South Dakota Day 8 and 9

South Dakota Day 8: Mom made pancakes and we drove for eight hours. That's pretty much it. We did alter the plan a little. We had originally planned on turning south and visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, but we went in to Colorado National Monument instead, which shaved a day off our trip. We got in about 6 pm and Mom made pasta and meatballs. Then we spent an hour in the tiny pool before getting to bed early.

Nate and Ty were helping the boys learn to swim.

Mark likes to jump in the pool.

Dad swam a little this time.

The last day of our trip was a little better, though. We drove into Colorado National Monument, which is like mini-Zion. There are towering canyon walls, narrow tunnels, and lots of desert wildlife. We stopped to do a short hike out to the edge of the canyon and saw a cottontail rabbit and a bunch of lizards. The end of the hike was a window arch which we were really excited to see.

We saw this cute little cottontail.

There were a lot of lizards int the desert.

The balancing rock reminded us of Utah.

When we got on top of the mesa we could see for miles.

This is the window from the Window Rock hike.

Mom and Dad had a nice time on the hike.

Then we did the Junior Ranger program. It was the eleventh and final badge that the boys earned. Not bad for a nine day trip! The monument is beautiful and we did the scenic drive and vowed to come back soon. After lunch we did the remaining four hour drive back home. It was another amazing trip, but we're excited to be sleeping in our own bed for a few weeks!

There were tunnels through the sandstone, just like Zion.

We were pretty sure the motorhome would fit. It did as long as we drove down the middle.

These canyons are really beautiful.

This is one of the viewpoints.

The boys found a cool alcove.