I hadn’t been in a cave for a good looooong while, and I really loved it! Such a different landscape! Not so easy to photograph, however.
Wind Cave has 127 miles of passages. In the summer, there are five types of tours from the easy to very strenuous. Since it was after Labor Day when I was there, I did the only one available – the moderate one. Go to the National Park Service Wind Cave Guided Tours page for descriptions, tour times, and to make reservations for the “specialty tours.” If you don’t make reservations, it’s first come, first served – so get there early!
-
- The original portal that blows air out forcefully enough that both Natives and settlers knew something bigger and bolder was under there.
-
- From Wikipedia: “Boxwork is commonly composed of thin blades of the mineral calcite that project from cave walls or ceilings that intersect one another at various angles, forming a box-like or honeycomb pattern. The boxwork fins once filled cracks in the rock before the host cave formed. As the walls of the cave began to dissolve away, the more resistant vein and crack fillings did not, or at least dissolved at a slower rate than the surrounding rock, leaving the calcite fins projecting from the cave surfaces. Some of the most extensive boxwork deposits in the world are found in Wind Cave National Park.”
-
- This is the one photo with people in it. We opened up into three “rooms,” the rest were more narrow passages.
-
- Wind Cave was the place of these Native peoples’ creation story. It was that sacred!
-
- Alvin died at 20 of typhoid fever. All of his legacy was achieved in those few years as a youth.
-
- Every National Park that I have been to has alluded to a historic struggle between development for industrial use and/or for private tourism and conservation and access to all. In each case, the Federal Government declared a National Park/Monument.
-
- An ode to the workers! This is a very big deal at Wind Cave. The Civilian Conservation Corps established the network of walkways, staircases, railings, lighting and elevator shaft that makes it accessible to and safe for the general public. My editorial comment is that I think the Civilian Conservation Corps was a brilliant idea that both provided jobs and created infrastructure in the U.S. I think that model should be seriously considered now since we clearly need both so badly!
-
- Many prairie animals, including bison, were once near extinction from loss of habitat and over-hunting. The National Parks are a vital refuge for their survival and our appreciation.
-
- Wind Cave National Park is two parks in one – underground and above-ground!
-
- My last bison communing for a while. I have grown quite fond of them on this journey.
