Black Hills, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park

Sept 7-This area is so beautiful that we decided to stay a day (we're in SD). Drove down to explore Wind Cave NP-spent an hour underground (as deep as 200 feet) looking at rock formations called "boxwork". Wind Cave has 125 miles of known tunnels which they say is about 10 percent of the possible total. Our photos don't do it justice. Drove around the park too, and also through Custer State Park. The area is amazing. Rolling prairie, hills covered with pine trees, pronghorn, bison, prairie dogs, a few mountain goats, and then beautiful rock outcroppings. We drove on up to see Mt. Rushmore again using a different highway and you could see the sculpture from farther away (and through tunnels aimed right at it). Walked up closer to it today--look close at the picture and you can see a Park Ranger working filling small cracks in George's face! Elsie's mad because we keep leaving her home, but she isn't allowed in the parks.