Mammoths, Caves, and Pools V.6

We had a really exciting day!  Where to begin...

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD is astounding.  I really had no idea.  In a space about the size of a football field, the remains of at least 56 mammoths have been uncovered in what was a sinkhole filled with warm spring water surrounded by ice and snow.  The mammoths fell in and could not climb out over the slippery sides.  The land was to be developed into a neighborhood in the 1970's.  Crews leveling the site recognized possible remains, and the rest is history. Rather than unearthing the bones and taking them to a museum, they built a building over the site and are still discovering!  Very cool.

The most complete skeleton- still in its place after thousands of years

A paleontologist at work

Bob comparing teeth with a short nosed bear- GRR

Becca was a Junior Paleontologist and "unearthed" a rib bone! 

Wind Cave  is one of the oldest National Parks in the country.  They have explored 138 miles of the cave, and estimate that it could actually be 10 times longer.  The natural opening of the cave is a part of some Native American origin stories, since it has the strange habit of sometimes blowing wind out of the hole, and sometimes sucking wind back in.  It has to do with equalizing pressure, but how surreal!  We thought Walt Disney must have toured here, since some of the attractions in Florida look an awful lot like this cave!

boxwork

popcorn  (little bumps near the top)

We ended the day at Evan's Plunge- a spring fed pool that has been the source of Indian battles, "healing waters", and since the early 1900's, lots of fun for tourists and locals.  The water in the pool changes 16 times per day as the spring continuously flows. Bobby, Maria, and Danny came here with us in the 90's, and Becca was so happy to have shared one of their experiences!  FUN SHOTS:

Quick dip in the creek

COLD!