May 12, 2012 - Wind Cave, South Dakota
Wind Cave National Park is located about 50 miles south of Rapid City in the Black Hills of South Dakota and sits just south of Custer State Park. Getting there from Colorado National Monument meant traveling for hours through the grasslands of northern Colorado on I-25 and eastern Wyoming on Hwy 85 to Newcastle, WY. At Newcastle, we headed east on Hwy 16, and much to our delight the landscape changed dramatically. Out of the rolling hills and grasslands and into the tree covered Black Hills of South Dakota.
We found the two main attractions at the 7th oldest National Park to be the Wind Cave and the Prairie which is home to a variety of wildlife.
Camp Wind Cave
The Elk Mountain Campground is located just off Hwy 385 and sits on the edge of a pine forest. Many of the campsites are within the pines; however, those sites were off limits so early in the season. Other sites, like the one we chose, are situated on the “prairie grasses”. The site where we pitched the tent (B-1) was the cleanest campsite we’ve ever had! Open fires OK. First night we froze our toes. Second nite, we wised up. Warmed our feet by the fire before slipping into our bags!
The days were warm at Wind Cave....
Catching South Dakota Rays
...and lent themselves to napping. When the sun went down, the thermometer dipped into the low 40's.
Wind Cave Natural Entrance
The "main event" at Wind Cave is the Cave Tour. Because it was early in the season, the Park Service offered only a single Tour. After Memorial Day, there are several Cave Tours from which to choose. The only way to view the caves is to sign up for a Ranger-let tour. No freelancing allowed.
We opted for the 10:30 am Natural Entrance Tour on Mother's Day. Pictured above is the Natural Entrance to the Cave. The Park got its name from the sound of the wind being sucked in or forced out of the tiny “natural opening”. Winds up to 70 mph have been recorded at the Natural Entrance.
Ranger April showing us the way into the Cave!
Once you squeeze through the Natural Entrance, the tour takes you down 450 steep steps into the bowels of the earth – about 20 stories down. To get back to the surface, there is an express elevator. There are over a 130 miles of cave passageways that have been officially recorded at the Park. All of this falls below a single square mile of surface area! By the way...April didn't really have us squeeze through the Natural Entrance. There is another entry point about 30 yards from here!
Boxwork Formations
The Cave and its formations are some of the world's oldest with its origin dating back 320 million years ago. The highlight of the Cave Tour is the Boxwork patterns found on the ceiling and walls of the Cave. Boxwork is a thin honeycomb-shaped structure made of calcite. It is extremely fragile. The slightest touch by human hand instantly turns it to dust.
After touring Carlsbad Caverns last year and experiencing it’s expansive caverns and artistic stalactites and stalagmites…this tour at Wind Cave is unspectacular. Yet, it's good to be alive and exploring the depths of the earth! Sure beats listening to the news!
Where Bison roam!
Ah...the prairie! Out of the Cave and on to the prairie where we found our first herd of Bison. We have come to love these huge beasts. Wind Cave NP is one of several protected grassland refuges for what remains of the Bison herds that were almost hunted to extinction by those who wished to eliminate the primary food source of Native Americans.
Wind Cave Canyon Trail
Having had her stitches removed a couple of days earlier, Terry was once again ready to hit the Trail! I chose a kinder, gentler trek for our first outing since "The Great Fall". The Wind Cave Canyon Trail is a 3 1/2-mile easy hike through a wooded canyon.
Carnage along the Trail
The only "wildlife" we experienced during our Wind Cave Canyon hike was the carcass of a teenage Bison. Upon closer inspection, it appeared this poor fellow had broken his right rear leg and was left behind by the others in his herd.
Horse Pasture
This shot was taken on Hwy 385 between Wind Cave and Custer, SD. We needed to refresh the ice in our cooler, buy a piece of Bumbleberry Pie at the Purple Pie Place in Custer and fill the car with gas for the next leg of our journey. By the way...great Pie at the Purple Pie Place!
Pronghorn Antelope
One of the other cast members here at Wind Cave is the Pronghorn Antelope. However, it really isn't an antelope! Scientifically, it is an artiodactyl mammal - an even-toed ungulate! These even-toed beauties are fast! Although they simply moseyed through the grasslands when we observed them, they are capable of reaching speeds up to 62 mph.
Prairie Dog Town
These critters are everywhere! Their "towns" cover acres and acres of grasslands. In 1091, one Texas Town was estimated to cover 25,000 square miles and home to over 400,000,000 Prairie dogs! That's one helluva Town!
They are not really dogs...they are rodents and more closely related to marmots, woodchucks, squirrels and such. The "dog" tag comes from their bark! Chatty little buggars, Prairie Dogs will bark up a storm if you stop to observe them.
Along the Needles Highway
Departing Wind Cave, we decided to experience the Needles Highway and see what the fuss was about revolving around said "needles". We'd already experienced more than our share of "needles" in Canyonlands and at the Monticello Emergency Room. The Needles of the Black Hills in South Dakota are admirably tall spires of eroded granite and were the original site proposed for the Mt. Rushmore carvings.
John...................................Terry!
Just like a typical male! Always nosing around where they don't belong! Wind Cave was worth the visit albeit it does not rank very high on our "favorites" list. Next stop...the Badlands of South Dakota!
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