South Dakota Day 1 - Badlands and Wall Drug

Our journey to SD started on Wednesday night. The girls drove together in one car while the boys drove in another and we drove 5 hours to spend the night at an American Inn in Chamberlain, SD.



On our first official day, we rose early and drove straight to Badlands National Park. We found out when we arrived that it was the 100th celebration of the National Parks so our entry fee was waived. What a nice surprise! And what an amazing and special place. Our South Dakota adventure officially begins!



After taking in a couple of vistas, we enjoyed our first adventure on Notch Trail, a 1.5 mile trail that leads to a "Notch" in The Wall, where you can look out over the prairie and badlands.



Ron and I recreate our photo from 1994 visit to the Badlands...



The ladder to climb to and from "The Notch"



Funny guy Ron avoiding the dangerous cliff...



The girls climb up part of the wall...



Mom climbs into a crevice...



And we finally arrive at "The Notch"...



After our hike, we headed to the visitor center, where they were serving fresh squeezed lemonade and birthday cake to celebrate the National Park's birthday! Another nice treat!




After the visitor center, we continued our drive along the 30-mile Badlands Loop and took in some additional great views at several overlooks and were pleasantly surprised to see a big horn sheep enjoying the sunset along our drive...






After we left the Badlands, we headed to Wall Drug to try the famous maple donuts, drink free ice water, climb on the 6ft Jackaloupe, and buy some cheesy souveneirs. We then headed to our home for the weekend in Custer State Park, where a buffalo was ready to greet us from the side of the road. A great first day!

Cristina Comes For a Visit From Spain

We hosted Cristina Arroyo, a teaching intern at Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion during the 2012-13 school year. Our family traveled to visit her in 2014 and she came back to visit us this summer for a week. She arrived on Monday, August 22nd. We spent a couple of days in Minnesota before heading out on a road trip to South Dakota with the Hedlunds (one of her buddy families). The kids were so excited to greet her at the airport. On Tuesday, Mom took her by Paisley Park to see Prince's home and recording studio and then we hosted an open house BBQ for her that evening night so she could see some of her friends, teachers, and other buddy families. On Wednesday, we took her to Lake Minnetonka for some paddle boarding and beach fun. We finished with lunch in Uptown with the kids!

Final Icemen Tourney Ends With A Win and Fun Memories

Canyon has been playing with the 2002 Icemen Elite for the last 5 years. This team has traveled to Canada and Chicago together and spent many of hours of practices and games and tournaments together. The parents have also spent a ton of time together. This was the final year for AAA hockey for the 2002 birth year. The last tournament was the Caribou Cup, which was hosted by the Icemen Hockey Club. Canyon's team ended the tournament with a Championship Win against the Wisconsin Selects! Such a great way to end a great run with great families and friends. The weekend was highlighted with a surprise ice cream truck visit at one of the player's homes between games and and a father/son scrimmage after the tourney. Special thanks to Coach Tim for a great run!

Luke Bryan Concert

Mom was invited to go to the Luke Bryan concert, the first concert at the new US Bank Stadium for the Vikings. Wow! What a beautiful venue and what an amazing show. Fun time with friends (+1 husband)!

Seattle Fun Time

Although we have been going to Beach Camp in Washington for three years straight, we rarely spend time in the great town of Seattle. This year, the Pergandes and Grandma Harriet enjoyed some great time in the city on our last day in town. Wonderful time with Grandma Harriet and wonderful day in the city.

Quick morning visit with Trisha's dear friend, Ann...


A stop by the Starbucks Reserve Roastery for cold brew floats and cookies..


Rooftop lunch in Capitol Hill at Homegrown...


A walk through Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum...


A view of the Space Needle from the Chihuly Garden...


Mount Rainer comes into view from the top of the Space Needle...


Dry ice sundae treats - Space Orbiters...


Dad is in awe....

Subdued String Band Jamboree

Before heading back to beach camp, Ron and Trisha stopped by a blue grass festival enroute to Edmonds. This was one of the most unique music experiences we have ever seen. The festival includes 4 days of music, camping, family activities, river swimming, circus acts, campsite contests, and musician workshops. We took in a small piece of the festival but enjoyed some great music and great acts in the sun.



On site outdoor museum...


Main festival stages - The Slanted Stage and the Flat Stage...


Note the woman with the good taste in shirts behind me...


Best ice cream sandwich ever!!!

Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan Are Impressive

After a couple of days in Bellingham, Ron and Trisha headed into the mountains toward Mt. Baker Wilderness Area. We rented a cute cabin and enjoyed a couple of great days of hiking, cabin time, hot tubs and beautiful drives in the mountains.



Our cabin in the town of Glacier..


Heliptrope Ridge Trail - 6.5 Mile hike to the edge of a vast glacier with sweeping views of Mt. Baker...


Impressive waterfalls along our hike...


Gorgeous wildflowers sweeping the mountainside...


Travering several glacier stream run offs, some more treacherous than others...


Mt. Baker comes into view...


At the edge of the glacier...


Enjoying the view...


After our hike up Helitrope Ridge, we enjoyed a beautiful drive up to Artist point to take in sweeping views of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan (rumored to be the most photopgraphed peak in the world)



We then headed back to our cabin where we rehydrated and enjoyed cabin time and game time...