4th of July in the Black Hills: Mt. Rushmore and Buffalo

 It wouldn't be a trip to the Black Hills without some up close encounters with buffalo!  We came across this big guy on a dirt road in Custer State Park. 

 Once the buffalo was checked off the list it was time for Mt. Rushmore!  This was the highlight--right here.  The boys' first view of the faces.  Within 15 minutes they were underwhelmed.  But Darin and I enjoyed learning how they created the sculptures:-)

4th of July in the Black Hills: Jewel Cave

 The boys' first experience in a cave.  It was great, but I don't think we're the spelunking kind of family!?

4th of July in the Black Hills: Sylvan Lake Hike

 We had just enough energy to do the easy 1-mile walk around Sylvan Lake. 

 Georgeous!

John found minnows and we could barely pull him away.  We went back the next day prepped to swim and he spent the afternoon catching minnows with a borrowed net.  I wouldn't be surprised if he caught 100!

4th of July in the Black Hills: Little Devil's Tower Hike

 This 3-mile hike was awesome!  We loved bouldering atop the peak and the spectacular views of the Black Hills.

 Kenny was really into saluting!

Snack break!

The summer of golfing!

The boys really got into golf this summer.  We picked up a couple of sets of kids clubs, which provided endless fun and practice in the backyard.  Darin discovered a local course that lets kids play for free on Sunday nights.  This was their first (and last) outing.  Darin decided they needed to put in a lot more time at the driving range-HA!

The Alamosa Alligator Farm

 On the way home from the sand dunes, we stopped by a famous (infamous?) alligator farm.  It was quite the experience!  Darin is holding a live (YES ALIVE) alligator in this picture. 

 This farm is actually a tilapia farm that became a sanctuary for reptiles that owners could no longer keep.  Apparently there's a synergy between tilapia farming and having reptiles that can eat the fish that die!?  There were hundreds of alligators, peacocks, roosters, turtles.  Every boy's dream:-)

Grandpa wins for the best face posing with the alligator skin!

An Early Summer Weekend in the Great Sand Dunes

 It's the biggest beach in Colorado and we couldn't have had more fun!  Day 1 - We left Grandma & Grandpa Erb to relax by the water while we hiked up the dunes.  We made it about 1/3 of the way to the top.  It was the hardest hike ever!

 The morning of Day 2 we hiked to a waterfall.  We had to boulder along the ice cold water and walk through it at the end to get into the cave-like waterfall.  It was an adventure--and our feet were frozen by the end.

 The afternoon of Day 2 took us to the river for water and sand play.  We parked ourselves in the water, build sand castles, offshoots to the river, and played catch.  It was awesome, but you can't even imagine the places we found sand when we left!

 Jacob cooling off in the water.  The river dries up to a trickle by the end of June. 

 John is proud of his castle.

 These three monkeys laying in the deepest part of the current.

 Kenny spent an hour acting as a civil engineer.  He redirected some of the water to a separate pool area.  He took the project VERY seriously!

It was a quiet ride home!