5/24 Wind Cave

Wind Cave National Park

Friday, May 24, 2013

Woke to a beautiful sunny day, for a change! So, we took advantage of it and headed out to see some of the sites. We back tracked on the roads we came in on.  Our first stop was to the Wind Cave National Park, and we were just in time to take the tour of the cave.

Wind Cave is so named because the guy who discovered it put his head up to the hole of the cave, where he had heard wind blowing. When he did so, the wind coming from the cave was so strong, it blew his hat off. At another time when he was showing the opening to some friends, the cave sucked his hat into the hole. The Ranger today said this is caused by barometric pressure. The cave was formed by the winds that rush through it, not water, as most caves are.

The descent into the cave is 300 steps and at times we had to turn sideways through the passages. There are no stalactites or stalagmites because there is no water. The cave is known for Boxwork, which is made of thin blades of

calcite that project from cave walls and ceilings, forming a honeycomb pattern, or boxes. The tour of the cave is ½ mile and takes about 1-1/4 hours. At one point they turned out the lights and I swear, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Fortunately, our exit from the cave was by elevator! I don’t think I could have climbed back up the 300 steps.

Wind Cave National Park is more than just the caves. Currently, the park includes over 28,000 acres and is home to Bison, Pronghorn, Elk, Prairie Dogs and numerous birds. These animals are wild and allowed to graze freely, which means they are sometimes on the road, and they have the right of way! On our way south this morning, we pulled into one of the pull offs as a herd of Bison was crossing the road ahead of us. Several people were standing on the sign platform watching these huge animals as they crossed the highway. Three of them headed for the platform and looked everyone over, then one came forward towards the crowd and stopped again, staring. This was a bull, they can get up to 2000 pounds and stand about 5 feet tall at the shoulders, oh, and they can run about 35 miles per hour. People quickly returned to their cars, in no mood to argue. For all of their size and bulk, they are kind of mangy looking right now as they are losing their winter coats. It is also calving time and there are several babies in the herd. They are so cute!!

The other animal out in abundance today were the Prairie Dogs. They are really a rodent and they make a mess out of the pastures with all of their holes, but they are so fun to watch! I believe a moderate population would be in the thousands!