NYC 2022 | Day #4
Friday's itinerary was packed from start to finish with all sorts of things to do and see in the Black Hills of South Dakota. First up on the agenda: Bear Country USA!
Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall
Bear Country USA is a 200-acre drive-through wildlife park in Rapid City. In addition to black bears, our group also got to see arctic wolves, timber wolves, reindeer, buffalo, bobcats, bighorn sheep, and more! One of the morning's higlights was getting to see two baby lynx kittens named Samson and Delilah.
Photos courtesy of Kennedy Wall
Photos courtesy of Melissa Williard
After Bear Country USA, the group went down the road to Mount Rushmore. It was another HOT day (with a high of 99 degrees), which made the hike on the Presidential Trail a little "miserable" (although you'd never guess it by these smiles). 422 steps in the heat and thin air was killer, but getting to eat in the AC afterwards felt good!
Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall
Photos courtesy of Melissa Williard, Kennedy Wall
Photos courtesy of Melissa Williard
Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall
Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall
After Mount Rushmore, the group visited Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain monument under construction since 1948 in Custer County, South Dakota. Once completed, it will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The face of Crazy Horse is 87 ½ feet high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet high.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Williard
Photos courtesy of the Virlina Youth Facebook page, Kennedy Wall
Our youth learned about the history of Crazy Horse and the Lakota people. They also got to see a traditional Native American hoop dance performed by a member of the Sicangu Lakota Sioux Tribe. Starr Chief Eagle was raised up in hoop dancing, an art that honors cultural traditions shared by multiple Indigenous communities, by her father.
Photos courtesy of Melissa Williard, the Virlina Youth Facebook page
Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall
The last stop of the day was the Fort Hays Chuckwagon Supper and live music variety show by The Fort Hays Wranglers. Our group arrived early and got to explore the area before supper, where they stumbled across the Dances with Wolves film set in Fort Hays Old West Town Square. Any movie buffs out there?
Photos courtesy of Kennedy Wall
Photos courtesy of Kennedy Wall
We caught up with McKinley and Kennedy after dinner for a quick Q and A:
Q: What was the highlight of today?
A: The live music variety show after dinner — they played a lot of hits and we both really got into it.
Q: What is something that you experienced today for the first time?
A: Mount Rushmore.
Q: Share a fun fact that you learned today.
A: You can make rope out of toilet paper.
Q: What did you have for lunch and dinner?
A: For lunch, we had chicken tendies at Mount Rushmore. For dinner, we had brisket, chicken, beans, baked potatoes, and spice cake.
Q: Have you gotten to know anyone from another church?
A: We have met people from Summerdean, Antioch, and Cedar Bluff.
Q: Choose three words to describe the trip so far.
A: Entertaining, hot, beautiful.
Q: Have you bought any souvenirs yet?
A: Yes, we have bought T-shirts, sweatshirts, necklaces, bracelets, legos, socks, and more!
Q: With NYC starting tomorrow, what is something that you're looking forward to?
A: We are looking forward to not being on the bus all day and getting to meet new people.
Q: Is there anything else that you want to share with the Fraternity congregation?
A: We would like to thank them for their prayers and thank them for following along with us on this journey.
Photos courtesy of Kennedy Wall, Melissa Williard
Photo courtesy of the Virlina Youth Facebook page
The next time we hear from our youth, they'll be at National Youth Conference ... and we'll have another face in photos: Lydia Williard! Lydia is flying from Charlotte to Denver on Saturday morning, where she will land a little after 10 a.m. Colorado time (noon on the East Coast — there's a two-hour time difference) and then catch the NYC shuttle at the airport to meet up with the rest of the Fraternity group in Fort Collins. Lydia attended NYC four years ago as a youth and gets to return this year as an advisor.
Opening worship is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. You can view the 2022 National Youth Conference schedule HERE.
Photo courtesy of Glenn Riegel via the National Youth Conference Facebook page
Bear Country USA is a 200-acre drive-through wildlife park in Rapid City. In addition to black bears, our group also got to see arctic wolves, timber wolves, reindeer, buffalo, bobcats, bighorn sheep, and more! One of the morning's higlights was getting to see two baby lynx kittens named Samson and Delilah.
After Bear Country USA, the group went down the road to Mount Rushmore. It was another HOT day (with a high of 99 degrees), which made the hike on the Presidential Trail a little "miserable" (although you'd never guess it by these smiles). 422 steps in the heat and thin air was killer, but getting to eat in the AC afterwards felt good!
After Mount Rushmore, the group visited Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain monument under construction since 1948 in Custer County, South Dakota. Once completed, it will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The face of Crazy Horse is 87 ½ feet high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet high.
Our youth learned about the history of Crazy Horse and the Lakota people. They also got to see a traditional Native American hoop dance performed by a member of the Sicangu Lakota Sioux Tribe. Starr Chief Eagle was raised up in hoop dancing, an art that honors cultural traditions shared by multiple Indigenous communities, by her father.
The last stop of the day was the Fort Hays Chuckwagon Supper and live music variety show by The Fort Hays Wranglers. Our group arrived early and got to explore the area before supper, where they stumbled across the Dances with Wolves film set in Fort Hays Old West Town Square. Any movie buffs out there?
We caught up with McKinley and Kennedy after dinner for a quick Q and A:
Q: What was the highlight of today?
A: The live music variety show after dinner — they played a lot of hits and we both really got into it.
Q: What is something that you experienced today for the first time?
A: Mount Rushmore.
Q: Share a fun fact that you learned today.
A: You can make rope out of toilet paper.
Q: What did you have for lunch and dinner?
A: For lunch, we had chicken tendies at Mount Rushmore. For dinner, we had brisket, chicken, beans, baked potatoes, and spice cake.
Q: Have you gotten to know anyone from another church?
A: We have met people from Summerdean, Antioch, and Cedar Bluff.
Q: Choose three words to describe the trip so far.
A: Entertaining, hot, beautiful.
Q: Have you bought any souvenirs yet?
A: Yes, we have bought T-shirts, sweatshirts, necklaces, bracelets, legos, socks, and more!
Q: With NYC starting tomorrow, what is something that you're looking forward to?
A: We are looking forward to not being on the bus all day and getting to meet new people.
Q: Is there anything else that you want to share with the Fraternity congregation?
A: We would like to thank them for their prayers and thank them for following along with us on this journey.
The next time we hear from our youth, they'll be at National Youth Conference ... and we'll have another face in photos: Lydia Williard! Lydia is flying from Charlotte to Denver on Saturday morning, where she will land a little after 10 a.m. Colorado time (noon on the East Coast — there's a two-hour time difference) and then catch the NYC shuttle at the airport to meet up with the rest of the Fraternity group in Fort Collins. Lydia attended NYC four years ago as a youth and gets to return this year as an advisor.
Opening worship is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. You can view the 2022 National Youth Conference schedule HERE.
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