We are in the Rapid City, South Dakota stake, 4 hour drive from our home as we are the most Southeastern family in Stake boundaries.
After driving that many miles the weekend before we decided that 8 hours of driving and 3 hours of sitting in one Sunday is not going to be enjoyable, so I start searching for hotels. It's now tourist season in Rapid City since it's the closest town to Mt Rushmore, and the lowest hotel room is $150. Thats just not going to work for the budget. So what do we do? Not going isn't an option, the one day whirlwind sounds horrible and then the idea comes to mind, we'll camp out! So Saturday while Daniel is at a branding Cinch and I get our camping gear together. We don't leave the house until 3 because Daniel was running on SCT (Standard Cowboy Time). On the drive up we hit a hail storm that is closer to a whiteout blizzard, dropping 4-5" of hail on the road and you can't see.
It's 7:00 when we are approaching Rapid, we had planning on going to Sams Club before setting up camp- but knowing the storm that might hit us- we decided our tent is better to be set up before it. We arrive at a great camp ground (only $25 for our night) with tree covered camp ground and bathrooms with showers.
Tent set up great (the 2nd time we've used it since we got it in 2008). We head off to Sams. Luckily we make it there before it closing at 8:30- Next off to Target for breakfast and lunch food so we don't have to break the sabbath and then we call Olive Garden for take-out. Having lived so far from resaurants for a year I don't have the patience for the restaurant waiting game we do take out. We head back to camp. 5 minutes before arriving the storm hits, luckily not the hail but the rain is pouring. We pull up to the tent, grab our dinner and run for it. We ate italian food by cell phone light in a thunder storm and LOVED it! We head to bed, Cinch was too excited to sleep but finally crashed and we all cuddle close and breath in the rain air.
Sunday morning the sun wakes Cinch up bright and early at 6:30. We get up and walk around- the play ground was wet but that didn't stop Cinch. Then breakfast time- take down camp - shower and off to Stake Conference.
We arrived 45 minutes early hoping for a soft seat like usual- but we were happily seated in the 2nd to last row in the gym. People arrived 3 hours early for the soft seats- we filled the gym, stage, primary and relief society rooms as well, it was insane! We just had stake conference 2 months earlier and only the gym and chapel was filled- funny what an apostle coming will do.
Finally 10 minutes to go our Stake President stands up and announces ELDER HOLLAND will be presiding and to reverently prepare for his arrival.
Some of our thoughts and memories of Stake Conference
*Theres a problem in the church- a GOOD problem. We are growing too fast. We can make more stakes, wards, missions. But there can only be 12 apostles and 3 in the 1st presidency. This means we could get around to stake conferences every 29 years. To solve the problem we'll call "special" stake conferences when we are in an area to visit more frequently, every 4-5 years.
*(With a loud stearn voice).
If you ever leave this church is will be the dumbest and worst decision you'll ever make in your life.
When you think it is too tough, not worth trying or going anymore..
DO NOT BAIL SHIP
It's not worth trying a back stroke in the tempest sea that will be you no where.
This is the time to put on your lifevest, strap a raft to yourself and sit in the bottom of the boat,
RIDE OUT THE STORM.
When you are older and smarter, you'll realize you made the right decision
It was an AWESOME experience. Besides the AC in the church being broken that was proabably the only down fall. Our "sacrifice" of camping wasn't a sacrifice at all- it made me think of my pioneer ancestors and the members in CONGO, Africa and what they would do to see an apostle of God and greatful I could sleep without a matress for the night to help me prepare and be grateful to witness what we did.
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