Saturday, August 25, 2007
Black Hills of South Dakota
Be sure to click on photos for larger images.
This installment covers Wednesday (August 22) through Saturday (August 25).
Before making our short drive from Rapid City to Custer, South Dakota on Wednesday, we started the day at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. The museum had a few indoor exhibits, including a Minuteman Missile launch control training center, and a dozen or more outside aircraft, including B-1 and B-52 bombers, and a wide variety of fighters. We also took an escorted tour of Ellsworth AFB and were able to go down into a Minuteman missile silo that had been used for training purposes. The trip to Custer was uneventful, and we saved sightseeing in the Custer area for the next three days.
On Thursday we headed into Custer State Park then drove south to Wind Cave National Park. In Custer we saw a herd of distant buffalo, and a single buffalo walking alongside the road. We also saw a few deer grazing in the open grasslands, and one group of wild turkey. Wind Cave is now the 4th longest cave in the world (currently measured at 125 miles) and the 2nd longest in Custer County, SD (after Jewel Cave). Because of the lack of water, it does not have stalactites and stalagmites, but does have an interesting formation called boxwork. The boxwork was formed at the same time, and by the same action, as the cave – limestone dissolving in standing water and leaving harder calcite as thin formations. Unfortunately, our photos of the boxwork do not really do it justice.
After lunch in Hot Springs, our final stop of the day was the National Mammoth Site. This is an under-roof, working archeological dig (see photos). About 27,000 years ago, a sinkhole formed at the site and mammoths who went down to eat and drink were unable to climb back out. A core drilling indicated that there are bones down to at least 60 feet below the current surface; to date, only 22 feet or less has been excavated and so far 55 mammoths (110 tusks and assorted bones) have been unearthed.
We got into the car at 6:30 on Friday morning to drive Custer State Park’s wildlife loop. Between 7 and 8 a.m., we saw two species of deer, a lot of turkeys, a lot of buffalo along and in the road, and one big horn sheep. Next we drove up the Needles Highway toward Mt. Rushmore. Due to fog on the highway and rain at Mt. Rushmore, we did not get any good photos; we will try it again tomorrow.
After finishing at Mt. Rushmore, we drove back through Custer to Jewel Cave. There was a limited tour schedule today, so we took a short (20 min.) tour which consisted of a ride down an elevator to a huge underground room. Jewel Cave has only a few stalactites and stalagmites, due to the lack of water. It has now been mapped at just over 140 miles, making it the second largest cave in the world, after Mammoth Cave. Based on measurements of wind volume, experts estimate that only 2-10% of the cave has been mapped.
Next we toured the National Woodcarver’s Museum, which contains a few large pieces and a number of multi-character scenes. The detail in some of the carving is amazing. Our last stop was the Crazy Horse Monument site. The monument of Crazy Horse riding his horse is ultimately planned to be several times the size of Mt. Rushmore. To date, Crazy Horse’s face is complete, and a lot of preliminary work has been done to begin to rough-in the shape of his horse. Given the pace of work, it may not be completed even in our children’s lifetime. The site also includes a nice museum with a large number and variety of Indian artifacts.
After a short stop back at the RV, we drove the wildlife loop again at dusk, from about 7-8 p.m. We saw three variety of deer (more deer than in the morning), and again saw a large number of buffalo. We did not see any elk today, although there is supposed to be a large herd in the park.
On Saturday we retraced part of yesterday’s trips, in the sun instead of the rain. We got pictures of the “eye of the needle” on the Needles Highway (see photo) and of Mt. Rushmore, including a side view of Washington’s head and a long distance view of the monument. Compare today’s sunny photo of Mt. Rushmore with yesterday’s rainy photo, when the president’s appear to be weeping (see photos).
With the Badlands, the Minuteman Missile Site, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Mt. Rushmore, we have now visited 5 National Parks or Monuments in the past week. Tomorrow we leave for a two day drive to Yellowstone National Park, with a scheduled stop en route at Devil’s Tower National Monument.
This installment covers Wednesday (August 22) through Saturday (August 25).
Before making our short drive from Rapid City to Custer, South Dakota on Wednesday, we started the day at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. The museum had a few indoor exhibits, including a Minuteman Missile launch control training center, and a dozen or more outside aircraft, including B-1 and B-52 bombers, and a wide variety of fighters. We also took an escorted tour of Ellsworth AFB and were able to go down into a Minuteman missile silo that had been used for training purposes. The trip to Custer was uneventful, and we saved sightseeing in the Custer area for the next three days.
On Thursday we headed into Custer State Park then drove south to Wind Cave National Park. In Custer we saw a herd of distant buffalo, and a single buffalo walking alongside the road. We also saw a few deer grazing in the open grasslands, and one group of wild turkey. Wind Cave is now the 4th longest cave in the world (currently measured at 125 miles) and the 2nd longest in Custer County, SD (after Jewel Cave). Because of the lack of water, it does not have stalactites and stalagmites, but does have an interesting formation called boxwork. The boxwork was formed at the same time, and by the same action, as the cave – limestone dissolving in standing water and leaving harder calcite as thin formations. Unfortunately, our photos of the boxwork do not really do it justice.
After lunch in Hot Springs, our final stop of the day was the National Mammoth Site. This is an under-roof, working archeological dig (see photos). About 27,000 years ago, a sinkhole formed at the site and mammoths who went down to eat and drink were unable to climb back out. A core drilling indicated that there are bones down to at least 60 feet below the current surface; to date, only 22 feet or less has been excavated and so far 55 mammoths (110 tusks and assorted bones) have been unearthed.
We got into the car at 6:30 on Friday morning to drive Custer State Park’s wildlife loop. Between 7 and 8 a.m., we saw two species of deer, a lot of turkeys, a lot of buffalo along and in the road, and one big horn sheep. Next we drove up the Needles Highway toward Mt. Rushmore. Due to fog on the highway and rain at Mt. Rushmore, we did not get any good photos; we will try it again tomorrow.
After finishing at Mt. Rushmore, we drove back through Custer to Jewel Cave. There was a limited tour schedule today, so we took a short (20 min.) tour which consisted of a ride down an elevator to a huge underground room. Jewel Cave has only a few stalactites and stalagmites, due to the lack of water. It has now been mapped at just over 140 miles, making it the second largest cave in the world, after Mammoth Cave. Based on measurements of wind volume, experts estimate that only 2-10% of the cave has been mapped.
Next we toured the National Woodcarver’s Museum, which contains a few large pieces and a number of multi-character scenes. The detail in some of the carving is amazing. Our last stop was the Crazy Horse Monument site. The monument of Crazy Horse riding his horse is ultimately planned to be several times the size of Mt. Rushmore. To date, Crazy Horse’s face is complete, and a lot of preliminary work has been done to begin to rough-in the shape of his horse. Given the pace of work, it may not be completed even in our children’s lifetime. The site also includes a nice museum with a large number and variety of Indian artifacts.
After a short stop back at the RV, we drove the wildlife loop again at dusk, from about 7-8 p.m. We saw three variety of deer (more deer than in the morning), and again saw a large number of buffalo. We did not see any elk today, although there is supposed to be a large herd in the park.
On Saturday we retraced part of yesterday’s trips, in the sun instead of the rain. We got pictures of the “eye of the needle” on the Needles Highway (see photo) and of Mt. Rushmore, including a side view of Washington’s head and a long distance view of the monument. Compare today’s sunny photo of Mt. Rushmore with yesterday’s rainy photo, when the president’s appear to be weeping (see photos).
With the Badlands, the Minuteman Missile Site, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Mt. Rushmore, we have now visited 5 National Parks or Monuments in the past week. Tomorrow we leave for a two day drive to Yellowstone National Park, with a scheduled stop en route at Devil’s Tower National Monument.
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Wow, it is really odd to see Washington crying like that. A truly bizarre phenomenon. Great comparison of pictures, though.
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