Our other reason for getting up early was to hopefully get some more wildlife viewing as the animals tend to be more active in the morning. We still hadn’t spotted an elk, and there’s a meadow in Wind Cave where elk are frequently seen. We got to the spot, climbed out of car, and immediately started hearing a male buffalo making what sounded like rutting noises. After our experience the last time we were in the park, we didn’t take any chances and retreated to the safety of our car. We rounded the corner and saw a few bulls, including this guy hanging out close to the road…
Even though we got to the Wind Cave Visitor’s Center at 7:40, twenty minutes before they opened, there was already a long line. It was kind of a fun experience hanging in line talking to other visitors. Part of the joy of travel is meeting new people, and the good news was we were still able to get tickets for the 9:00 a.m. tour. There were only three tickets available for that time when we got to the front of the line.
The tour itself was interesting, not the best cave tour we’ve ever been on as Wind Cave is no longer an active cave, meaning not as many formations that you would normally see, but it was still cool overall. What added to the experience was that directly behind us was a little girl, maybe three or four, who was in a cave for the first time. Her running commentary and constant questions were funny and endearing. My favorite was about if she made it through the caves bravely she would be getting gummy bears. She also had some wild theories about why grandma didn’t like caves which her parents tried to dismiss, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded. It made the tour more unique than it might’ve been otherwise.
But there was still some interesting things to see…
Below is a picture of the only natural entrance at the time the cave was discovered. It has a breeze that is either blowing in or out depending on the outside weather, hence the “Wind Cave” name. The earliest explorer of the cave was a sixteen year old son of a rancher who was given mining rights to the area. He used to crawl in and out of the tiny cave entrance with only candles and a ball of yarn to find his way back. Unfortunately for the ranchers, they weren’t able to find any valuable minerals, so the enterprising, young boy started conducting tours by candlelight. At one point on the tour, the ranger showed us what that would’ve looked like by lighting a candle and turning off the electric lights. It was eerily dark. At some point, he blew out the candle to show how dark it would’ve been if the young explorer didn’t time his trips carefully.
Some additional sights from inside the cave…
After completing the tour, we spent a little time looking for wildlife on our way back to Custer State Park, and we spotted these little guys…
Prairie dogs are cute and can be found in several places around both Wind Cave and Custer.
On our way back to our cabin, we decided to take the drive up a dirt mountain road to the top of Mount Coolidge. At the top, we were rewarded with amazing views of the surrounding areas. You could even see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument in the distance with binoculars. You probably won’t be able to make out either one in the pictures below…
After a busy few days in the park, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day by visiting Legion Lake, a smallish but beautiful lake in the center of the park. It has a lodge, a store, a beach and a restaurant. It was a nice place to spend the rest of the day. While the water was cold, it was a hot day, so it felt good.
At some point, I decided to take the relatively short walk around the lake and took pictures along the way. It was fun as Jenny stayed on the beach, and we were able to exchange waves from different places along the path.
We finished the day with an early dinner at the Legion Lake Restaurant which was closing early due to staffing shortages due to the pandemic. This is another example of making sure that you do a little bit of research if you’re planning on traveling at any point in the near future.
As our plan involved a rather lengthy drive to Salt Lake City the next day, it was good to get home early to start packing and be ready to leave early in the morning. As usual, Bitey was “helping” us pack…
Overall, we enjoyed our visit time in Custer State Park and the Black Hills area, and we would gladly return at some future time.
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