July 3rd, 2006 Wind Cave National Park

The early morning drive to the Wind cave National Park took us on a winding road through the Black Hills State Forest area. The road made its way through herds of bisons, elks, mule deer and towns of prairie dogs. The animals were not shy at all and made an attempt to approach us as we slowed down to capture them on the film/storage chip. Years of interaction with humans had made them almost tame, but you still never know...
Wind Caves are definitely one of the most amazing natural phenomenon I ever saw. Winds caused by changes in barometric pressure are what give Wind Cave its name. These winds have been measured at the cave's walk-in entrance at over 70 mph. They are one of the world's longest and most complex caves. There are close to 121 miles of caves concentrated in about a square mile area. So, if you were to take a string about 120 inches long and squish it all together into an inch square area, you get a fair representation of how these underground passages are just layered on top of each other, interconnecting and intersecting with each other in a tight one square mile area.
We took two of the guided Wind Cave tours (private venturing not allowed) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The caves are overflowing with unusual formations - thin calcite fins form honeycomb like structures. This boxwork covered the ceiling, walls, absolutely all surfaces on which we were not walking. The caves are dimly lit, but on one of the tours, the guide turned off all lights and lit a single, small lamp to make us appreciate how the early explorers and adventurers explored and visited these caves.
I provided side entertainment to the members of the tour by continuing to wear my prescription sunglasses throughout this oddessey in the underworld - remember I lost my prescription glasses? They must have thought I was some crazy foreigner with strange accent, who probably doesn't understand the concept of sunglasses!