Saturday, August 25, 2012

FMTSO: Vacation Spots


Friday My Town Shoot Out for 8/24: Vacation Spots

Where do you love to vacation?
Do you go on vacation to rest and relax...
or do you DO vacation and keep busy with activities? 

 
Every year my husband and I go on one big vacation for about 10 days or so.
This year we are going for three weeks and I cannot wait to take my vacation. 
Last year we went all over Wyoming and South Dakota and had a blast.
Driving through certain parts of Wyoming is kind of boring because there is nothing to look at for miles and miles and miles, but when you finally come across landscape like what's in the photo above, it makes it all worthwhile.

We prefer to go someplace where we haven't been before because we like to explore and see what's out there. This year we are headed to the big state of Texas.

But before I get sidetracked on Texas, I better show you some photos from last year's trip.


South Dakota wasn't even part of our planned agenda last year.
It was a spur of the moment decision and we decided to drive there from our friends house in Wyoming to see Mt. Rushmore. 
On the way to Mt. Rushmore we saw a sign that said Bear Country.
It was a drive thru wildlife park and zoo.
So we drove through and this little Alaskan fox was in the zoo part of the park.
Even our dog got to experience the park with us.


Another fox trying very hard to scratch his itch.

South Dakota was such a beautiful state. 
We really enjoyed the black hills.
We went hiking and found some waterfalls, rivers, creeks, etc.
It was just so beautiful and so much to do.


Mt. Rushmore was exciting to see but it kind of sucked because we hadn't checked into a hotel yet and we had to take turns getting to the good spot because we weren't allowed to take our dog past a certain point. But it worked out and we did what we had to do.

Even better than Mt. Rushmore was Crazy Horse. It's so much larger and the light show at night was freaking awesome. I think this was one of our favorite things from our vacation last year.


The light show was phenomenal, and so was the narration and the story.



One of the waterfalls we hiked to. It is so pretty here.


A different waterfall.


Caught this little chipmunk munching away while we hiked to the waterfalls.


Another thing we love to do on vacation is eat and drink and be merry.
This neon sign was taken in Deadwood, SD on my birthday.
We didn't go inside this establishment but I can tell you that I danced the night away on my birthday last year.


This is inside Saloon No. 10 where I spent my birthday.
Before the band came on later that night, the staff did a re-enactment of Wild Bill Hickock's last day. Supposedly he was killed right there in this bar. 
It was kind of cool.

Which way shall we go? 
I believe we were in Custer at the time.


Justin and Sasha exploring the town.


We ate breakfast here and the food was excellent.
They had the biggest breakfast burrito I've ever seen.
Custer, SD. This was on our last day in SD.


When you have children, you usually gear your vacation towards things the whole family can enjoy, mainly something for the kids to remember. Well, I can tell you when you have a dog and no children, it's like having a kid so you gear your vacation towards things you can do with your dog as well.  Our dog Sasha, RIP, always loved the water. 
We found this creek at Custer State Park. Just across the water there were wild buffalo, one of which chased my husband and scared the crap right out of me.
Sasha, on the other hand could care less. She just wanted to get wet.


Buffalo hunter. LOL

So, I'm counting down the days til my next vacation.
I don't want to waste a single day so I want to do all kinds of things and go to lots of different places. I know I want to rent a boat of some kind whether it be a pontoon, a motorboat, peddle boat or canoe. I want to enjoy at least one day out on a lake somewhere. I've even thought about white water rafting on this next trip. I'd also like to go horseback riding, maybe explore some caverns, etc.  All I know is that I want this to be one of our most memorable vacations.
I have to say that last year was pretty good but so far nothing beats the year my husband and I went to Tennessee. It was the best. Hawaii didn't even come close to the fun we had while in Tennessee.

I do plan on spending a few days relaxing by the pool of one of our hotels. 
I just need to get my husband to relax and enjoy taking it easy.
After all, we've got three weeks to go explore new territory.

To see more Vacation spots please visit the FMTSO home page.




10 comments:

  1. Such an incredibly beautiful place to visit! You're lucky to have so many places to go for domestic vacations, unlike me, living in a tiny urban island .

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  2. Love the chipmunk and buffalo photos. I know you'll miss Sasha this vacation but, on the positive side, it will be less restricting. A bit like when children fly the nest only she has flown to her own new land.

    I'm like Justin, I find it hard to just sit back when there's things to see. You'll just have to let him go off exploring while you have a poolside day!

    Have a great time this year.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice post, JarieLyn. Visiting the wild west locations has always fascinated me. I think I would get the heeby-jeebies being in the bar where Wild Bill was shot.

    You may want to look at your blog from the visitors view. The formatting seems to be a little askew.

    Thanks for the nice comments on my blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, you have A LOT of opportunities out there. I wish it wasn't so far from me!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like the waterfalls, if I was younger, I would make an expedition.

    But what made me go OMG!!!! I have done is again. It is your comment on my swing b & w photo, and the spirit. I suppose you know that my baby died 22 years ago. I went back to the hospital, and took photos of the playground. All empty equipment. It was only after I went home, and much later, it was poignant. Your comment is another. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the dreamy shot of the fall. Excellent shots!


    Thanks for the visit I do appreciate it...Kim, USA

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the itch-scratching photo. I have a chihuahua that also does the same thing, and it's both hilarious and adorable. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

    ReplyDelete
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