Day 12 - Part Two

Our original plan was to go to Wind Cave National Park, but the park was closed due to the forest fire. Plan B was Jewel Cave National Monument. A man that we met in the pool at the Badlands KOA (okay, that sounds kind of weird, but campground people are really friendly!)  had recommended that we make tour reservations ahead of time, and it's a good thing I did. The only way to go down into the cave is to join a ranger-led tour. One departs every half-hour or so throughout the day, but they fill up fast and I had to reserve two days ahead to fit all seven of us on the same tour.

I have some claustrophobia issues, but I knew that the kids (Gavin especially) really wanted to explore a cave, so I decided to suck it up and head underground. Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world. They have explored 150 miles of it so far, but suspect that it actually much, much longer. Some areas are only eighteen inches wide; other rooms are as big as two football fields. We took the Scenic Tour, which takes you on a half-mile long trail that takes you up and down 723 steps. It was awe-inspiring, educational, and a StairMaster work-out all in one. We broke out the sweatshirts as it was a balmy 49 degrees in the cave.

Gabriella and Grandma P.

The park ranger gave both Gabriella and Gavin a turn to lead the group through the cave. Gabriella loved the chance to chat with Ranger Brittany when she was up front. They even whistled "Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho" together to reenact the seven dwarves marching through their mine. Grandpa acted as the "caboose" for the whole tour, making sure that we didn't leave anyone behind.

Follow the Leader

Gavin's Turn

Of course, the kids completed the Jr. Ranger Program. One of the requirements was to squeeze through the test tunnel to see if they could fit through the smaller portions of the actual tunnels down below. We could have squeezed three of Gabriella through. After finishing their work they were sworn in and awarded their third Jr. Ranger badges.

The kids wanted to do a little hiking up above the cave afterward. We started out on the Roof Trail with Don and Grandpa, but after about a quarter mile and more climbing, we realized we were all tired and ready to go back to the campground. We all needed a bit of a rest so that we could go out to dinner. We had a big group dinner at the Buglin' Bull. For starters, we shared pheasant flatbread (it was ehh,) steak tips (quite good,) walleye cakes (okay,) and buffalo stuffed mushrooms (awesome!) For dinner, Gavin tried and loved his first bison burger, a bunch of us had elk burgers that would probably have been good had they not been overcooked, and Don had wild boar osso bucco. He was definitely the winner for the night. That meat was so tender! I was jealous and snuck several bites off his plate.
After dinner, we stopped at the Purple Pie Place (the building is bright purple and pink) to pick up homemade pies to take back to the campground. The place has a really good reputation and always has long lines. After discovering that the first four kinds of pie that we wanted were sold out, we ended up with a strawberry-rhubarb pie and a cherry pie, plus a slice of peanut butter pie for Gavin. It turns out we should have all gotten the peanut butter because it was by far the best of the bunch. Oh well, live and learn. At least Gavin shared a few bites! It was yet another late to bed night for the kiddos.