When we left Cheyenne, we were in for one of the longest travel days on tour. When I found out that South Dakota was going to be one of the states on our tour, I instantly thought how awesome it would be to see Mount Rushmore, since it is probably the most easily recognizable American symbol, next to the Statue of Liberty, and I could not imagine that Up with People would pass up the opportunity to take us there. And I wasn't disappointed. Earlier in Cheyenne, it was announced that we would be going on the buses early in the morning and driving to see Mount Rushmore, and then spending the night at a camp in the middle of the Black Hills.
On the morning of departure, everybody on the bus that was not from this region of the United States was really excited about what they were going to be seeing, and speculating how big it was going to be. From the pictures, I thought that the monument itself could be huge, but after seeing the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, it became clear to me that photographs could be deceiving. So, I had no clue what to expect.
We were all on the bus, doing typical Up with People bus activities, (i.e. sleeping, listening to our iPods, giving our bus driver Marv a hard time by asking him if he knew where we were going, etc.) when all of a sudden I hear a big, "Oh, my god!!" coming from the back of the bus. I look out the window and see a bigger-than-life carving of George Washington's head, and I knew that we had arrived. Within minutes of that first sighting, Mount Rushmore was laid out before us, with all its splendor and majesty.
All of us raced off the bus to see how close we could get to the monument. But by the time I had gotten there, I found out that I was late for our cast picture, no doubt destined for Up with People brochures for years to come. After taking the picture, it was time to take a walking tour of the site, where we learned some fascinating stuff. We learned all about the Danish artist that had designed the sculptures, and we also learned how Mt. Rushmore got its name. We learned that throughout the construction of the monument that there were no work-related deaths, which is a rare thing when working on a project of that magnitude. The tour guide even showed us the staircase that Harney Keitell and Nicholas Cage fight over in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I've decided that I am going to get a bunch of friends over to watch movies that feature locations that I have been on my tour. That might be fun.
Once the last pictures were taken, and the last Mount Rushmore hoodie was sold, it was time for Cast B to pile onto the buses and head to our camping spot that would be the site of one of three host family-free overnights of the tour. I do have to say that just like the Mormon Temple, Mount Rushmore seemed a lot smaller than I imagined it to be. When I went to the Eiffel Tower years ago, it was actually larger than I thought it would be. That's why I think it's interesting that with our reputation for big things, all of the American monuments or historical sites we visited were smaller than I expected.
Anyway, after a bus ride of a couple hours, we finally arrived at our destination. Outlaw Ranch is a summer camp nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and I think it is pretty safe for me to say that this is the first time the staff of the camp had ever seen the likes of us. We are a rowdy bunch. After we all piled into the main lodge of the cabin, we did a little activity called "Thumper," which is a memory/concentration game. Everyone stands in a circle, and comes up with a funny noise with an accompanying gesture. The game is played by doing your gesture/noise combination, and then choosing the next person to go by doing their noise/gesture combo. That person has to do their combination, and then choose the next player and so on until someone makes a mistake. The last person standing, wins the game. It's a delightful game that could easily be played at your next cocktail party.
But... things could turn ugly if you are a member of Up with People's Cast B '08 and there is a Thumper tournament staged. Everyone was split up into their hometeams and a game of Thumper was played. All of the hometeam winners would then battle to see who would be the ultimate champion. It all started out innocently when we all were playing our respective hometeam match-ups, but once we got into the final round, things got extremely intense. People were chanting their representative's name: "VERONIKA! VERONIKA! VERONIKA!" It was an interesting sound that was produced when 107 people are chanting 7 different names all at once. As with all competitive events, the tournament was marred with teams accusing other teams of cheating, and then we'd inevitably have to go to the instant replay for an official ruling. When all was said and done, it was Molly Robertson, our logistics coordinator that took home the grand prize of... the satisfaction of winning the tournament. (Although, representing Hometeam 3, and all of the other hometeams whose representative didn't win, Molly is the person that actually introduced the game to the group, so I think all the rest of us were at an extreme, nay, unfair disadvantage.) Anyway... (Love ya, Molls)
After the craziness that was the Thumper tournament, and after supper, we had an introduction for what was going to happen for the week that we were going to be in Aberdeen. The theme for Aberdeen was immigration, so they introduced a week-long activity called Up with People Land, but that's something for the Aberdeen post, so I'll save it for then. Stay tuned for that! :) Hey, I've got to keep my readership hooked somehow...
After learning about UwP Land, we basically could do whatever we wanted for the rest of the night, which is certainly a rarity while traveling with Up with People. We could veg out in our cabins, we could go into the lodge and play Truth or Dare (from which I heard some very interesting stories that are not Blogger-appropriate,) or we could sit by the bonfire and roast marshmallows, eat S'mores, and talk about life, home, or the UwP Land game that we were all suddenly thrust into. I thought it would be really relaxing and mind-clearing to just sit by the fire and listen to the conversations around me. Then our music coordinator, the inimitable Kady Brown, brought out her guitar, and Ellen Enebo, our education coordinator, printed off some song lyrics, and we spent quite awhile contemplating the fire, and singing old Beatles and Joe Cocker tunes. It was quite lovely. Then after that kind of died down, another batch of people came in and started telling ghost stories. That was one of the best nights I probably spent during the whole tour.
The next morning, we all piled our stuff into the buses, and Marv and The Other Guy That Particular Week drove us due Northeast, toward Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the world of make-believe reigned supreme.
On the morning of departure, everybody on the bus that was not from this region of the United States was really excited about what they were going to be seeing, and speculating how big it was going to be. From the pictures, I thought that the monument itself could be huge, but after seeing the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, it became clear to me that photographs could be deceiving. So, I had no clue what to expect.
We were all on the bus, doing typical Up with People bus activities, (i.e. sleeping, listening to our iPods, giving our bus driver Marv a hard time by asking him if he knew where we were going, etc.) when all of a sudden I hear a big, "Oh, my god!!" coming from the back of the bus. I look out the window and see a bigger-than-life carving of George Washington's head, and I knew that we had arrived. Within minutes of that first sighting, Mount Rushmore was laid out before us, with all its splendor and majesty.
All of us raced off the bus to see how close we could get to the monument. But by the time I had gotten there, I found out that I was late for our cast picture, no doubt destined for Up with People brochures for years to come. After taking the picture, it was time to take a walking tour of the site, where we learned some fascinating stuff. We learned all about the Danish artist that had designed the sculptures, and we also learned how Mt. Rushmore got its name. We learned that throughout the construction of the monument that there were no work-related deaths, which is a rare thing when working on a project of that magnitude. The tour guide even showed us the staircase that Harney Keitell and Nicholas Cage fight over in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I've decided that I am going to get a bunch of friends over to watch movies that feature locations that I have been on my tour. That might be fun.
Once the last pictures were taken, and the last Mount Rushmore hoodie was sold, it was time for Cast B to pile onto the buses and head to our camping spot that would be the site of one of three host family-free overnights of the tour. I do have to say that just like the Mormon Temple, Mount Rushmore seemed a lot smaller than I imagined it to be. When I went to the Eiffel Tower years ago, it was actually larger than I thought it would be. That's why I think it's interesting that with our reputation for big things, all of the American monuments or historical sites we visited were smaller than I expected.
Anyway, after a bus ride of a couple hours, we finally arrived at our destination. Outlaw Ranch is a summer camp nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and I think it is pretty safe for me to say that this is the first time the staff of the camp had ever seen the likes of us. We are a rowdy bunch. After we all piled into the main lodge of the cabin, we did a little activity called "Thumper," which is a memory/concentration game. Everyone stands in a circle, and comes up with a funny noise with an accompanying gesture. The game is played by doing your gesture/noise combination, and then choosing the next person to go by doing their noise/gesture combo. That person has to do their combination, and then choose the next player and so on until someone makes a mistake. The last person standing, wins the game. It's a delightful game that could easily be played at your next cocktail party.
But... things could turn ugly if you are a member of Up with People's Cast B '08 and there is a Thumper tournament staged. Everyone was split up into their hometeams and a game of Thumper was played. All of the hometeam winners would then battle to see who would be the ultimate champion. It all started out innocently when we all were playing our respective hometeam match-ups, but once we got into the final round, things got extremely intense. People were chanting their representative's name: "VERONIKA! VERONIKA! VERONIKA!" It was an interesting sound that was produced when 107 people are chanting 7 different names all at once. As with all competitive events, the tournament was marred with teams accusing other teams of cheating, and then we'd inevitably have to go to the instant replay for an official ruling. When all was said and done, it was Molly Robertson, our logistics coordinator that took home the grand prize of... the satisfaction of winning the tournament. (Although, representing Hometeam 3, and all of the other hometeams whose representative didn't win, Molly is the person that actually introduced the game to the group, so I think all the rest of us were at an extreme, nay, unfair disadvantage.) Anyway... (Love ya, Molls)
After the craziness that was the Thumper tournament, and after supper, we had an introduction for what was going to happen for the week that we were going to be in Aberdeen. The theme for Aberdeen was immigration, so they introduced a week-long activity called Up with People Land, but that's something for the Aberdeen post, so I'll save it for then. Stay tuned for that! :) Hey, I've got to keep my readership hooked somehow...
After learning about UwP Land, we basically could do whatever we wanted for the rest of the night, which is certainly a rarity while traveling with Up with People. We could veg out in our cabins, we could go into the lodge and play Truth or Dare (from which I heard some very interesting stories that are not Blogger-appropriate,) or we could sit by the bonfire and roast marshmallows, eat S'mores, and talk about life, home, or the UwP Land game that we were all suddenly thrust into. I thought it would be really relaxing and mind-clearing to just sit by the fire and listen to the conversations around me. Then our music coordinator, the inimitable Kady Brown, brought out her guitar, and Ellen Enebo, our education coordinator, printed off some song lyrics, and we spent quite awhile contemplating the fire, and singing old Beatles and Joe Cocker tunes. It was quite lovely. Then after that kind of died down, another batch of people came in and started telling ghost stories. That was one of the best nights I probably spent during the whole tour.
The next morning, we all piled our stuff into the buses, and Marv and The Other Guy That Particular Week drove us due Northeast, toward Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the world of make-believe reigned supreme.
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