July 1

Seemed like everyone living in Houston has taken a leave of absence and landed in South Dakota. Met a number of Houston folks today, at multiple parks. Mt. Rushmore’s parking garage opens at 5 AM. Yes, $10 to park a car, though entry to the monument is free. A number of people were parking on the top deck, probably since that is the quickest access to the monument. But go to one of the lower decks, so your vehicle is covered from the sun. The VC and Museum do not open until 8 AM, but there were already hundreds of visitors walking along the flag pavilion, taking the Presidential Trail (this gets you as close to the base of the sculptures as possible… and goes by Gutzlon Borglum’s studio), checking out the amphitheater, and mingling. A 14-minute film, narrated by Tom Brokaw, plays in the VC’s two theaters. It is a good, quick history of how the monument came to be. School history books do not mention the granite spires of this region are revered by the native Lakota peoples. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie gave this land to the local tribes. But the discovery of gold had politicians turning about-face and forcing the Indians out. They were not happy the monument was allowed to proceed. In 1970 and 1971, Native Americans climbed the monument and camped, to protest the U.S. Government no honoring the treaty. What would Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln have thought?

If you like tight, turning roads, take US 16A from Rushmore to Custer. The first 10 miles has three tunnels, three 360-degree bridges, and separated lanes (by forest). Two of the tunnels have a direct line of sight to Mt. Rushmore. And when you reach the summit of the pass at Norbeck Overlook, you are practically looking down on Mt. Rushmore… though for a few miles away. The rest of the ride to Custer was not as fun, but still enjoyable scenery. This area is home to Custer State Park. Only if you plan to stop in the park do you have to pay an entrance fee at one of the entrance stations. But, since I was just using the road to go through the park on my way to Wind Cave NP, I did not stop. This may be confusing to a first-timer coming through this area. That was me thirty-five years ago. Now I just do not pay attention to the state park signs.

As it turned out, one might argued I did enjoy the park. On route 87, heading south through the park, I came across the resident bison herd. A number of cars and motorcycles were stopped. Not so much because they wanted to take photos, which they were, but these large animals were hogging the road, and gave no indication they were in any haste to move. Just go with the flow, or lack of flow. I enjoyed watching the animals for about ten minutes. Then a couple of motorcyclists must have had enough. They started revving their engines. Did that get some attention, especially from the newborn calves. Finally, the bison stepped to the grass on the east side and all us humans started moving.

Wind Cave NP had plenty of visitors this morning. I was to take the 10:40 AM Fairyland Tour. You have to get your reserved tour ticket in the VC, then walk to the elevator building. Ranger Josey met our group of 40. After an initial safety talk, we headed to the elevators. A family from Texas was behind me. Craig, the father, said he had seen me on the Minuteman Missile NHS Facebook page, from yesterday’s visit. As we took the tour it was easy to see there were two boys who excelled in inquisitiveness. They were at the front of the single-file line, asking the ranger many questions, and they were pertinent to the cave. Great to see youngsters experiencing our national parks. They, along with the rest of our group, were amazed by the famous “boxwork” on the cave ceiling. 95% of the world’s known boxwork is found in Wind Cave.

A few other people at the end of the tour asked me about Alaska and the logistics for getting to those parks. My website has information to help with Alaska. The primary suggestion is to plan early and get the necessary reservations. Alaskans know the flood gates have been getting wider and wider the last decade, between May 15 and September 15, which is considered the “tourist season”. Just get ahead of the pack in your planning.

Tonight, as I was going over park websites, I saw that Wind Cave cancelled all cave tours in the afternoon due to elevator malfunction. Maintenance was called in, but the repairs will take until tomorrow. That is a major bummer for everyone who was looking forward to seeing the cave.

The drive from Wind Cave to Jewel Cave NMon is easy and quick. The route goes through Custer, in case you need gasoline, food, lodging, etc. Along the way I had the unhappy experience of watching a buck struggle across the highway, both legs having been broken and mangled. I pulled over at a turnout 100 yards down the road. I walked back to see where he was. He was now sitting in tall grass next to a wire fence. Then, three motorcycles came towards me from the opposite direction and stopped. Turned out one of the bikes had hit the deer just moments before. The driver said the deer came out of nowhere. I told them I was going to try and contact someone to come out and look at the deer. They thanked me and got back on the road. I was able to reach the Custer County Sheriffs Office. The dispatcher said a deputy would be sent. It was easy to tell this deer needed to be put down due to the severity of its injuries. I had seen the deer twice try to get over/through the fence, but no success, so I waited in my car. When the deputy arrived, we headed over to the spot. Well, the deer was gone. The deputy said he would spend some time to try and find the deer, so I headed to Jewel Cave.

Jewel Cave is the second longest cave system in the United States. Anyone want to take a guess as to the longest? Yes, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The NPS blasted an elevator shaft at Jewel Cave to allow easy access to the below ground wonderworld. That elevator and shaft are reaching their age limits. A new shaft is being designed. Blasting will commence at some point in the near future. What most folks come to see at Jewel Cave is pretty crystals which gave the cave its name… Jewel. The tours via the elevator have more crystals to see than at the Historic Lantern Tour which uses the original natural entrance, discovered in 1900. But those VC tours do not allow visitors to use lanterns, to have an experience like that of the original cavers. The CCC was put to work in the 1930s expanding access via the natural entrance. They spent a lot of energy installing wooden ladder steps to allow folks to go down into the cave. This is not an accessible tour. A couple of spots require duck walking, and the ladders are very narrow. There is no concrete or pavement on the floor. This is one rustic tour. I met more people from Houston on this tour. I also met four young women who were best buddies from the same Nebraska town when growing up. One asked me what my favorite park is and I replied Arches. She said earlier this year her boyfriend had proposed to her in Moab as they were visiting Arches. Congratulations.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day, so may not have a chance to post. I hope to make it back to Ohio in three days, so may have to wait until July 5 to log anything on the website.