Day 2 of our trip started out with a pretty early morning, despite our shenanigans the night before at the reunion. We had a lovely breakfast and coffee (always coffee- thanks Katie!) and the boys/kids hit the water for a little boating and skiing. They did actually do a triple ski which I don't have photos of. You'll just have to believe me!
Scott spent his teenage years on Lake Mitchell and it is fun for us to stay with friends who live on the lake now. I hope they solve their water quality issues as it is an asset to the community and families who live in Mitchell.
After a quick farewell and repacking of the car, we began our trek west towards Rapid City.
Chamberlin! So pretty to see the Missouri River coming up over the hill.
We met up with friends Clay & Carrie, and Matt & Vanessa in Rapid City for lunch and the afternoon. We had not seen them in YEARS especially since it was the first time we'd seen their beautiful new home and they said they lived there for six years. Wow! I'm really glad we stopped as it was good to reconnect and they were such gracious hosts. Rapid City is a beautiful place.
We then headed out towards Keystone where we checked into our hotel for the evening and changed into some warmer layers for the evening. We stayed at the Rushmore Express in Keystone and we had a large room with excellent wifi (which came in handy for my class the next morning).
We had changed into our warmer clothes becuase we headed over to Hill City to join our friends at their family reunion. They had a really beautiful rental on a great property. I am thinking it was like a vrbo or air bnb, not really a condo or a cabin.
We had a really fun time visiting with everyone, playing games, and eating dinner. It was so great to reconnect! As the sun was starting to set, Matt rounded everyone up to head over to Rushmore for the lighting ceremony. I had never been to this and I was really glad he made us go because it was awesome.
The program started with a little video that highlighted the presidents (yay history!) and their contributions to our country. Then we all stood and sang the National Anthem and America, the Beautiful (yay community singing!) and then all the veterans were recognized (yay Matt & Joel!). Finally, they lit up the mountain and it was really neat.
It was pretty moving and I'm glad we tagged along. I would for sure recommend seeing it at night for a different perspective.
We said goodbye to our friends and headed back to our hotel for the night to get ready for another busy day.
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