Jewel Cave

Reservations this morning for Jewel Cave so we were out the house around 8:00. We did the Scenic Tour which is about an hour and a half, 1/2 mile loop, with 734 stairs. It was a great tour! Our tour guide, Ranger Maya, was excellent. A couple interesting facts we learned. First, the bats only enter the first 1,000 yards at the historic entrance to the cave. If they were to go further, they would get lost. The cave is said to house around 1400 bats. Also, they do overnight caving expeditions, I think she said like 3 nights. There is a local caving club they team with. Of course you need to be certified and they are also mapping and doing research, it isn't just for fun. I don't think I would enjoy it. They have little camps set up with sleeping bags, water collection sites, and the basics. You need to carry in everything else on your person. They can't wear backpacks due to the small spaces so they have packs on their sides. Also, when they say you need to carry everything out, leave no trace, they mean EVERYTHING. I can't imagine crawling miles through tight caves with 3 days worth of crap (literally) strapped to my side. Just gross! Speaking of gross, they have tarps attached below all they metal walkways and stairs through the cave that catches lint, hair, skin, and anything that might fall off your person while you are taking the tour. They remove over 13 pounds from some of the larger platforms each year. When they say leave no trace they take it seriously. 

I couldn't believe the huge rooms and passageways that were all naturally formed. It is just amazing to think that is all down below our feet and we never know it. The pictures don't do it justice!!!


Cave Bacon




After the tour we were a bit hungry as we just had some pastry this morning so we went to Dockside Grill at the Legion Lake Lodge in Custer State Park. What a great little grill. Menu made it really hard to choose and it was right along the lake with indoor and outdoor seating. The view was great! I had a walleye sandwich and salad. Super yummy!!! Kurt had the hot beef and he said his was great too. I would highly recommend and would go again! There was a mile loop around the lake so we took a little walk around the lake to burn off some lunch.
Our lunch view


After lunch we went back into town to get a fishing license for the day and some bait. Went back into Custer State Park and Stockade Lake for some fishing. I caught two and Kurt caught quite a few. Nothing huge but we had a good time. Was nice and relaxing which my calves thanked me for!



Ran out of bait and decided it we were fished out so went back to the house to get cleaned up and go uptown for a bit. Went to the Gold Pan Saloon, the oldest bar in Custer. I had the Sawyer Blood Orange Blonde, out of Spearfish. Very good! Kurt found a new whiskey he likes. Sat at the bar and ended up talking to a local for a bit. Well, kind of local. He used to live in the Cities but moved to Custer about 10 years ago.
Was feeling quite tipsy after my 3 beers (we decided it was the altitude) and needed something to eat. Didn't want to go to a restaurant so we just picked up some nachos from a food truck on the way back to the house. They hit the spot!!! They looked gross but tasted great, or maybe it was just that I was tipsy and hungry... Finished out the night with Food Truck nachos, a crowler we got at Zymurcracy, and some dumb movie. Couldn't even tell you what it was but I am pretty sure it was dumb... 

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