#whyweneedken

I know without a doubt that each of my five siblings can name several times that our dad, Ken, has helped us either divert disaster or rescue us from some sort of mishap. Anyone who knows him (or us) knows that we rely on our dad for his seemingly endless knowledge of anything mechanical. He is our own personal auto mechanic, computer technician, plumber, electrician, and grill master. Basically, he's MacGyver.

So it will come as no shock to the well initiated that Ken discovered our first mishap and saved us from a blown out tire (which AAA assured us would have happened in the next 100 miles). It seems that the rear passenger tire on the trailer had a blister on it, a rather rare occurrence, that thankfully did not go unnoticed by the expert we have on hand. This is #whyweneedken.

Do I need to mention that part of the reason we felt so comfortable buying a travel trailer and traveling around for nine months was knowing that Ken would be with us for the first two weeks?

I also had a vacation fail and didn't take a picture of this event. But here is the beautiful campground we stayed at in Austin, MN on Saturday night, where the mishap was discovered.

Oakwood Trails Campground in Austin, MN

It just so happens that my mom's cousin is the pastor at a church in Austin, MN, so we attended church there on Sunday morning, only to discover that he was out of town. However much our disappointment consumed us, it was soon remedied by a traditional Lutheran coffee hour. With our bellies full and our spirits nourished, we headed to Kenny's Oak Grill for a hearty brunch. It was basically a Waffle House.

Then it was off to the Spam Museum! The museum has an awesome kids section, which is basically where we spent the majority of our time. Complete with an indoor playground, kitchen, "outdoor" grilling area and farmer's market, the kids had a great time playing but it left little time for me or Jared to view the rest of the museum. From what we saw though, it was really well done and included some interactive areas and displays.

The rest of Sunday consisted of driving and we made it to Plankinton, SD where we stayed the night (pop. 707). Monday's drive led us to the famous Wall Drug where Jared and I enjoyed buffalo burgers, which frankly tasted just like hamburgers. And of course the kids convinced us to buy them a stuffed animal each. Avery got a jackalope, Ophelia, a red wolf, and Gryffin picked out a prairie dog. With stuffed animals securely in hand, we set off for the Badlands.

The Badlands is one of those places where pictures can not do the place justice. I know that sounds cliche. But seriously you guys. It's amazing. Rocky formations, rolling hills, valleys with herds of bison grazing and prairie dog towns-we saw it all and were amazed at the beauty. And much to Avery's delight, we saw quite a bit of wildlife- prong horned antelope, bison, prairie dogs, a ram, and even a rattlesnake (that Jared almost stepped on!). We took too many pictures to post here, but here are a few that capture the day.

 

I climbed up a really tall hill!

Our favorite stop along the loop was the Fossil Exhibit Trail. If you want to climb around the Badlands and not fear your child will slip and fall off a precipice, then this is the place for you! When I went to the Badlands years ago, I remember climbing around the rocks with my family for hours. I'm pretty sure this is where we enjoyed that memorable afternoon. The kids loved it, but due to the heat and their age, they were tired out pretty quickly. We headed back to the campsite to eat dinner and quickly turned back around to see the sunset at the Pinnacles Overlook. Gryffin and I stayed behind due to him being up too late the past few nights and not sleeping well in general. He's had a stuffy nose and scratchy throat so I figured he should go to bed at a decent hour. As it was, he still didn't fall asleep until almost 9 (and because of the time change, it was really 10:00 to him)! But everyone else enjoyed the sunset and climbing on the rocks.

Stay tuned for more misadventures and examples of #whyweneedken. Any guesses as to how many times we'll use that hashtag in the next nine months?!