Day 3
Today, we were excited for our Sylvan Lake adventure and we were up early and on the road for the quick 25 minute drive. We went our first rock tunnel, which was SO cool.
We arrived to Sylvan Lake around 8AM so we pretty much had the picturesque lake to ourselves. The lake was beautiful and so unique with all the rocks around it and even in the middle. This lake was one of the main scenes at the end of National Treasure 2, so of course, we had to watch the movie while on the trip.
We did the famous Sunday Gulch Trail hike, a 3.9 mile loop with some demanding terrain and waterfalls on the actual path, that made it super fun. There were awesome views of the various rock formations and plenty of places to stop and climb. It was so cool and breezy during the hike.
Afterwards, we ate lunch by the lake and it was still cool. We surprised Carter by getting him some fish rods and all the tackle from Doug, the owner of the cabins. He was excited to fish for Rainbow Trout. He found a more secluded spot in between giant rocks and caught 2 crawfish while the girls and I explored the gigantic rocks that were around the lake.
Of course, Addie was more than ready to jump off a tall rock and into the chilly lake. These types are nature days are often my favorite because each of the 3 kids time to naturally couple off and have fun and connect. Carter ans Addie did that on the hike, going way ahead of us at times. Then, I loved the time Addie and Delaney had in the water before Addison and Carter escaped again together to the big rock in the center of the lake. Later, seeing Carter and Delaney together on the canoe just confirmed these types of simple, nature focused vacations that I have loved so much during this particular chapter of live. Honestly, COVID-19 doesn’t seem to exist much in South Dakota. It really did seem to be this isolated bubble in the world.
After 6 or 7 hours at the lake, we decided to head out and make an impromtu stop at Crazy Horse, a mountain monument in the Black Hills. The sculptor thought it would take 30 years to complete yet it has been actively worked on for 73 years, since 1948 and once completed it will be larger than nearby Mount Rushmore. We watched a video and learned about Crazy Horse, a Native American war leader that stood up against the US government to fight them taking the lands of the native people. There are 15 workers that actively work on it everyday and the private family of the original sculptor, has kept the project in the family and have refused governmental funds. We rode a bus to the base of the monument where we could really take in it's size. It this time they are working on the finger of the monument. I wonder if the kids were to bring their own kids back in 30 years, how much progress will have been made? At 12 years old, Addison thinks 47 years and 13 year old, Carter thinks 27 years and 7 year old Delaney says 35 years and Blake says in 23 years and Megan says in 50 years.
We went about 4 miles further South to Custer and found a local pizza place - Pizza Mill. Around 5 we were pretty tired and headed back to our “cabin.” I loved these early mornings, adventurous days, big early dinners and sunsets on our patio.
Delaney’s favorite part of the day was canyoning and climbing all over the rocks around Sylvan Lake. Addison’s favorite part was swimming in the cold Sylvan Lake and, of course, jumping in from the big rocks. Carter’s favorite part was the lake. He thought it was beautiful, canoeing, fishing, swimming.
Our evening tradition for Blake and I has been sitting on our back patio enjoying the beautiful weather and animals!
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