Hi all - just wanted to pop back in and say a big THANKS for those of you who chimed in with advice and recommendations for our trip - two moms and four kids (two girls aged 5 and two boys aged 8; hubbies wouldn't come along. we're *that* crazy)!

It. Was. Awesome.

Here's the recap:

Day 1
Kids and I flew into MSP, spent night at the Fairfield Inn. I'd prepacked and shipped our luggage (traveling with two kids and booster seats is difficult enough). Hotel staff was great and already had our luggage in the room. Took my kids to Mall of America just to say they'd been there. They were unimpressed - I love that about them.

Day 2
Pick up my friend and her two kids, head out of MSP bound for North Dakota. ND is really far away, we found. Also, once you get to ND and your gas light comes on and your kids are hungy, the GPS will read "No Services Next 10 Exits". Fortunately, we found a little diner Valley City. Continued on West and stopped to see the Giant Buffalo in Jamestown. Drove on to Bismarck - saw the capitol and the Sacajawea statue; stayed at the Fairfield Inn (I likee my Marriott points; the kids like their pools).

Day 3
Spent morning at the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park - it was a reenactment weekend, so we got the whole show. Kids were inducted into the army (ack!) and ran around chasing prairie dogs. Toured the On a Slant Indian village of the Mandan Native Americans - loved it! Wished we'd spent more time there! Left Bismarck; spent travel time ready Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea stories to the kids. The loved it!
Drove on out of town, stopped @ Exit 127 to see Salem Sue (the Biggest Cow!) Drove on to 85 and south to South Dakota and Belle Fourche. Got to see the Center of the US marker - kids enjoyed standing on that and having their pics taken. =) Drove on to Deadwood (yeah, that was a crazy long day) and watched the 7:30pm shoot-out and the follow-up Trial of Jack McCall (which we could have skipped - it was too much with kids and kind of hokey, not that I don't like hokey...) Stayed in the Hampton Inn...most comfortable bed!! and a great breakfast!

Day 4
Toured around Deadwood and up to Mt. Moriah cemetary to see the gravesites of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. Kids were not impressed, so off we went to pan for gold and tour the gold mine. Drove south on 385 and had lunch in Hill City - what a cute little town! Continued on to Hot Springs for the Mammoth Site - the kids did the jr. paleontology dig which was perfect. Had dinner at the Dew Drop Inn diner in Hot Springs (restaurants were hard to come by on a Sunday evening in Hot Springs...) Drove up 87 into Custer State Park and did the Wild Life Loop. It was amazing - the bison herd was breathtaking. Stayed the night in Custer State Park at the State Game Lodge (in the motel section). Rooms were nothing to write home about, but we couldn't be the location. Breakfast buffet was resonably priced, convenient and good.

Day 5
Drove Iron Mountain Road (stopping to feed carrots and apples to the begging burros) to Mt. Rushmore. The kids *loved* it...they did the Jr. Ranger program and we ate lunch in the cafeteria (during which time it hailed - crazy!) Went back to Hill City for some sightseeing/shopping and to see the 1880 train (we'll need to do the train next time). Drove south to see Crazy Horse and educate the kids more on the Black Hills and the Native American claim to the land. (We wanted to give context to "why isn't Crazy Horse on Mt. Rushmore?" when they asked. Kids are smarter about these things than we are. But I digress. *smile*) Took in Sylvan Lake Lodge and hiked around the lake - what a beautiful place! Spent night at the State Game Lodge again.

Day 6
Departed early bound for the Badlands. We'd tourist-trapped ourselves out so we skipped Wall Drug (both moms had been and the kids didn't know what they were missing). Drove the Badlands, stopping at the Big Pig Dig - a highlight for the boys (along with the Mammoth Site, for sure). There was a NPS Ranger there named Rick (Ranger Rick!) who sat and talked to our kids for an hour - it was like there own personal science tour! Stopped at the Visitor's Center for the movie (great!) and lunch (slow service....too many bus tours). Got on I-90 and drove east to Mitchell, SD - saw the Corn Palace and drove north to DeSmet and the Ingalls Homestead. Spend night in the covered wagons!!

Day 7
Let the kids run wild on the 160 acre Ingalls Homestead while the moms relived all the Little House memories we had of reading the books. The two girls wore bonnets, the boys chased foals...it was wonderful! If you have kids and want them to experience the simple life of how it was for pioneers, go here. After making rope and corncob dolls, we took the Laura Ingalls Memorial highway (Rt. 14) into MN - stopping in Walnut Grove, Sleepy Eye and Mankato. (Those towns only mean something if you know who Half Pint is! *wink*) Drove on to MSP; said goodbye to our friends and spent the night in the Fairfield Inn again.

Day 8
Dropped off Hertz rental van - 1906 miles. Flew home with two tired, but well-educated and happy, kiddos.

Again, thanks for all the tidbits of information!! I'm working on an educational/fun trip for next summer - hitting monuments or parks along the way (we've done DC and the south). I'll take any thoughts. =)

If you have passports for yourselves and the kids, I might suggest a foreign vacation. Canada! The language barrier isn't too great and some of the things there are different from the US. Start by flying into Calgary and get a car. Head east on the Trans-Canada to Gull Lake, SK, then south and west to the town of Eastend for the T-Rex Discovery Center. Bring a tent and camp in the Cypress Hills Provincial Park. Now find your way back to the Trans-Canada and head west to find Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. Between these two dinosaur related sites, you will have a good idea of where the fossils are found and the condition they are in when found. From here, make your way to Drumheller, AB and seek out the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology for a real dinosaur treat as you get to see the fossils assembled. Now on to Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks. Find the elk and mule deer and maybe a grizzly bear (among other animals). Take a gondola ride up either Sulphur Mountain in Banff or at Lake Louise. See Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Hike up Johnston Canyon if it isn't too crowded and marvel at how the walkway is constructed. From the town of Lake Louise, follow the Trans-Canada west, stopping at the spiral tunnels for a bit before finding your way to Takakaw Falls to see Canada's fourth highest waterfall. Return to Lake Louise and head north toward Jasper, stopping at all the tourist sites. We really liked Peyto Lake overlook for one. If the trail is open and you and the kids are up to a steep hike, take the Parker ridge trail to the top of the ridge to see the Saskatchewan glacier as it finds it's way down from the Columbia Icefield. On to Athabaska glacier and take a hike on a glacier. When you get to the town of Jasper, take the Jasper Tram to the top of Whistler Mountain (not really the top, you have to hike a bit more) and look at the rows of mountains, being especially on the lookout for mountains that are volcanoes instead of folded mountains. Notice the colorful lakes. If it is a really clear day, look westward for a peek at Mt. Robson. Return down to Lake Louise and head to Golden, BC. The gondola to the mountain-top restaurant is fun and having a meal up there while looking down on the other mountain tops is pretty special if pricey isn't taking it out of your budget range. South of Golden you can make a stop at Radium Hot Springs and soak/swim in the hot pools (don't let the kids stay in the hot pools tooo long, it isn't good for their young bodies) and then return to Calgary by way of Kootenay National Park, or if you have more time and energy, go on down past Ft. Steele and take highway 3 across the Crowsnest pass, making a stop at the Frank Slide.

Yep, we've got passports (we travel with the kids a lot and it was just easier - plus we've been to the Caribbean, so they needed them for a few islands there)...Canada is definitely on our list - and my son (then 4) has been to Alaska with me and loved the experience. I've been to Calgary and Lake Louise - simply stunning. Looking forward to getting back there...thanks for all the recommendations. I'm going to print this one out for my "Someday" file! =)

Thank you!

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the report. I'm sending the link to my brother who's taking his kids to Custer in a couple of weeks.

I think your trip sounds like a blast Glad you all enjoyed it. What did your DH's do? Glad you saw the Salem Sue Cow...nothing really can describe it, lol!

BTW,I like rm_mn's suggestion for a trip next year. We have done most of that with our kids as well and it was a hit with all of us.

Sounds like a really fun trip, thanks for posting!

I know i can google it, but what and where exactly, is Salem Sue? Have a link? Also, where exactly is the Center of the US marker? Geez, i thought we had seen it all but apparently not!

Since there's some interest, here's a few links to help on the more "random" parts of our trip!

Salem Sue
http://www.realnd.com/salemsueindex.htm

Other Giant Beasts of ND, including the Buffalo
http://www.realnd.com/giantsofnd.htm

Center of the US, Belle Fourche
http://www.blackhillsportal.com/dbs/....cfm?catid=109

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and the On a Slant Indian Village (Mandan People)
http://www.ndparks.com/parks/FLSP.htm

Custer State Park
http://www.sdgfp.info/parks/Regions/Custer/Index.htm

State Game Lodge
http://www.custerresorts.com/index.php

Peter Norbeck Scenic Highway
http://peternorbeck.americasbyways.net/

Wildlife Loop (Custer State Park, SD)
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/10760/

Iron Mountain Road (Route to Rushmore)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mountain_Road

Badlands National Park
http://www.nps.gov/badl

The Big Pig Dig (and other paleo sites in SD)
http://www.travelsd.com/thingstodo/a...leontology.asp

Ingalls Homestead
http://www.ingallshomestead.com/

Oh, and I'm not sure the DH's did anything...which was fine by them! LOL! (I personally drag my hubby lots of random places, so he was glad for the break!)

Lastly, let me just say if you're reading this and thinking of traveling with your kids - here or anywhere - do it. Do it now. Plan and go. It doesn't have to be fancy or far - kids don't know and don't care. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done, and my kids are so into it now.

Thanks!

LOVED your trip report! I hope the hubbies are kicking themselves for not going with you. What great memories to share with your kids. (Now that my kids are getting ready to leave the roost, I'm so glad that we were able to make trips like this with them. And our Black Hills trip was a family favorite.)
Anyway, I don't think you need to put the 1880 Train on you list of things to do next time in the Black Hills. I did this as a child and all I remember was being hot, bored and having cinders blown in my face through the open window. We went to the Black Hills every other summer to visit my grandmother and I loved everything we did there except the 1880 Train.

Great report. I loved my trip to the Blackhills, but I kept thinking what a great trip it would be for kids as well.

LOL about the 1880 train - well, not for your experience, but for your description. My son would have loved it, my daughter would have hated it.

The dads/hubs were indeed sorry they missed the trip - next time they won't think us moms are so crazy (or, will think that we are less crazy).

=)