Our goal today was to see wildlife. The means for our success was the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. First we spied a lonesome buffalo, ambling along the side of the road, then an entire herd blanketing the prairie. When the white man came to the prairie, the buffalo numbered 30 to 60 million, and lived harmoniously with the Indians. Within several decades, thanks to the white man, only 600 remained. Several ranchers recognized that these animals, in existence since the Pliocene, had to be preserved and rescued them. Then the U.S. government caught on, and buffalo were reintroduced to Yellowstone, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and a few other locations. Now, between the U.S. and Canada, approximately 60,000 buffalo roam. Nothing like the past, but better than extinction. As we continued along, we encountered wild burros, loitering near the edge of the road. Very curious and charming, they nosed up to us, licking our windows, scratching necks against the mirrors, and once we rolled down the windows, inserting themselves into our car. Eventually, they moved on to richer vehicles. Further along, a seemingly anxious pronghorn antelope didn’t know which way to go - this way and that way, up and down the same hill, jutting his head back and forth, and not able to make a decision. Soon we spied a herd, resting in the shad, white rumps winking at us. A few miles further on, a group of wild turkeys strutted in the long grass. Last but not least, we found the prairie dog town. They sat on their burrows stoically, surveying the territory, ever vigilant, ever ready to warn their neighbors of impending danger, and enormously beguiling. Oh, and interspersed with all this, several mule deer grazed in the nearby meadow. Next we toured Wind Cave National Park. Another limestone cave system, the 6th largest in the world, the cave is famous for its boxwork calcite. Geologists don’t know quite how the boxwork forms – the current hypothesis is that the limestone was fractured, calcite was precipitated in the fractures, and later when the limestone was dissolved by infiltrating carbonic acid, the calcite remained, forming boxwork. However it was created, it forms marvelous intricate criss-crossing patterns, extending from the ceiling and along the walls. Similar to Jewel Cave, Wind Cave was discovered in 1881 by guess who – a couple of teenage boys who heard wind whistling through a small hole. Several years later, another boy named Alvin McDonald, explored miles of the cave using only a notebook, candle, and string. The story is that he would guide tourists through the cave, and suddenly decide to explore a passage, leaving such tourists in the encroaching blackness with only the stub of a flickering candle. Thankfully, our tour guide was more reliable and we were immensely grateful for the sparse but constant electricity, provided via the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). One last note – on our tour, we walked along a concrete ribbon and climbed up and down more than 400 steps. The ribbon and steps were constructed by the men of the CCC, who each filled tires with 70 pounds of wet cement that was then carried around each man’s neck into the cave – and it took four tires of cement to construct one step. These same men also hand dug the 250 foot elevator shaft that still takes tourists into the cave and built the park headquarters and staff housing. That is hard work and dedication.
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