Cave Day

2022-07-17
Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, SD

This morning we got up with the early birds. I mean this both literally (the Asian Doves were making a lot of noise) and figuratively as neighbors had dogs barking, stuff banging and so forth. It seems like maybe they were getting revenge for people being a bit loud the night before, but that's just how kids are. If you are tired enough (as we were) it's easy to fall asleep. Also the rain the night before had become humidity yesterday and then transformed to dew this morning so the tent was pretty wet. We took it down and put it in a plastic bag (brought for just this eventuality) to deal with tonight.

We plugged Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) into Google Maps and headed off. This is a case where I should have been more specific. We followed the directions down a dirt road, onto Wildlife Loop Road around Custer State Park (WCNP adjoins Custer) and then down another dirt road. After a mile on this road we saw the sign for Wind Cave National Park, and continued through the gate on the dirt road into the park. It became immediately evident that my Subaru Outback did not belong on this section of road. It took us about a quarter mile to find a spot to turn around and go back to Wildlife Loop. Google had brought us to the park in some remote corner of the park only fit for four wheel drives with high ground clearance.

Once back on the road, we put Wind Cave Visitor Center into Google Maps and headed on down the road. It tried to have me turn on another dirt road but this time I just said No. Once we got to the end of Wildlife Loop I turned left towards Wind Cave and shortly got caught in a bunch of looky-loos watching a herd of buffalo. We were still running early so it wasn't a big concern, but the people up at the front had us blocked in for ten or fifteen minutes. Some of this was bison crossing the road, but mostly it was kids poking through the sun roof and pointing. Thankfully they stayed in the car.

We then crossed into Wind Cave National Park. At this point we are still ok on time, but it's getting close. About three miles later we are once again bogged down in a herd of buffalo. This time there is a contingent of buffalo loitering in the road and there is nothing to be done. Well, maybe not nothing; we did take pictures while we waited. Eventually they cleared out of the road enough for us to slip by.

We got to the Visitors Center with just enough time to make our 10:40 cave tour. Wind Cave is known for its boxwork, popcorn, and frostwork. The last was a bit hard to find, but plenty of the first two. We enjoyed the tour as well as the cool of the cave (about 50 degrees year round) on what was a 100+ degree day outside.

Jewel Cave is just 45 minutes away, and we made it in plenty of time for our 2:40 tour. We had time to visit the museum and relax for a bit before the tour. They are primarily known for nailhead and dogtooth spar calcite formations. The latter give the cave its name as they look like crystals albeit valueless ones. There are also some typical cave formations, like stalactites, stalagmites, and curtains.

We had planned a late afternoon hike in Hell Canyon, but it is simply too hot today. Apparently there is a heat wave going through. So after a fine tour we went to our "Hipcamp" site. It's a bit like Airbnb but for camp sites. It was maybe 12 miles from Jewel Cave, and it is my first time trying this sort of campground. Our site - one of three - has some shade and a nice view. We hung up the tent pieces to let them dry from last night. That happened quickly in the hot, dry air so we then assembled our tent before utilizing the living room which has wifi, AC, and electricity so I can work on the blog.

At night it was once again dark enough to see the Milky Way until the moon rose.

Driving Distance: 170 miles

Hiking Distance: 3.5 miles