The TJs Travel

This morning we woke up and drove from our hotel in Custer, South Dakota to Wind Cave National Park which is about 30 miles south of Custer. We got there with a little extra time to check out the visitor center before our scheduled 9am cave tour.

As we neared the entrance to the cave, we noticed bright strips of cloth tied to the surrounding bushes and trees. Our cave tour guide explained to us that several Native American tribes believe that the natural entrance to Wind Cave is sacred and, as such, they often tie these "prayer ties" as part of their sacred rituals. Later in our trip we saw more prayer ties along the path at the base of Devil's Tower.

Upon entering Wind Cave, we learned that it is one of the world's largest caves and is known for its extensive boxwork formation. It was the first cave in the US to be made a national park and got its name due to the whistling air that blows from its natural opening.

Some of the boxwork formations in Wind Cave

We enjoyed the informative tour, however Jim and I both agreed that it wasn't the most interesting cave we have ever toured as it is quite dry inside and does not contain stalactites and stalagmites. After our tour of the cave, we set out to explore more of the national park. We did the Rankin Ridge Trail which is a one-mile loop that took us to the highest point in the park (5013 elev.). At the high point there is a historic fire tower and beautiful views of the Black Hills and Badlands. It was very windy on this trail!

The historic fire tower

We drove back over near the visitor center to a picnic spot for lunch. As we drove, we saw lots of prairie dogs and buffalo.

After the morning at Wind Cave National Park, we headed 1.5 hours north to Deadwood, South Dakota which became well known in the 1870s during South Dakota's gold rush. This gold rush attracted Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane who are both buried there in Mount Moriah Cemetery.

We visited the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are both buried. Jim is distantly related to Wild Bill Hickok, so his grave was especially neat to visit.

Jim at his long-lost relative's grave

Next, we headed to downtown Deadwood and its historic Main Street containing many saloons and shops that reflect its 19th century frontier character. Jim stopped into the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot, while I checked out the shops. We met back up in the center of Main Street to watch a reenactment of a frontier shoot out.