Hot Springs, South Dakota

Tuesday the weather finally cooperated with us. We started off at Wind Cave, the 4th largest cave in the world in terms of air volume, the repository of 95% of the world's boxwork, and the most complex maze cave in the world. The box work was interesting to look at and the tour was very artistically lit. There weren't as many rooms for the tour guide to stop at and talk as there had been at Jewel Cave so the tour took place mostly in silence at a slow pace to allow us to observe the formations. The kids were evenly split as to which cave was their favorite. Mine was Jewel Cave because it had more sparkly formations and the ranger had more to talk about. Having been in mines and caves before that were not managed by the national parks department with a formal tour, there is definitely something to be said for a well lit cave. You can see so many more of the formations and details of the cave when someone has come before you and lit them for you!

Next we drove to the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. The site was found when the area was being cleared for a housing development in the 70's. There are over 58 mammoth skeletons found in what used to be a sink hole. The skeletons were literally intermingled like pick up sticks. It was not a good place for a mammoth to choose to take a drink! Once we took the tour, the younger children were able to participate in a simulated dig. Isaac was gracious enough to help William who did not understand that he was supposed to be looking for bones instead of just playing dump truck.  Miriam loved it.  She kept coming up to me and hugging me, thanking me for taking her there.

Here is Jacob in a replica of a home built of mammoth bones and skins, used by his ancestors from the Czech Republic.

This trip is really taking its toll on William. He usually gets a 3-4 hour nap each day. Unfortunately, he's never been able to take naps in the car. He's absolutely exhausted and it shows. Grumpy, bossy, ornery. We usually plan our entire family life around his naps, but there's so much to see and do that we've been skipping naps and now we are all beginning to pay the price.

We stopped to snag a geocache in Hot Springs on the way back to camp. Then, the girls finished up their junior ranger booklets so we stopped back at Wind Cave and they received their badges. We saw lots of bison and prarie dogs on the way back. We stopped in Custer at the Purple Pie Place. The bumbleberry pie (a blend of apple, rhubarb, raspberry, blackberry) with ice cream on top was really yummy.

We got back to camp with time to make dinner and let the kids unwind in the playground before we pack up and hit the road tomorrow. So far, the way I'm managing to make this trip work is to get up at 6:00 am in order to shower, go over the plans for the day, have breakfast, write a blog post and get ready for the kids to wake up. I'm sure it doesn't sound like much of a vacation to those who like to sleep in, but for me it's working. I wish we had one more day in Custer. We never got to drive the wildlife loop or ride our bikes on the Mickelson Trail. There were also a few ranger programs I'd have liked the kids to participate in, like gold panning, fishing, and nature hikes.  At least I know when I come back in a decade that I need 5 whole days in the Black Hills.