Black Hills Day 2

This morning was quite chilly when I first woke up...so I rolled over and went back to sleep in my snug little bag.  When I finally got up, I ate delicious leftovers from last night...and just now realized that I didn't share about my awesome meal last night.

I looked around on Yelp, not feeling like cooking in camp, and found the Powder House Lodge in Keystone to be highly recommended.  I ordered the game sampler and a glass of Red Ass Rhubarb Wine. The wine was tart and juicy, and went well with the game, although I'm no sommelier.  The game sampler included elk medallions with brandied apples, game sausage (venison, bison, elk, and boar), and bison short ribs.  Everything was fabulous, and I followed it up with a cherry rhubarb crisp. Yum yum yum!

So, back to today.  I decided to head to Wind Cave National Park, making sure to bring a sweatshirt and hiking boots.  I spent about an hour and a half on tour with a fabulous ranger as our guide, and two other visiting rangers bringing up the rear with me.  I mentioned at the beginning of the tour that I was a former ranger, and got a little extra attention as a result. He showed me some formations when the rest of the group got ahead, and the visiting rangers, from Jewel Cave National Park just down the road, told me stories about their cave.

This is boxwork, the type of formation for which the cave is famous. It's formed as water seeps through the limestone, and then the limestone crumbles away.  So it's the filling in of cracks, basically.

Then, on Ranger Mike's suggestion, I headed over to Mammoth Site.  Mammoth Site is the site of a sinkhole from back in the day. As in, the Ice Age.  Mammoths and other animals fell into the sinkhole pond that formed, and got stuck, sank to the bottom, and their skeletons were preserved. Not even fossilized. I'm talking actual bone and ivory here. The dig, which is ongoing, is housed in a permanent building.

All but three of the mammoths found at the site have been Columbian Mammoths, as seen on the right. Much larger than the wooly mammoths (left), of which only three have been found. A modern elephant can walk under the chin of these mammoths without even brushing against them!

Mammoth molars

The second most complete skeleton, only missing its head. 

A perfectly preserved skull

After Mammoth Site, I noticed some dark clouds and rushed back to camp to make sure all the hatches were battened down.  When the thunderstorm started, I snuggled down in my tent to read, listening to train whistles and thunder.  It's been a quiet evening of relaxation since then, as I prepare for a long drive to Yellowstone tomorrow.