The Kolb Family Adventures: Headin' West...

After much packing, organizing and loading, Thursday morning we were finally ready to head west river. It has been five years since we have made it out to the Hills and this trip was long overdue. A couple of days being tourists while staying at a hotel in Rapid City and a couple of days being bums at the cabin in Deerfield Valley.

Our first stop was intended to just be a quick lunch in Wall but our plans quickly changed after we discovered all of the fun little things to see while at Wall Drug. I knew this was going to be a fantastic vacation as soon as I spotted my beloved Indian Taco on the menu and our vacation officially began...

Of course, we had to hit every single souvenir shop and try out some of the items...

And then we went touristing...

Obviously, we couldn't pass this photo opportunity by...

The day was escaping us and we knew we had to get back on the road if we were going to make it to our original first stop. Plus, we were exhausted already...

We checked into our hotel, threw our bags in the room and were ready to take on Storybook Island, refreshed and excited to stretch our legs...

We tried to recreate a couple of moments from our trip five years ago~one successfully...

And one not so successfully due to my inaccurate memory...

We continued along the storybook path, visiting all of our favorite characters and stories...

And discovered the pot of gold beneath the rainbow...

The requisite trip to the gift shop followed by supper, a manager's reception in the lobby of the hotel complete with free beer, pop and popcorn and a quick, yet incredibly refreshing dip in the pool rounded out our first day of vacation.
Friday, we awoke excited to see Mt. Rushmore (or Rount Mushmore as Lily referred to it). Once again, we loaded up and began the trek up the mountain and before long, we had our first glimpse of the famous monument...

My camera went into overdrive and took on a mind of it's own...

Hot, tired and full of history, our next stop on the tour of the west was Keystone and all of this quaint little city's offerings. Jason stumbled upon a couple of accessories that at first glance appear to be must have's but he ultimately ended up passing on them...

Fueled by a lunch of pizza and tired of shopping, we swung by Bear Country USA to get up close and personal with some wild animals...

And, of course, record some more memories...

The girls were thrilled to get back to the hotel and wasted no time getting into the aquatic depths. They were doubly thrilled with the new "trick" they came up with...

On Saturday morning, it was time to depart Rapid City for beautiful Deerfield Valley.

As we drove and took in the scenery, Lily noticed something that didn't quite fit with the what she had been expecting to see in the "BLACK HILLS". As we passed by this area...

she quickly surmised aloud, "Oh, I guess those must be the ORANGE HILLS."

Once past the "orange hills" but before the "black hills", a pit stop at the diner in Hill City was in order. There was a beef and swiss sandwich on the menu that was touted as "unforgettable" and I felt it was my obligation to test their truth in advertising. It definitely lived up to it's name. I enjoyed that sandwich so very much and we all had a wonderful experience at the cute little 50's inspired diner...

Finally, we began our journey to the cabin via some of the most beautiful scenery I have had the pleasure of viewing...

And before I knew it, we had arrived at the little cabin in the valley...

The girls immediately begin to acquaint themselves with their surroundings...

And tried out their supermodel poses...

Lily's exploration of the cabin resulted in this blue hat which she immediately donned...

And set off in search of grasshoppers...

Lily's search for grasshoppers was fruitless so it was time for plan B~digging up worms...

And then, at long last, it was time to fish...

Thankfully (especially for Grace), this fishing trip was much less traumatic...

than the last time we fished in this particular spot...

The night grew chilly but we were so happy to be here...

Sunday was all about relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous surroundings. Jason and the girls did a little four wheeling exploration...

And then we spent some time hanging out around the cabin...

After a quick lunch, we decided it was time to hit Deerfield Lake and see if we could catch our supper...

Ella achieved Babe Winkelman status, pulling fish after fish out of the lake...

Unfortunately, we didn't end up bringing any fish home as they were all still babies. Lily was pretty stoked up to have caught two fish and to be caught by this little tiny butterfly...