Today we left Mount Rushmore for some small towns in Minnesota. We went to visit cemeteries where our ancestors were buried. Our first stop was Mapleton. There, we went to the Calvary Cemetery where Edward Fogarty and his wife were located. Edward Fogarty was my great-grandma's grandfather. In addition to the Fogarty marker we found many other family names of the Irish who came to America. In preparation for this activity, my mom bought a grave rubbing kit. To use it, one tapes this special kind of paper to the grave, and then use wax to rub on the paper. We created imprints of lots of graves despite the constant wind. I'm sure I'll be grateful later in life when I have the opportunity to have a picture of my ancestors graves. After visiting the Calvary Cemetery, we traveled to Good Thunder to see the St. Joseph Cemetery. Here, we saw more relatives of the McCarty family buried here. Both of the cemeteries were beautifully kept and were very peaceful to be in. 
Later we drove to Owatonna Minnesota to stay in our hotel. The hotel had a water park with two slides, a lazy river, deep end, and a small kid play area. It was African themed and had many African animals that spouted water. It was fun to see Julia stick her hands in the water only to have the water splash her face and shock her. Emily is also learning how to swim so she spent most of the time with a kickboard paddling along.
Now here's an interview with Blake:
A: "What did you think of the grave rubbings?
B: "It was fun to see our ancestors who they were and I still don't know anything about. But it was fun to rub wax onto pieces of paper on the gravestones. It came out better than I thought it would."
A: "What was your favorite part of the hotel?"
B: "My favorite part was the water park. The tube slide and body slide were fun to slide in. Dad and I almost fell out of a tube slide at the end."
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