The forecast was for rain: what a great time to go caving!! At Wind Cave National Park, one of the oldest National Parks (1903) and first to protect underground resources. The Park features both above ground prairie lands (where tall grass prairie meets the Black Hills) and below miles of below ground features, formations, and tangled web of passages (142 miles in 1 square mile.) Imagine a bowl of spaghetti for the passages above, below, around...where does that passage way go!
Wind Cave is unique among the world's caves: it have less active water flow thus fewer dripstones --stalactites and stalagmites. And not so much color. What does it have??? It contains 95% of the known boxwork worldwide; and boxwork is formed BEFORE a cave so it dates to 320+ million years ago.
We signed up for a tour -- and like all our National Park experiences this summer -- incredible. The guide was articulate, knowledgeable, and had a great sense of humor. The tour lasted about an hour and half; up and down paths (paved by those CCC boys in the 1930s); looking at boxwork, popcorn, frostwork, and other cave formations. The rooms were smaller but every view was amazing.
The name given Wind Cave is from the one small opening that "blows a wind" based on barometric pressure (inside vs outside). Standing by the opening the grasses were blowing and the cave was "singing." The Lakota consider the Cave actually the spot of their creation story and the spot where they were led to the light.
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| Mica is common throughout the Black Hills. Sparkles and twinkles... |
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| Finally, a tall grass prairie walk at Wind Cave |
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| Boxwork |
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| Popcorn and frostwork |
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| The one known opening to Wind Cave. |
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| Leaving South Dakota...Happy Trails! |
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