Park 26: Wind Cave National Park, SD:  Visiting this park is like visiting two – one buried hundreds of feet beneath the Black Hills and the second above ground comprising prairie grasslands in the Black Hills foothills populated by bison, pronghorn antelope and prairie dogs.

Yes...narrow passageways!

The cave structure is one of the most complex in the world.  There are still many areas, holes, yet to be discovered and mapped.  Although the park prairies cover 44 square miles, the 100 miles of known passages in the cave only cover 1 square mile of ground!  All cave tours are escorted by rangers and once in the caves you understand the need for an experienced guide.  This is not Carlsbad!  These caves are small with narrow passages and dim lighting.  They are not for the claustrophobic. 

No large caverns like other caves systems

The cave passages were formed by the uprising of the Black Hills and the separation of the underlying limestone into fractures and cracks that eventually eroded by water into a system of cave passageways.  Over the eons, drainage patterns changed and subsurface water levels dropped such that now these cave passages are dry.

Very few areas to walk upright

Driving into and out of the park, the prairie vistas go beyond the horizon.  When the country’s bison were decimated in the 1800’s, the park’s numbers were zero.  In 1913, 14 bison were loaned to Wind Cave by the Bronx Zoo and Yellowstone; they now number over 350 today and are increasing.  We drove within a few feet of several bison grazing by the road.  Unbelievable!

Prairie vistas above ground

Odometer:  11, 730 miles.