My Daddy Wrestles Alligators

You know that Train song where, "her daddy wrestles alligators"?  Well, that is true for me.  Or was true way before I was born.  It's not like we are rednecks or anything.  There is a place in Rapid City, South Dakota where my dad & three out of five siblings worked called Reptile Gardens.

Dad back in his day.

My dad followed by his little brother, Frank "Gator" Lux wrestled alligators there and did the snake show.  Do you know how cool I thought this was when I was a kid?

My dad & Frank

We got special treatment at the show.  The wrestlers had heard about the "Lux Boys". 

The Reptile Gardens just had it's 75th anniversary so we decided to take a vacation to see family.  We brought my niece, Aysha, since she had not been to South Dakota.

It was pretty fun as South Dakota really is one of the best states for a family vacation.  We couldn't fit all the things I wanted to do in such a short trip so some will be saved for Louis' next trip.  

We visited...

Mount Rushmore.  Notice the stroller.  I forgot my baby carrier and Louis was mid nap.  The stroller proved to be super annoying.

Crazy Horse which looks the same as when I was here in 7th grade.

Storybook Island

I have tons of old pics of my cousins and me here.

I wish all of the cousins could have been back for this pic!

Reptile Gardens

My dad & brother, Josh.

He is going to put his hand in the mouth to get it to snap.  My dad is the only wrestler that put his head in the mouths.  He did that until one started to shut and put a tooth through his cheek.

Little 2 year old croc.  They let my dad & Frank hold it for pics with the kids.  

Louis petting the snake.

The Chuckwagon where my super talented 17 year-old cousin plays the fiddle in the band.  This is the same cousin that was the lead in the Nutcracker last winter.  She is standing next to me in the pic.

Louis and Adeline

Aysha and Miyana.  New best cousin/friends.

On our way out of town we decided we hadn't had enough so we stopped at Wall Drug and took a ride through the Badlands National Park.   We started writing down license plates and got 42 out of 50 states.  That tells you how many people around the nation visit.  

It was a great trip and visits here always bring back great memories from when I was a kid.  I'm sure we've got many future trips back to look forward to.