Boxwork, Popcorn and Animal Crackers in America's Little-Known Jewel: The Wind Cave

              After our trip to Mt. Rushmore, we drove about 30 mins to an hour down to the Wind Cave National Park. I first came across the Wind Cave in a National Parks book a friend had shown me (thanks Veronica!). What made it so interesting was not only the immense size of this cave (6th longest cave in the world measuring 140 KNOWN miles of passageway with about 4 miles being discovered yearly) but also the rock formations caused by erosion. The cave gets its name from the strong air currents that blow in and out of it, almost as if it's breathing. And for some Native American tribes the cave is a sacred place that plays a part in our creation.

             You can go on a few different types of tours through the Wind Cave for around $12 a person. We went on the Natural Entrance Cave tour which lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes with around 300 stairs going mostly downward. Be prepared to squinch up or duck your head in some of the very narrow passageways.

             The celebrity of this cave is the boxwork. Boxwork is an uncommon mineral structure and the Wind Cave boasts 95% of the world's known boxwork structures. It's made up of thin blades of calcite that project from the wall. The spaces in between the calcite veins used to be full of rock that dissolved away over time leaving the "honeycomb" pattern.

This was a really cool crevice where crystals jutted out of the rock, almost looks like an alligator smiling :)

Along parts of the cave ceiling were formations sometimes referred to as "animal crackers" because of their shape:

In other areas are small knobby growths of calcite called "popcorn" :

Unfortunately, we didn't see any frostwork, but the tour was a treat and our guide was really enjoyable. 

Next time we're in the South Dakota area, we'd like to try one of the Candlelight Cave tours where you go down to an unlighted part of the cave carrying a bucket with a candle in it. If you want to find out more about this awesome and little-known place go to the official website here: Wind Cave National Park.

Mt. Rushmore in lovely South Dakota

         Back from vacation with lots of photos! This year we made it a 3-part trip with a stop at Mt. Rushmore, a tour through the Wind Cave and then camping in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The trip lasted 2 weeks with about half of it in the car, but we saw a lot of beautiful scenery along the way.
        After a 2-day drive, we stopped near Keystone, South Dakota where we stayed at the Happy Holiday Inn. Usually the places we stay in are pretty run of the mill mediocre, but we lucked out at this one. It was a small motel with charm and the innkeeper sent us to a local restaurant just down the street called, Shipwreck Lee's. If you ever find yourself in the area make a point to stop there! They have great food and friendly service. You can also find them on Facebook: Shipwreck Lee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill. There's also a lot of really quaint shops in Keystone. We stopped at the Black Hills Glass Blowers where you can watch artist, Peter Hopkins, at work. If you're looking for a nice souvenir that's a bit different then their studio is worth the stop (and right near Mt. Rushmore) Black Hills Glass Blowers.

         Once we got to Mt. Rushmore (the sun was out, thank goodness!) we stopped at the main balcony where you get a really great view of the faces. I didn't realize though that you can also get a bit closer to the mountain by walking the Presidential Trail. It's about a 1/2 mile and is mainly short staircases that give you different viewpoints of Mt. Rushmore. Here's a photo when you're walking through the entrance under the flags:

The next two photos were taken near the beginning of the Presidential Trail:

Near stop 16 on the Presidential Trail there's a really cool rock formation you can walk into where George Washington can be viewed clearly through the crevice:

Abraham Lincoln at stop 17:

You get a nice & close look at them at stop 18:

I'm really glad we were able to check this off our bucket list and it was a great afternoon. The area we drove through beforehand was one of those areas you wouldn't mind living in. Not to mention you'd have Reptile World right down the street :)