Happy Birthday Taylor!!!

Greetings to all from the Grays.

Last night another round of thunderstorms moved through as we rested in our cozy cabin at Sylvan Lake. We awoke around 2am or so to move thunder, lightning, rain and hail. The rain moved on through at we awoke around 6am to yet another beautiful day in the Black Hills.

We made our way to the dining room at Sylvan Lake Lodge shortly after 8am and enjoyed a great breakfast to start the day – Taylor’s 10th birthday! Hard to believe the baby girl is already 10. I still vividly remember the day she was born. Steph started having contractions in the middle of the night, so we walked the streets of Belhaven around 2am. We finally called the doctor around 6am and headed to the hospital shortly thereafter. Taylor was born around 5:45pm that day. It seems like only yesterday…

After breakfast, we headed down the mountain to Hill City to catch the 1880’s train – a steam locomotive that runs from Hill City to Keystone. We got caught by a road crew doing some paving on the mountain, and made it on the train with only minutes to spare. The train ride was neat – lots of good scenery, more wildlife – a good way to spend the morning. We got some light rain while on the train, but the skies were clear by the time we returned to Hill City around noon.

In Hill City we walked over to the Alpine Lodge for lunch. The Alpine Lodge is a restaurant and B&B that serves lots of great German specialties. We enjoyed lunch, plus some great desserts and loaded up to check out Mt. Rushmore.

As we drove to Mt. Rushmore, the skies were dark and ominous – lots of black clouds that threatened rain at any minute. Once we arrived at Mt. Rushmore, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful afternoon to enjoy the monument. Mt. Rushmore is another one of those places that pictures simply don’t do justice. When you walk down the plaza and catch your first glimpse of the monument, it’s almost a religious experience. It’s amazing to see what a magnificent piece of work was carved from a bare, rocky mountain top. I couldn’t imagine how the sculptor brought his vision to reality. If you ever get the chance, don’t pass it up.

While at Mt. Rushmore, we caught sight of a couple of mountain goats. One even had a newborn trailing behind her. It was a quite a sight… Taylor and Trey completed a workbook and met all of the requirements to earn their junior ranger badges while at Mt. Rushmore. Both received badges and were sworn in as junior ranges by a park ranger on duty.

After Mt. Rushmore, we made a quick pit stop in Hill City for groceries, gas and internet. We parked at the new Holiday Inn Express and “borrowed” some of their wireless internet. We were able to get pictures for the last 3 days (including most of today) uploaded. There are a few duds among the pics I uploaded, so ignore those. We felt so fortunate to have decent internet access that we didn’t take the time to cull out the really bad pics.

We wound our way back to our cabin at Sylvan Lake around 6pm and took some time to clean out and repack the van. Since it was out last night here (and Taylor’s birthday!), we built a campfire and enjoyed birthday smores. The campfire was a hit – looks like we’ve got yet another generation of Gray pyromaniacs on our hands…

Sara and Larry Cornwell, the artists in residence this month at Sylvan Lake joined us for smores as well. Check out their work at www.rockcreekcarvings.com. It’s so nice to make new friends along the way when you travel.

Pics for the last 3 days can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay4
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay5
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay6

We’re making our way to Cody in the AM. It’s going to be a long day of driving with lots of stops, so we’re off to bed.