So, we made it to Hill City! Whoot! Whoot! Just when I was starting to doubt that we'd ever see mountains in South Dakota...there they were...the Black Hills. If you've never been to see this part of our world, it is simply beautiful.
{This is the walk to the pool. Perfect field to play in, but a scenic view all around.}
And our campground. Well, it was smack dab in the middle of the Black Hills and was the most amazing campground I've ever been to.
{You can barely see the playground and pool. Next time we may opt to stay closer, but we did get our exercise in while in Hill City!}
Somehow, the owners of the Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground made this beautiful place where you feel like you're totally out in the wilderness, but yet, you have everything you need to have a relaxing, kid-friendly trip. It was like we were in a national park campground in the mountains (if you've been to one, you know how beautiful those are), but yet we had all of the amenities you'd find at a more 'commercialized' campground.
{This was a photo looking right outside the camper door. It was perfect.}
Most importantly (to all of the kids), there was a heated pool. Oh, and dirt. And a playground. Don't forget the fire pit. And trees. And pancakes served hot off the griddle every morning.
{I'm so glad Batman was along for the trip...just in case.}
And peaceful evenings spent eating outdoors. Cooking over a campfire. Making s'mores. Telling 'scary stories'.
{Parker and Quinn became fascinated with putting sticks in the fire. I was such a nervous Momma!}
{Andrew's favorite part of the s'more.}
Watching the sun set over the 'hills'.
Mornings of snuggling up in the warm covers because it was still pretty chilly outside.
Drinking coffee while the adventurous dads took the kids (and Bella) on hikes.
{He's still in his 'I don't want you to take my picture phase...geesh.}
Each day brought something new to our trip. Whether we had a 'busy' day planned with outings or whether we were staying at the campground to swim, play on the playground, and go for hikes, Hill City and the Rafter J Bar Ranch campground was perfect for our stay in South Dakota.
What did we do while in Hill City? Coming up next in Part Three of our family vacation!
**I've heard from a lot of you that you are planning on venturing out toward Mount Rushmore in the near future. I highly recommend you stay here. You don't have to 'camp' if you aren't into that...they have the cutest little cabins that would be perfect for your stay. It was (by far) the most amazing campground we saw while out there and it was so picturesque and perfect for the kids...I think we'll be going back in a few years!
No comments:
Post a Comment