Images of Wind Cave National Park – South Dakota, taken in July 2017.

In 1903 Wind Cave National Park was named the nation’s seventh national park but it was early explorers like Alvin McDonald whose mapping and documenting of their findings led to the cave becoming known and popular. Wind Cave is unlike any other cave in the world, it has few stalactites or stalagmites but many other minerals and formations. This cave is primarily known for the abundance of rare honey-comb shaped formations called Boxwork. The formation is so rare that 95% of all Boxwork in the world is found here!

The cave sits below the South Dakota prairie, a vast grassland on the edge of the Black Hills Forest. After touring the cave I went off the ‘beaten path’ to explore the parks above ground surroundings on a 90 plus degree day in hopes of seeing some wildlife. Earlier in the day I had seen a Coyote a few scattered Bison and of course Prairie Dogs, which are everywhere in this part of the country. I guess I wasn’t surprised at the lack of wildlife considering the heat but I still crawled along on the dirt one lane park road scanning the prairie for something, anything. I eventually looked in my rear view mirror and saw someone on a four-wheeler, I was dusting him pretty good and I felt bad as I pulled over to let him pass. It was a park ranger and he gave me a thumbs up as he raced by me. I continued on my search and about 10 minutes later he came back towards me, I again pulled over and he stopped. I immediately apologized for making him ride in my cloud of dust earlier but he said it wasn’t a problem and explained that he had to get to a Bison that had gotten himself caught in a park fence. Then he smiled as if to know what I might be looking for and said ‘there’s a herd of Bison up ahead, about 200 of them, just off the road’. 200!?! From what I read there are only about 350 in the entire park! I asked him if I would be able to see them from the road and he said ‘oh yea’ and then road off. I wanted to floor it but didn’t and eventually crested a hill where I saw below me that unbelievable scene, a large herd of Bison! Amazing! I crept up on them and before I knew it I was driving amongst them. I pulled over, rolled down the windows and began to take pictures of these magnificent animals. I sat there for over an hour until the herd started to move away from the road. It’s hard to imagine that these incredible creatures once blanketed the west but sitting among such a large herd gives one hope that their numbers will grow in protected areas like this…and it was of course, an unbelievable thrill!