Mammoth Site and Wind Cave National Park

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Our first stop after leaving Fort Robinson was Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD.  Discovered while excavating for a housing development, this Ice Age sink hole trapped 59 mammoths, 56 Columbian and 3 woolly mammoths. A building was built over the site and paleontologists continue the dig. It was well worth the stop.

                                                                                        

Wind Cave National Park was our final destination for the day. We spotted bison and pronghorn as we entered the park. The cave, with more than 130 miles of explored passages, is one of the largest in the world. We covered just 1/2 mile (including 450 stairs) of it on the "Fairgrounds Tour." This cave didn't have the usual stalactites and stalagmites, but had some unusual formations called boxwork resembling honeycombs.

We decided to "dry camp" (no electric, water, or sewer hookup) for the night at the park which is no problem in our Roadtrek. At $6 a night, the price and location was great. We caught the Park Ranger talk at 9 pm to learn about the Park's wildlife which includes bison, pronghorn antelope, elk, black footed ferret, and prarie dogs.