Monday, July 25, 2011

Wind Cave National Park, SD

Today's Photo - Boxwork Formations at Wind Cave National Monument, SD














OK, first I have to apologize for not posting yesterday.  There really wasn't all that much to post, although I did include a campsite photo on the Lakeshore Images page. I do have to add that B. J.'s Campground in Lusk, WY is a great one night stop with the cleanest & nicest bathrooms I've seen.  Although the showers are a bit small for me, it is the first bathroom that includes paper cups!  Nice level sites and the inevitable whistling train was far enough away that it didn't bother anyone.


As for today:


Well, a new state, although I did go through South Dakota on the way out to pick up the trailer. I'm at the Hot Springs KOA. A nice, quiet park a few miles northeast of Hot Springs. I dropped the trailer & headed to Wind Cave National Park. I took Fairgrounds Tour, a 1 1/2 hours that includes views of Boxwork & Popcorn as well as many of the large rooms in the cave. Some photos from the tour are below. The only accurate colors are those shot with flash since the lighting is a mixture of different colored discharge or compact fluorescent sources. The problem with the flash is it washes out the detail the indirect lighting brings out. Of course, I had to include one image of complete darkness, something that almost every cave tour I've taken does. The actual colors in the cave are quite dull compared to most of the caves I've visited, but the formations, particularly the Boxwork, are beautiful. More photos at 2011 Trip - Day 99.



After the tour I drove to Jewel Cave National Monument for a tour, but they were completely booked for the rest of the day. I am scheduled for the Scenic Tour at 12:40 tomorrow. By the way, both caves honor the Golden Age Pass making the tickets for tours 1/2 price.

Since it was raining, rather than cooking outside in the rain of making a mess in the trailer, I decided to stop at the local Hot Springs China Buffet for dinner. The Buffet was excellent, and the hot tea was free.

Until tomorrow!

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