Day 3 of Black Hills

On Thursday, June 16 we went to the Jewel Cave.  We got there at 9:30 and stood in line to wait to buy tickets.  By the time we got to the ticket window, it was 10:15.  The next available tour was at 12:40.  So we went to the visitor center to look around for awhile.  Then we drove back to Custer to have lunch at a park and play on the playground until it was time for our tour to start.  We took the scenic tour which has 723 steps and was not recommended for children under 5.   Jesse and I figured Kora had walked up and down all the steps on the trail around Mount Rushmore without a problem, so she should be able to handle this.  She had no problem walking up and down the steps.  They weren't very steep and they were mostly down.  To start the tour, we took an elevator down over 200 feet.  At the lowest level, we were over 300 feet below the surface.  Everybody thought the cave was pretty cool to see.

stalactites

flowstone

draperies

cave bacon - ribbon drapery

flowstone and nailhead spar