Wind Cave to the Badlands - June 17 - 19

June 17

At 71,000 acres, Custer State Park is big and renowned for its scenic drives and wildlife. The roadways are definitely scenic. They are also narrow, twisted and  meandering.
Emma is prone to car sickness on serpentine roads like these so I took it slow as I threaded the RV around the hair pin turns. My enthusiasm at pointing out various sights was not overly appreciated as I got a steady stream of suggestions to keep my eyes on the road.  

Custer State Park

The terrain was a pleasant mix of Ponderosa Pine forests and large open meadows. We stopped at a few sites to see the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and look for Mountain Plovers.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog on alert

To re-establish the original prairie ecosystem, several extirpated species have been re-introduced to the Black Hills region. This includes the Plains Bison, Elk and Black-footed Ferrets. The latter keep the prairie dog population in check by consuming up to 100 per year per ferret. However, the current prairie dog population looked quite robust.

We wound our way along Highway 87 and passed through Custer State Park to arrive at Wind Caves National Park. We booked a cave tour for late afternoon and continued to the Cold Brook Canyon Trail.

Emma needs her exercise and she was out of the RV and headed down the trail in record time. It was a hot June afternoon and I was hoping for a shady forest trail. However, the terrain was mixed grass prairie with  the trail winding through open grass meadows.

There were some beautiful wildflowers blooming along the trail and, as we walked along, we were serenaded by Meadowlarks and Lark Sparrows singing from atop bushy perches.

Scarlet Globemallow

The meadows started to narrow into a broad canyon. However,  the trail got progressively damper as the recent rains resulted in streams overflowing onto the meadows. When the meadow became a marsh, we retraced out steps so we could make it to our 5:00 p.m. cave tour.

Rolling Prairie at Wind Cave National Park

Our tour guide was quiet a character which made our walk through the cave very entertaining.
He started by taking us to the original opening to Wind Caves. He confessed that the tour would be over now if that was still the only entrance into the cave as he wouldn't fit.

Fortunately, a more recent entrance was created and he led us through the new double doors. The cave has been kept authentic which means it is quite dark inside compared to other caves tours. It is also a dry cave so there are no dramatic stalactites or stalagmites. However, Wind Caves is one of the longest caves in the world and contains 147.47 miles of connected passages.  

Boxwork

Boxwork is a rare mineral structure and Wind Caves has some of the best examples in the world.
The two hour tour was lots of fun as we traversed the darked enterior and enjoyed the many cave anecdotes
of our guide

June 18
It was another beautifully hot prairie summer day as we drove back into Wind Caves National Park.
We did the short Elk Mountain hike through verdant rolling grasslands.

Bison at Wind Caves National Park

As usual Emma maintained a steady pace while Sonaa and I stopped along the way to take pictures and roll in the grass.

Sona looked like she was having such a good time rolling in the grass that I joined her then we hustled to catch up with Emma.

Sonaa relaxing and Jim taking pictures

Before leaving Wind Caves National Park we stopped for a final look at the prairie dog town. We met and had a long animated discussion with a local historian and retired teacher. He was quite involved with  Aboriginal culture and had even been honoured with an aboriginal name. It took some coaxing from an inquisitive Emma for him to share that his Aboriginal name translated as" Little white man with diarrhea mouth".

One always hopes for a resounding Aboriginal name like: Ten Bears, Running Deer or Thundering Buffalo. However, one never knows what salient personality characteristics will be affixed during the naming process. 

Mammoth

Our next stop was the Mammoth Excavation Site near Hot Springs, South Dakota. This active paleontology site has the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world. About 26,000 years ago a cavern collapsed creating a karst sink hole 65 feet deep and 120 by 150 feet wide. Water filled the bottom of the sink hole tempting animals to enter the sink hole to drink. Unfortunately, they were unable to climb back up the slippery clay banks and perished.

When I was here 20 years ago they had only discovered 25 mammoth remains. Today, they have discovered 61 mammoth remains. All of the mammoth and mastodon skeletons were male  and mostly adolescent males. It appears to be inherent in the male psyche to charge into situations and worry about how to get out later.

Mammoth dig site

Amount the multitude of mammoths was one short-faced bear skeleton.

Short-faced Bear

In the late afternoon, we headed northeast out of the Black Hills to Rapid City then east to an RV campsite at Wall, South Dakota.

June 19
We started the day by visiting the Wounded Knee museum in Wall. It is hard to describe the impact of the museum as it outlined the tragic demise of the free living plains Aboriginals. Sigh.
 

Common Grackle at Wall, South Dakota

We carried on to the nearby Badlands National Park. This National Park protects the dramatic transition zone from the northern prairie as it drops down to the southern prairie.

Badlands National Park

While photographing the starkly beautiful badlands landscape we saw some Bighorn Sheep on a nearby outcrop.

Bighorn Sheep - ewes and lambs

Bighorn Sheep were extirpated from the Badlands in the early 20th century. A national parks recovery program is re-introducing the species to its former range.

The sheep were a fair way off so it was a good opportunity to use my 600 mm lens. It was fun to watch the ewes introducing the lambs to the steep badlands cliffs. 

We slowly worked out way south through the badlands toward the Ben Reifel Visitor Centre. Along the way, we stopped regularly to admire and photograph the dramatic scenery of buttes, pinnacles and spires.

Lark Sparrow

Badlands National Park

A Pinnacle in Badlands National Park

Emma heading up the Notch Trail

On this beautifully hot summer day, we decided to do the 2.4 km Notch Trail. It was described as moderate to strenuous. After meandering through a canyon, this trail climbed a log ladder and follows a ledge to "the Notch" for a dramatic view of the White River Valley. A warning noted that under certain conditions it could be treacherous and was not recommended for anyone with a fear of heights.

With a write-up like that we knew this trail was for us.

 

Emma ascending a ladder on the Notch Trail

Emma at the narrowing end of the Notch Trail Canyon.

The last hundred metres of the trail was a real vertical scramble up to a window with a view of the White River Valley.

View of the White River Valley

Our goal was to continue south to the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre. We drove west along the southern perimeter of the badlands to the town of Scenic.

Surprise, Scenic was a tiny ghost town with the few remaining building boarded up. Worse news, Highway 27 was washed out and closed. We were not able continue down the highway to the south entrance of the Badlands or proceed onward to Wounded Knee.

We had no choice but to retrace our steps and drive east to White River. For the remainder of the day, we drove east then south through the open prairie of South Dakota. As the sun set and the stars came out we entered Nebraska and camped at an RV park for the night.

Prairie in south central South Dakota