Only day three? Man, we were busy! Monday morning, mean old Dan got us up and made us get ready. Jen made delicious cinnamon rolls and was a perfect hostess. With sadness, because it's been so long since I've seen her and know it will be a long time before I see her again, we left and began our day at Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding National Parks.
First we went to the Wind Caves. It's one of the largest cave systems in North America, with miles unyet explored. The caves were discovered by ranchers hearing the wind moaning from the depths and feeling the blast of cold air where there shouldn't have been one. The Indians had always known about it, but considered it sacred (and probably a little scary) and never entered. The incredible thing about the Wind Caves are the formations within. It's only one of four in the world with "box formations" and the first to have been discovered. We're all used to stalagtites and stalagmites, but this is a dry cave. The formations occur as popcorn or in a honeycomb shape (box formation). The cave is made up of limestone and as the water seeps slowly in, it blossoms into mineral puffs that look like diamond covered popcorn. Or... well here are the pictures since I can't explain it.
Eh, the pictures don't do it justice. It looks like brown, rock spiderwebs or honeycomb. We took the longest of the tours (1 1/2 miles) because it was the one that started the soonest. We trudged through the dimly lit caverns, mile after mile. At least that's what it seemed like. Heidi was hysterical. I'm not sure if it was the darkness (she has seriously been afraid of the dark since she was first born) or her frustration at not being able to be put down to run, or the effects of elevation changes on her ears. It was probably a combination of the three. Tour number 1 ruined by the Williams family.
We escaped the bowels of the earth in time for the skies to dump their substance on us. Oh, I haven't mentioned the thunderstorms we drove through. Incredible. I've never seen anything like it. Dan's ham radio shocked him from all of the static in the air. (secretly I chuckled) Soaked, we jumped into the van and drove to Mt. Rushmore. By then, Heidi and Alison were asleep. I stayed in the van while Dan took Morgan, Malynn, and Sophie. After they got back, Alison and I went to look at the mountain faces. Beautiful. The rain did funny things to the faces, but it couldn't take away the grandeur.
Surrounded by the Black Hills, we took in the beauty of the area. We saw bison and antelope herds and ran into a group of mountain goats blocking the road looking for snacks from cars. I realized my lapse in sharing certain songs with the kids when only Morgan knew "Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam..."
On our way further east, we took the Badlands Scenic Highway. I wonder, do other countries have such geologic diversity? Is is just that the US is so large, or are we amazingly lucky that we have so much? The Badlands seemed like a paler (as in color) version of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Can you imagine coming upon these places back in the day? The sheer overwhelming, mind-boggling immensity of it.
After becoming very acquainted with prairie dogs, this was our favorite formation. Looks just like one of the fat little buggers taking in the scene.
End of day 3. Spent the night in Oacoma, SD in a motel overlooking the Missouri River. 222 miles. 12 hours of daytime activities.
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