the reunion, we made sure to hit up the main attraction: Mount Rushmore
Here we are posing in front of some of our heroes: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln
And here's the whole Iverson clan (minus Dave, who took the picture, and Paul's family who couldn't be there)
Really, I wasn't sure that Mount Rushmore was going to be all that great. I mean, you just go and look at the mountain and that's it, right? Wrong. Seeing the sculptures in person is ever so impressive, and the Park Service does a great job of making the experience inspirational. We all loved it.
On this day, we also toured Bear World, but somehow didn't take any pictures. But there were bears. Lots of them. And lots of lines. We especially loved watching 6 young cubs wrestling each other. It inspired a few wrestling matches among cousins as well. :)
Day 3: The Iverson Family Rodeo!!! Planned by Andrea and us, so you know it was a good time. We all divided into 4 groups with color-coded bandannas and participated in lots of events, including the buckin' bronco contest (I was glad to get Cowboy Sam as my rider!).
The watermelon eating contest was a hit! Look at pregnant Jenn go on the quarter melon. I think she got second place.
Bottom left: Triumphant Jenn. Top: The Root Beer guzzling contest, in which I placed 2nd, and felt sick for an hour afterwards.
Other events (not pictured) included the rodeo relay, tug-of-war, shooting gallery, and lasso contest. A smashing success, if I do say so myself.
Later that night, we got to go to a real rodeo with real cowboys (and cowgirls, not that our boys cared) in Deadwood, SD. Before we left on this trip, Sam said he was most excited about dressing up as a cowboy! He carefully packed all of his cowboy gear and wore it to the Deadwood rodeo. Ellis was a little miffed that Sam got first pick of the cowboy gear.
Day 4: We took a drive through Custer State Park, trying to find some bison. We never saw any, but had a great demonstration from some park rangers, and then a gorgeous drive along the Needles Highway. We also hiked around beautiful Sylvan Lake.
Some of the grandkids at Sylvan Lake.
That evening, Jenn decided that it would be a good idea to go to the Presidential Wax Museum. I was skeptical. As with most things, Jenn was spot on. We all loved it!
Day 5: We went to Deadwood for the reenactment of a shootout on Main Street. We stood right in front of the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot while playing cards. Doesn't get more wild west than that!
That night, the teenagers and adults had a murder mystery dinner, put on by Dan and Autumn.
Jenn helped out with the decorations, because sometimes she just can't help herself.
The murder mystery couldn't have been more perfect: Murder at the Deadwood Saloon. Turns out, I was the murder.
On Day 6, it was time to head home. We stopped at Badlands National Park on the way, and it just so happened that the Seversons were passing through at exactly the same time! The boys were thrilled to bump into each other.
Being with the Seversons gave our kids just enough adrenaline to do a quick hike in the 100-degree heat.
The Badlands are so strange; they're just stuck in the middle of rolling plains, like some weird Martian landscape.
But they have their own beauty.
On the drive home, it got to be about 10pm and we started looking for a hotel, like we always do on road trips. In fact, we had just been bragging to my family about how we never make reservations and we always find great/cheap places to stay. Well, on this night, we couldn't find a hotel within 200 miles of where we were. We finally pulled into this gem, the Sterling Motel, at 1:30am, with no choice but to stay there. Jenn opted out of showering, and instead ushered us all out the door first thing in the morning. But hey, at least it was cheap!
I don't want to end this post on that nasty motel. Instead, here's to my wonderful parents who started it all and never stop being the perfect examples for all of us!
