An update on Emma: her swelling is down a bit. She’s tired from the meds, but is handling this how she handles everything—with grace.
After our hospital stint yesterday, Emma and Steve stayed back at the ranch so she could rest. I took the kids in to downtown Rapid City.
There are four places we always visit near the Main Street Town Square and the kids put them in the same order every visit. Our first stop always is Prairie Edge. If you’re ever in Rapid City, this is a must! It was the vision of my beloved Uncle Ray. I took the description from their website:
Ray Hillenbrand established the Prairie Edge concept in the early 1980s with two primary purposes:
- Educate the public about and preserve the heritage and culture of the Northern Plains Indians.
- Provide Northern Plains Indian artists an outlet for their finest work (at a fair price to them).
We went to the trading post area of the store and made necklaces. The girls and I have wanted to make matching chokers on this trip and we knew we would make them at Prairie Edge. They’re perfect, replete with a bison tooth.
The next stop is always the best toy store ever, Who’s Toys. Ms. Somer always greets the kids with such joy and has done so the 8 years we’ve been visiting.
We then hit up the ice cream shop (and Mama the coffee shop next door). The kids played in the town square and, inevitably, brought up memories of Uncle Ray.
Our final stop is always Aunt Mitzi’s Bookshop.
When we returned, we decided to take the vehicles out one more time at sunset to explore and be grateful for this incredible opportunity. It wasn’t the same without Mimi.
Of all of the amazing things we’ve done on this trip and the magnificent things we’ve seen, this is by far our best stop. We knew it would be—not just because of the beauty, but because of the love here. Thank you, Mimi.
CONTINUED PRAYERS FOR SAFE TRAVELS!!
Your texts have been so inspiring. I think I’d like to do the same someday .