One of the casualties of today's plan was our visit to Wind Cave National Park. Being 50 miles and many mountain roads, we had to cancel the trip (along with Custer National Park and Crazy Horse Monument). We substituted for a closer cave to Keystone, Rushmore Cave. And none of us were disappointed.
This cave was discovered back in the days of the gold rush in South Dakota. When no gold could be found in the cave, the miners abandoned it.
Years later, local children stumbled upon the ladder to the cave, and made it their playground. They were the original "spelunkers". These kids explored and navigated the first portion of the cave and the "post office" area. The post office was where the kids, actually the whole town, challenged themselves to climb into and sign their name on the walls of the larger room. You can still see their names on the stone of the chamber. This is the stuff of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Overall, it was a great experience for us first time spelunkers. The passageways were easy to navigate, there was some steep stairs, a ladder, and a few low overhangs (I only hit my head once, luckily the boys weren't around to laugh at me). An hour tour, well worth the admission.
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