The big G and other 4th of July fun on the Range

We went up to the Range after work on Wednesday and made it in time for the 3rd of July parade. My dad reconstructed the Gilbert gym floor "G" to use in a float for his and my mom's 55th class reunion.

 

My dad handing out necklaces to parade-goers:

There's the G in action:

Mr. Freezes during the parade:

The Eveleth Clown Band:

Snowmobile see-saw:

Our first full family photo:

Tyler and Veronica on the tube:

Omri jumps in:

The water was chilly but felt good. We lucked out with the weather this year!

My newest niece on the go:

This kinetic sandbox is a rite of passage:

Girl talk:

It was great seeing family and enjoying the lake. Thank you to my parents for hosting!

A little off topic, but here is a preview of my gallery of the latest school to crumble on the Range (this is the one where I attended high school). I went on a photo walk Thursday morning and captured what I could of the ruins.

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Minnehaha Park 2024

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Good Earth Village 2024

Both kids went to an overnight camp for FIVE NIGHTS with some other kids from our church. It was the longest Omri has been away from us. Veronica missed a bunch of SpongeBob rehearsals, which was a little rough. But I think they had fun!

This time it was Veronica's chance to do a ropes course:

None of these photos were taken by me, obviously, but I appreciate having some record of their week.

Apparently, Veronica slept in a hammock most of the nights?!?

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South Dakota: wrap-up

A few odds and ends to wrap up coverage of our trip...

We hiked to this creek, took a dip, and jumped off some of the rocks. Omri thought he may have found gold.

This root beer man tossed back his first sarsaparilla at dinner one night:

Veronica and R spent an afternoon horseback riding (this photo was taken by a pro at the ranch):

We stayed in this little cabin just outside of the town of Keystone:

Keystone is a fun, touristy town (I took some better photos of it with my film camera that I haven't had developed yet). 

If we'd had a little more time, we may have taken a ride on this steam engine:

This is a good ice cream place in town:

Here's the video I mentioned earlier, just compiling some clips from the whole trip, including jumping off those rocks into the water:

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The best part of the trip was just spending time with family. These kids are so much fun to hang out with and such super good sports!

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South Dakota: high ropes course

There were some other touristy but fun activities at the park where we went on our cave adventure. Veronica and I rode the rail ride (not pictured), while Omri and R did the ropes course.

R on the zipline:

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South Dakota: Rushmore Cave

One of the minor bummers from the trip was that the elevators were shut down at Wind Cave National Park, so we did not get to explore the caves there. Instead, we went to the cave at Rush Mountain Adventure Park. It was still cool!

Omri was a little nervous about entering the caves, but I'm proud of him for overcoming his fears!

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South Dakota: Mount Rushmore

Well, you had to know we would get to Mount Rushmore eventually. And of course I took a million photos there. Here's a sample.

We stayed for the lighting ceremony:

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South Dakota: Cosmos Mystery Area

This was kind of a fun stop, for something a little different, where water runs uphill and you feel a little tipsy walking through a cabin.

Veronica has been busy rehearsing for SpongeBob: The Musical, so she couldn't pass up this ice cream treat:

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