Flash back - August 10-12, 2023

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:6

Heading to our final campground, we ventured through less prairie and more hills. It was breathtaking. Trees everywhere. More lakes. Rock cliffs. And…Mount Rushmore!

It was SO exciting to be able to walk this historic site with the kids and not just see an animated variation or a screen version.

The work that went into these monuments is quite awe inspiring. The risk, machinery, planning, raw skill, and man power is phenomenal.

After all the driving it was nice to walk down and up the hundreds of stairs and board walks wrapping around the monument. We needed the exercise!

While visiting the Mount Rushmore gift shop (which we HIGHLY recommend seeing), we came across a very talented artist in the middle of painting and surrounded by art work for sale. This soul-touching lady is not only an incredible artist, but she is an encourager, a giver, and a HUGGER! We were SO VERY BLESSED to get to know Miss Lane. We spent time listening to her tell stories about her beautiful paintings. She wowed us with her life experiences that live in her art. Missy May was so intrigued by a specific piece of art work that included a mama cougar with her three cubs playing around a waterfall. It was an actual scene that Miss Lane sat and experienced. She relived the story with us, sharing precious details of the cubs at play and mama cougar looking on. We had to purchase this specific piece for the memory of the story and, of course, Miss Lane. And guess what? After our time with her she actually invited us to park our RV for a night on the way back to Ontario!

You can check out Miss Lane’s work at Lane Kendrick Studio (Western and Wildlife Art)

There are MULTIPLE parks in and around Mount Rushmore. The entire area, for miles, is filled with beauty. Winding roads twist and turn around rock faces that jut out of the ground hundreds of feet. Crystal clear streams flow with the road and then suddenly disappear. Lakes are scattered through out the region and attract much wildlife – including kids (wink wink).

This kind of adventure is something that our family loves. The fresh air, wilderness, simplicity. Everything seemed so fresh and rejuvenating.

We honestly felt the abundance of life and our hearts were so full of gratitude to our loving God who made all of this for us!