Day 13: Wind Cave and Jewel Cave

Another North American Road Trip

Day 13

Wednesday, July 1st

We woke up, all having slept well (thank you, Jesus!) and had a hodge podge breakfast of summer sausage, berries, and oatmeal. 

We broke camp. As he helped get his things ready to go, Desmond was, uncharacteristically, wandering around barefoot.  When shoes were suggested, he indicated that he wanted to toughen up his feet, because enemies would often burn the shoes of warriors. (And he apparently wants to be ready for such a possibility?)

We drove the three minutes or so back over to the visitor center and got our paper tickets (we had purchased them much earlier online through the Recreation.gov app while planning the trip).  We waited outside for the tour to begin. 

We began our tour at the Natural Entrance (thus the name of the tour) where the ranger told the emergence story of the Lakota people, who believe that the first humans came into the world through the small opening which, in their belief, leads down to the spirit world. Ranger Morgan, a younger volunteer, was a good story teller, and I enjoyed this start to our tour. The entrance to the cave “breathes” in or out depending on the pressure above and below ground. 

Some things I learned: One of the most unique things about Wind Cave is that there are no bugs at all in the caves. Another is the presence and abundance of the beautiful and delicate boxwork formations. 95% of all of it that there is in the world is found in Wind Cave. 

Bryan volunteered to be the cabbose and was given a “flashlight of power” and some responsibilities to ensure that no one gets left behind in the cave.  With that, we walked through a few doors and into the cave. 

The tour was beautiful and the stories were interesting and well told. However, compared to the tour we took where we all were instructed to “walk like the cave’s on fire” it was quite slow. Regardless, we all enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. We just love caves. And it is hard to beat the way they light the caves so thoughtfully, with low light shining on the most interesting formations along the way. 

When the tour was concluded, we took the brand new, fully operational elevators up to the surface. 

As soon as the tour was over (after just a few minutes marveling at the map of the hundreds of miles of discovered tunnels, wondering how many miles more there are) we drove about 30 minutes to Jewel Cave. We walked up and got tickets for the next Scenic Tour. We had just enough time to make and eat an easy lunch out of the back of the cruck. 

Desmond became a junior ranger of Jewel Cave in record time and added the 55th badge to his collection. 

Then we took the Scenic Tour. This tour used elevators as the start and ending point of the tour. The formations in Jewel Cave were beautiful, and different than those in Wind Cave. I especially liked how sparkly portions of the cave wall were, how the ceiling glowed purple in the black light, and the “cave bacon” that was translucent. 

The style of tour was almost identical to the one we had just been on. Walk up or down some stairs, pause in a wider room to hear a story or two, continue on. Bryan again was the caboose, which this ranger called her “peeps.” So whenever she would ask “Where my peeps at?” that was us. 

Desmond is looking forward to when he is 16 and can take some of the more “wild” cave tours. We will have to plan a trip to come back and do a bunch of caves more in depth. 

We also noticed, looking at the pictures displayed around one area of the visitor center, that the only caves that are part of the National Park system that we haven’t visited yet is Timpanagos Cave National Monument. It is Northern Utah. We added it to the list. 

At the end of the tour, as the ranger’s “peeps” we were given the task of guarding the door of the airlock to make sure no one re-entered the cave while she was playing bellhop and taking people up the elevator. Desmond took this job very seriously and took up an (supposedly) intimidating pose. 

As we drove toward our hotel, we learned that we would be driving right by Devils Tower National Monument, so we decided to make that our potty and stretch our legs break. We added another token to our growing collection, saw some prairie dogs (they make me giggle) and continued on down the road. 

Next order of business was to find some dinner. But I wasn’t hungry yet. So I passed on the town nearest to Devils Tower. What I didn’t realize was just how many miles it would be until our next restaurant options. 

I used Trip Advisor ratings to select a place along our route. 4.7 is pretty solid!  So what if it would take us an hour and a half to get there?  It didn’t add any time to our overall route, so we added the Wagon Wheel Cafe in Ekalaka, Montana to our plan for the evening.  We are so glad we did. 

As we walked in, the first thing I noticed were the elderly local people seated comfortably at two tables, finishing their meals. The waffle fries left over on one of their plates looked delicious. 

We were welcomed in and told by a tall, slender man in the kitchen to sit anywhere we would like. We selected a table near the center of the room and sat down. A woman with a serious look on her face came over and handed us menus, and let us know she would be back with waters. 

The menu had so many choices!  Bryan and I decided we really were most in the mood for a burger. Desmond was eyeing the 4 piece chicken finger entree. He got really excited and pointed out to me that hashbrowns were an option as a side. His mind was made up. I chose a cowboy burger that had onion rings and bacon on it. Bryan had to clarify with the waitress that the bacon mac and cheese burger really had macaroni and cheese ON the burger. When she confirmed, he had to try it. 

It was not a long wait while the man prepared our meals. Neither was it a dull one. The older folks, who more than once mentioned how hard of hearing they were getting, loudly regailed each other with stories - the most interesting of which included trapping animals such as skunk and raccoons.  A gentleman came over and claimed that while I had been away from the table (I’d gone to the cruck to get my evening medicine) Bryan had told him to give me “sweets for the sweet.”  He then proceeded to hand me a package of fruit snacks and totter away. 

The cook came out with three plates loaded with food and set it before us. My burger was dripping with chipotle aïoli sauce. Bryan’s mac and cheese had mostly escaped the burger bun and covered the portion of his plate not piled with dark waffle fries, which a sign upon entering had informed us were fried in beef tallow. Desmond’s hashbrowns were both crispy and oily - the definition of greasy spoon. 

Our food was delicious. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend. 

After that we kept on down the road to our hotel for the evening in Glendive. We were all happy to get cleaned up and sleep in a bed. 

Thanks for coming along with us!