Summer Days...

Martin's Cove is a historical site for the Church of Latter Day Saints. Its a site along the Mormon Trail that where saints took refuge in a cove. This summer it was on my to do list to take my family here and hike the trail through the cove,  I was a teenager last time I had been through the cove.

Taking turns pushing

Devils Gate

Devils  Gate

The day was not too warm or to cool.  The kids rode in the handcart and it was a challenge to get Anna to hold still.  It was important to keep her a way from the spokes of the turning wheels.
The trip to through the cove was memorable as we imagined tents and people talking refuge from the wind and cold and snow.  They all had to leave their wagons and handcarts behind.
After the trip through the cove we went to devils gate. A river winds through two huuge cliffs that almost touch.  At some times of the year the snakes are so bad through there that they shut that part of the area down.  This was my first time being in that part of the cove. Round trip it was about seven miles and the kids were tired.  We all slept peacefully that night.  I know that I gain a greater appreciate for what my pioneer ancestors had done and what the sacrificed.

The Black Hills....

The black hills are gorgeous.  Ben was working in Rapid City South Dakota.   So we went and visited him for a weekend.  We all were able to stay at a fancy hotel and ride down huge water slides.  We also visited the  Historical Site of Mt Rushmore and a little farm called Old McDonald's Farm.

 The heads look a lot small then they actually are.

It was fun to go and see.

The entrance

Watki Water slides!! 

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