April 2006
4/5: Cooper told Michelle that his "dogs were barking" during a hike and when she asked if he knew what that meant he told her it meant his feet hurt. He later said his "cats were meowing." Michelle asked him what that meant and he said his hands hurt.
4/12: Cooper hiked to the top of Mt. Rushmore and sat on George Washington's head.
4/19: I told Cooper that after he went to bed I was going to read (I'm reading Fast Food Nation). I let him know that the book talked about how bad it is to eat fast food. Cooper said "But Burger King has spongebob toys!" I let him know that the book talked about how the restaurants use toys to get kids to eat bad food. He thought for a second and said "I guess I could eat a salad.......well....maybe next week"
4/21: We were reading Jack and the Beanstalk before bed. After reading "...I'll grind his bones to make my bread" Cooper looked puzzled and said "That doesn't make sense. Bones are hard and bread is soft". He thought for a second and then rationalized "I guess it's just a fairy tale"
4/23: We were talking about things we were thankful for and Dad said he was thankful for laughter. Dad said laughter makes you feel good. Cooper said "Yeah, it's kind of like medicine."
4/23: Cooper played his first soccer game today. I coach Cooper's team. When Cooper is in uniform he calls me Coach Tom instead of Dad.
4/26: Cooper said "Here goes nothing" before he jumped off the ledge in our backyard.
4/29: Cooper told me he had a dream a few nights ago "with the whole family in it...dad, mom, me and hippo"
4/29: Cooper won his first soccer game today (it was his second game). Later in the day someone asked me if he won. I said yes and Cooper said "We did?!"
4/30: Cooper and I were reading a book tonight where the character has a long walk home over hills and through valleys. The character was tired, hungry, and his feet hurt. After reading that line Cooper exclaimed "That's how I felt today!" We went for a hike earlier in the day and Cooper just didn't have it in him. He really dragged.
4/30: I told Cooper I was getting a big stomach. He said "Like me?" I told him that I needed to stop eating so many treats. He said "but treats taste so good." I told him that they taste good but they're not good for you. He said "You have a good point Dad"
In April 2006, we took a short vacation / work trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota visiting Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Park, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National Park, and Crazy Horse Memorial. The Black Hills area is beautiful.
Wind and Jewel Caves were beautiful and very different from each other. Cooper loved them both. Here's one very interesting formation in Jewel Cave that looks like a giant piece of bacon. It was probably 30 to 40 feet tall.
We took two trips to Custer State Park. The wildlife loop was great.
The highlight of the trip was a special hike with the Superintendent of Mount Rushmore up to (and on) the President's heads. It was outstanding. The Park Superintendent was very kind and let Cooper hike with us. Normally, kids under 12 are not allowed to hike. Cooper is four.
Hall of Records
This photo was taken immediately behind the heads. Cooper is with Superintendent Gerard Baker. While we were on the heads, a group of people doing rope exercises were also up there. Superintendent Baker harnessed up and rappelled down Lincoln's face.
On Washington's head
One person was still on Washington's head as we hiked down. This gives a sense of scale and shows the location where many of the shots above were taken.
We were fortunate to also get a "behind the scenes" tour at Crazy Horse Memorial. This Memorial is much larger than Mount Rushmore and has been a work in progress since 1948.For a sense of scale, notice the construction equipment at the far right end of horizontal bench (where Crazy Horse's pointing finger will be carved).
Korczak Ziolkowski was the individual who has been carving the Crazy Horse Memorial since 1948. He died in 1982 and the work has been carried on by his wife Ruth and seven of his ten children. We met his wife Ruth (almost 80) and three of his children.
Wall Drug
We visited Badlands National Park for a quick day trip out of the Black Hills. The highlight of the visit was a short hike we took along Notch Trail that ended in beautiful views of the White River Valley.
Cooper is excited to be on his first team and have his first uniform. He joined a team through Real Colorado. His team is composed of seven three- and four-year olds. At this age they don't even clump around the ball. We're lucky if most simply pay attention. They don't seem to know if they won or lost (and don't care). The highlights of game day are the treats and running though two lines of cheering parents (forming a tunnel) after the game.
