Hot Springs, SD - Chilled! While it was a bit cool when we got into the hotel last night, it had rained and this morning the temps were low 40's - brrrrr. You'll notice that the jackets have come out. Gone are the shorts too! Went out alone early morning to get tickets for the 1pm tour of the Wind Cave National Park.
Visited the Mammoth Paleontologist's site. Very cool! 140 thousand years ago there was a hot spring pool lined with slippery limestone into which the scientist's believe that the Mammoth & Woolly elephants and other animals slipped and fell and could not climb out, resulting in their drowning. Thousands of years later, geological transformations dried out the lake which got filled with limestone and sand and rock layers built up, preserving the bones. Almost a hundred elephant's and other animals' bones found. Excavation is an ongoing project and is expected to continue for another couple of hundred years! Mind boggling dedication of the scientists...
From the Mammoth site, off we went to the Wind Cave National Park. The world's sixth largest complex cave system - 148 miles within 1 square mile, going up to a depth of 640 feet! And discovery is still on. Another very cool site. Among the unique features are Cave popcorn with Frostwork and Boxwork which are type of Speleothems (calcites) that are found only here in abundance.
After the Wind Cave tour, left Hot Springs to go to Mt. Rushmore near Rapid City, SD. Awe inspiring sculpture of the four presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, symbolizing the Birth, Growth, Development and Preservation of the United States of America.
Day Stats: about 80 miles
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| Jackets are on - it's Chilly! |
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| Hot Springs Downtown |
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| The Mammoth Dig |
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| Mammoth Museum |
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| Wind Cave |
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| Going Down inside the Wind Cave |
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| Mt. Rushmore International Walkway |
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| The Four Presidents - Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt & Lincoln |
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| The Presidents - Up Close |
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