Jewel Cave and Custer, South Dakota
Day 9. We left Sundance, Wyoming (pop. 1182) for the booming city of Custer, South Dakota (pop. 2067) in the Black Hills. Custer claims to have the widest main street in the US--wide enough for a team of oxen and wagon to turn around--and from this picture it looks like that could be true!
 |
| Click to enlarge or for slide show |
Loved the huge statue of a bison over the inside door of our motel.And the view of the Flintstones Bedrock City Campground across the street.
First on our list of attractions-- Jewel Cave, second largest cave in the world with over 157 miles of mapped underground tunnels. Thank goodness, the cave in my mystery novel isn't as vast. The poor traveling sisters would still be lost!
When I was 13, I bought a Black Hills gold necklace at the cave gift shop with my own money. I still have the necklace, and fond memories of Jewel cave, but I didn't remember the 743 stair steps on the main tour. Fifty years later, considering our creaky knees and not-so-stellar physical conditions, Greg and I signed up for the wimpy first level tour instead. Here, more intrepid spelunkers descend from our platform for the long tour.
But, even from our protected perch, we could see some of the spar crystals that give the famous cave its name.Back in Custer, we enjoyed the atmosphere of this lovely little mountain town. Dense fog shrouded the area not far away, so further sight-seeing would have to wait. Instead, we did our laundry and snapped some pictures as teasers for the wonderful views of the granite mountains we would view tomorrow.
Join us next time, when we visit Needle Rock and Wind Cave, also in the Black Hills.
It sounds like a great trip. I have visited much of the U.S., but not the Dakotas or any of the north central states. I did visit Wisconsin once and liked it, and am a regular visitor to Washington State.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my site, Gloria. It was a great trip—-we went all the way across the US! I’ve been to the Black Hills three times in my life and have enjoyed it every time. The area is full of wonderful sights! Check back tomorrow and next Saturday to see more of the region—-Needle’s Eye, Wind cave, Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore. Then onward to the Badlands.
DeleteBest,
Cindy