Another place I had never been on all my travel to Illinois was the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's a free zoo so I'm not sure why we've never visited but I decided we were going to check it out this time. Spending the day at the zoo is one of Peyton's and my favorite things to do. We could just sit and watch the animals all day long. Peyton was pretty excited when I told her we were going to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. She couldn't wait to see what we would find. The Lincoln Park Zoo is fairly ...
Roadtrips
Our South Dakota Adevnture
Every year, Minnesota schools have a 4-day break in the middle of October. Last year, I decided I wanted to take this time and go explore a part of the United States with Peyton. I planned on using this mid-fall break as a learning tool rather than sitting around the house. This year, our school district turned our 4-day break into a 6-day break! When I heard we were going to be having 6-days off I knew I wanted to head to South Dakota. It's a fairly long drive from Minnesota and I knew the ...
Make Yourself at Home with Hilton Garden Inn
When I started to plan our trip to Rapid City, South Dakota I knew we were going to need a place to stay. Traveling with two kids, I had some specific amenities and qualities I was looking for in a hotel. Here are a few things I was looking for - It had to be family friendly. There needed to be a pool. Wireless internet was a must. Restaurant on site. Easy access to freeways. I was prepared for this search to take a while. But I was not prepared to find out that so many ...
Wind Cave National Park
While we were visiting South Dakota I wanted to spend some time in the National Parks. There are a few different parks you can visit while in the Rapid City area. Unfortunately, time flew by and we were only able to fit in one National Park. Wind Cave National Park is located just a short 10-minute drive from Custer, South Dakota. Wind Cave National Park is considered a smaller national park in comparison with other parks, it's about 28,294 acres. The park is set into sections for camping, ...
Bear Country USA
Have you ever been to Bear Country USA? When I was looking for attractions to visit on our trip to South Dakota, Bear Country USA kept coming up. After seeing it for the fourth time I decided to take a look and see what it's all about. It's a driving tour, through a park, filled with animals! Specifically, bears. Lots of bears. The drive is only 3 miles but expect to be in the car for about an hour or more depending on how busy the park is and how active the animals are. We spent about an ...
Mount Rushmore
I have wanted to take Peyton to see Mount Rushmore for over a year. Well, this past week she had a week long break from school so I decided this would be a good time to make it happen. I have been to Mount Rushmore one other time in my life, I was about 4 or 5 years old so I don't remember much of it. Plus, things have changed in 30 years! We were staying in Rapid City, South Dakota so the drive to Mount Rushmore was almost an hour. With two kids in the car that can be a long drive but the ...