Today’s memory came from my oldest nephew, Andrew. It’s another trip with animals-Andrew and I had been wanting to go to South Dakota and see the wild horses running free at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary since he was 13 and we finally were able to go. I decided I would take each of my nieces and nephews on a trip when they turned 18 and this was the first of many trips. In addition to seeing the horses, we visited the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments. And we made glass paperweights at Mind Blown, a hot shop in Deadwood, SD.

But a Poland trip wouldn’t be complete without a few other experiences. We stayed in a hotel in Deadwood that had it’s own arcade with skee ball and mini golf course, so we took advantage of both. We also smashed pennies-a hobby that my nieces and nephews have embraced along with me. I also ‘forced’ him to pan for gems-I never pass up an opportunity to do that. The first place we stayed had a teddy bear on the bed and I was pretty sure they knew Polands were coming and were obsessed with blankets and stuffed animals. Thankfully, Andrew had outgrown the need for stuffed animals-I had seen the price of that cute bear on the checkout message. And then there are the random photos like the one below. Can you see the cat hidden in the rocks?

I loved this trip and was happy to take Andrew to South Dakota and am looking forward to future trips with the others. And I love our “Poland family traditions” like the penny smashing, mini golf and arcades. I’m just a bit surprised that this memory beat out taking senior pictures that summer and fall for Andrew-he and I had SO much fun with that.