We arrived in Rapid City DMV this morning expecting a 6-hour ordeal like we suffered when getting our New York driver’s licenses, but were wonderfully surprised when the entire process took only 15 minutes or so.  Did I mention that when you call the DMV on the phone, they actually answer?  It’s amazing how responsive government can be in a state with less than 850,000 residents.  South Dakota is so sparsely populated that the Rapid City DMV is one of the few DMV locations in the state that’s open more than one day a week.

Heading South with our newfound identities, we stopped at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota’s Black Hills, one of the longest known cave systems in the world with over 140 miles of explored passageways.  Jewel Cave is also the densest cave system in the world, with more passages per volume of ground than anywhere else.  On previous trips we had visited Jewel Cave and Mount Rushmore in this area, but had skipped Wind Cave.

We signed up for a cave tour, which began with a 200+ foot descent via elevator into the depths below.  The initial passage is quite narrow:

Wind Cave is best known for it’s boxwork.  Most of the boxwork in the world is found here in Wind Cave:

Popcorn formation:

More boxwork:

Not a bad looking bunch of cave explorers:

The map shows just how labyrinthine Wind Cave is:

The kids worked on their Junior Ranger workbooks and received their badges:

Continuing South, we crossed into Nebraska and arrived at the Forest Service campground at Toadstool Geologic Park in the Oglala National Grassland.  Today hit 90 degrees, hopefully tomorrow won’t be so bad. 

Good Shabbos from Toadstool Geologic Park!  See the trip map for driving details.