Congratulations Uncle Nickie Pickel

Rapid City is called the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Wow, I didn't know South Dakota was so cool until I found this website talking about some of the attractions.

http://www.visitrapidcity.com/home/index.php?cid=1

I guess I know when our next big family vacation will be and where!!!

Powwows. Buffalo safaris. The continent's tallest mountain this side of the Rocky Mountains. This isn’t your average, ordinary, run-of-the-mill vacation. That’s because Rapid City lies on the edge of the legendary Black Hills, where you can explore two of the longest caves on the planet, hike around the four faces of Mount Rushmore and scale the sheer granite walls of the Needles – and that’s just your first day.

After all, when you're in the middle of the world's highest concentration of public parks, monuments and memorials, there's always something new to experience, from the otherworldly moonscape of the Badlands and the mystery of Devils Tower to more than two million acres of ponderosa forest.

Rapid City History
Rapid City is the Gateway to the intermountain west and was founded 1876 by a group of disheartened prospectors that had come to the Black Hills in search of gold. The city was named for the limestone spring stream that passes through the city and originates high in the Black Hills. In June, 1972, the city was struck by a severe flash flood after heavy rains caused the collapse of two nearby earth dams. More than 200 lives were lost and property damage was estimated at $120 million.

The economic base in Rapid City remains fundamentally the same as it was in the 1800's. Since it's beginning, Rapid City has been a center for commerce, culture, transportation, and education for the entire high plains. Rapid City enjoys a diverse economy that includes agriculture, forestry, government, tourism, healthcare, manufacturing and an extremely strong service sector. The city is also the tourist center of the Black Hills and the gateway to many attractions, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Badlands National Monument, and Wind Cave National Park.

Three Year Pictures!

These are Kaycee's three year old pictures। Happy birthday kiddo! What a beautiful little squirt.

Cousins at play

Alexis, Domenic, and Skyler came to Washington to play with Kaycee and see baby Kayden. They got in early Saturday morning and left Wednesday afternoon. It was so good to have them here. It was a lot of fun and Kaycee had a blast with her cousins. On their way home we followed them to Lewiston and hung out at the Kiwanis Club Park by the river for a little while.

Lewiston/Clarkston

We have been to Lewiston a thousand time and everytime we go I think that we need to stop at the lookout but we have never stopped to enjoy the view. So, since this was my brothers first time here in WA/ID we stopped to check out Lewiston and Clarkston from the top of the hill. It was pretty neat.

Summary of the signs:

Lewiston Hill
When Automobile traffic made steep old wagon roads obsolete a remarkable new highway grade was built down this hill in 1917.

With a series of sharp curves that let cars go 20 or 30 mild an hour--a good speed for that time--a gradual 10-mile 2000-foot grade was designed. It still can be used by anyone not in too much of a hurry who wants to see an engineering model of early highway construction.

Steamboats
Started May 13, 1861, as a steamboat landing, Lewiston immediately became a primary commercial center for Idaho miners during their hectic gold rush to pierce that spring.

Steamboats continued to dock there until 1940, mainly after Columbia and Snake river channel improvements made navigation practical in 1914. Finally a series of locks and dams made Lewiston a seaport, and large scale river shipping resumed in 1975.

The last picture is in memory of the man who engineered the highway.

In Memory of
C. C. Van Arsdol
1851-1941
Engineer
Lewiston Hill Highway
Blue Mountain Highway
Northern Pacific Railway
Union Pacific Railway
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway