Storybook Land

There aren't many tourist attractions on the plains of the Eastern Dakotas.  But, off we went to Eastern South Dakota over the weekend.  The reason we went there was to visit my sister, who had a baby...Baby Alice!  The kids were very excited to see the new baby at the hospital. 

There is a fun park/attraction in that city called Storybook land.  It is a very strange place.  It is free since it is park of the city park system but it is quite a deviation from the usual city playground. 

Storybook land has a train that runs around the perimeter.  There is a large castle in the center and throughout the park there are statues and playground equipment based on famous fairytales and nursery rhymes.   There are also a few amusement park rides like a small rollercoaster and a merry-go-round and a petting zoo.  It appeared that each attraction, drinking fountain, shelter and bench was donated in someone's honor or memory.  What a lasting legacy. 

We went with my parents, my brother-in-law and the new big sister.  It was pretty fun although it was very hot and very humid.  I would like to visit on a crisp and pleasant day instead of a sweaty and sauna-like day. 

First we rode the train because the kids were all wound up about it and we wanted to see what we were in for once we ventured into the park.

Then we started walking though the park.  There was some kind of festival going on so there were booths for crafts and activities set up.  One table had a bunch of small water balloons with rubber bands attached that the kids could wear on their wrists.  Gee, what could go wrong with that?  The inevitable happened within ten minutes.  Fortunately, neither kid seemed to care that a water balloon broke all over the front of their clothes.  It probably felt nice in the hot weather. 

Here are a few of the attractions:

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after!  That's Ben up there at the top of the slide.

Some horses...

I don't remember what story these were supposed to be...maybe Old McDonald?

This was part of a Christmas display.

And, my favorite...I knew as soon as I saw this from the train that I would be posing for a picture with it...

The three little kittens who lost their mittens!

I took this for the view of the castle and that dumb old Little Miss Muffet eating her nasty curds!

"Hey, diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon..."

Me and my dad acting as the responsible adults on the carousel. 

There was a lot more than I have pictured here.  I was to hot and distracted to take too many good pictures.  We didn't really get into the Land of Oz portion of the park and we purposely avoided the petting zoo.  Been there, done that...many times...