Days of 1910 Celebration-13

On the last full weekend of July, Timber Lake, South Dakota remembers their towns origin by hosting a town celebration. A large tent is erected downtown and the street under the tent is covered with sawdust. The adults enjoy Indian tacos and the kids descend on the piles of sawdust with toy trucks and tractors. Other events over the weekend included a parade and nightly rodeos.

We started what turned to be a scorcher of a day at the High School field with kids activities. My kids half participated, half melted in the heat, but all was well when they concluded the events with a water balloon toss and popsicles.

With time to kill before the parade, we jumped in the car and headed to Dog Butte. We entered the pasture that surrounded the butte and rode to the top of the Butte in the truck. Once on the butte a conglomerate of seashells could be seen peeking out from below the cliffs of the butte. What used to be sea floor was now surrounded by prairie grass and cows grazing below. Quite the intriguing contrast.

After exploring the Butte, we headed back to town where temperatures soared over 90 degrees as the kids eagerly greeted the parade floats and free candy. Unlike Alaskan parades, no chocolate was thrown here in South Dakota, and it was easy to understand why, even the candy chews that weren’t picked up soon melted and stuck to pavement and shoes.

Our hosts headed up the local unicycle club and made an appearance in the parade.

With candy, kids, and adults melting in the heat, the guys loaded up the ski boat and headed to a nearby lake to enjoy all sorts of water sports.

Eska and I enjoyed the cool breeze riding in the front of the boat and I was introduced to Montucky Cold Snack, a refreshing treat on a hot day. After our fill of boating, Eska Yukla and I, enjoyed the view from the dock.

Despite cooling off in the lake, the kids were losing it after a long hot day on the go. Christa helped me wrangle the kids home, while Woodsen headed off to the Rodeo with Bo, Christa’s Husband.

Despite all the fun, this was one of my hardest parenting days on the trip. I’ve realized that many things along our trips are challenging for kids; constant moving from place to place, heat, late nights, and changing sleeping situations. One of the hardest things for me is knowing when to give my kids grace knowing the circumstances, and when to crack down and enforce my expectations. There isn’t a perfect answer, but I’m always looking for creative solutions to keep my expectations realistic and to help my kids manage challenges, emotions, and show gratefulness to our hosts.

Eventually kids fell asleep and soon enough a new day would bring a fresh start.