My last day in the Great Plains had finally come, but I still had much to do. Coincidentally, it was Memorial Day weekend, so being so close to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, I knew I should visit. As expected it was quite busy, but it was nice to see such a large display of American spirit. Previously I had visited Mt. Rushmore but struggled to capture it in a way that didn't feel like a snapshot. As I navigated the crowds and traveled along the self-guided tour, I looked for new opportunities for an image. I am happy with how it turned out.
After leaving Mt. Rushmore, it was still relatively early in the morning, so I thought I would try to visit another National Monument and cave before going to the National Park, that cave was Jewel cave. Unfortunately, all the tours for the day were already booked, and I realized that the same thing could happen at Wind Cave. For some reason, I thought I would be able to wander around in the cave by myself and realized the folly in my thinking, that's how people would go missing. I quickly jumped back in my truck and drove straight to Wind Cave National Park. I was relieved to find out that there were still plenty of openings available and took the soonest one I could. After a quick lunch, I was ready for some spelunking!
I've only been in a handful of caves before, so I'm always pretty excited to have the chance. I feel that visiting a cave is more about the experience and is quite challenging to capture, not that it keeps me from trying. One of my favorite parts is when the Ranger turns out the lights, and you get to experience true absolute darkness. If you ever have the opportunity to visit a cave like this one, I highly recommend it. After the tour and getting back to the warm air, I was ready to explore the rest of the park.
I was happy to see a healthy number of Bison roaming the prairies of the Park as they shared the grounds with their little prairie dog neighbors. There was an old fire lookout tower in the park that I wanted to see, so I made my way up a short hike and was pleased by the incredible views. Though the park is primarily about the cave, there is still quite a bit to explore above ground. As I made my way around a large sweeping turn, I noticed some movent to my right and stopped for a better view.
Upon closer expectation through my telephoto lens, I realized that the movement I saw was a running Pronghorn deer. Something was off though; it took me a second to understand what I was seeing. Throughout the trip, I'd seen many of these Pronghorns and many of them I made uncomfortably or spooked into a trot to gain some distance between us. But this particular Pronghorn was full out sprinting, running for its life. I then focused behind the deer and saw a rather large Coyote in hot pursuit. Fortunately for the Pronghorn, but unfortunately for the Coyote, the deer got away this time.
After that bit of excitement, I realized that I didn't have much daylight left and wanted to hit the road to make it to Carhenge before sunset. My eagerness to shrink my two-hour drive by speeding didn't pay off as all the time saved was spent when I was pulled over for speeding. The officer was friendly and let me off with a warning that I took to heart as I continued on my way to Carhenge. Despite all that worrying about making it before sunset, I was there with plenty of time to spare. After the light was gone I knew my trip was officially coming to an end, so I dug into my long drive home reminiscing about all the wondrous things I had seen. What an amazing trip!
Photography Date: 5-29-17
Writing Date: 8-7-18
