Wind Cave and Jewel Cave

***THIS IS A CATCH-UP POST***

 

 

June 2013

 

Custer, SD

 

Southwest SD is littered with National Parks and Monuments.  After seeing what we could above ground, we took a trip below. 

 

But first, a recap of a conversation we had in the car recently.  When I admired the totem pole near our campground, I suggested we should get one with all our "spirit animals".  You know, it's the animal that your spirit is most connected to and sort of a life guide.  Native Americans would sometimes go out into the wilderness, starve themselves, and wait to see what "spirit animal" came to them.  Or one could just figure it out through various life experiences, without pre-death hallucinations.  When I said that I thought mine was a bear, my precious little Alex agreed because I'm "hairy and need anger management".  Humm, not the qualities I was thinking of, but close enough. 

 

Anyway, off to the caves.  It turns out that most photos of inside caves, don't turn out.  But here's a few worth showing.  The caves are wondrous and beautiful.  You should go if you get a chance.

 

 

Dragonhead in Jewel Cave.

Popcorn formation in Jewel Cave.

Cave "bacon" in Jewel Cave.

Modern climbing equipment.

Alex gets a caving lesson.

This box represents the 8" tall path cavers use to access new places. 

 It runs for 200 yards. 

The cavers have to drag their packs with their feet.

Or use the "one arm ahead, one arm back" method to drag their pack.

Baby beluga... in Wind Cave.

Close-up of boxworks formations in Wind Cave.

Boxworks on a wall.  Wind Cave has more of these formations than any other cave.

 

Quartz in Wind Cave.

Elephant in Wind Cave.

Large room.

A wall of quartz.

Closer,

and closest.

More boxworks. 

 

 



To me, maybe the most fascinating thing about these caves, is that someone was willing to crawl into their original openings.  In the case of Wind Cave, it was a very small, dark hole which happened to have moving air, or wind, about it.  Those folks didn't even have flashlights!

 

The kids outside the Wind Cave natural opening, the only way to access the cave for decades.

Of course the visit wouldn't be complete without letting the wind blow your hair, which it did.

 

 

Don't fall in, 'cause I'm not going after you.

 

And there's even life above the caves...

 

Yes, the wildflowers here are spectacular.  But more on that later.