The Black Hills at Sunset

From the Badlands we drove back through Rapid City to the Black Hills where we camped at the Stockade   Lake Campground on the bank of the lake. Our first night we pitched camp and collected fire wood for the night. 

During our first full day in the Black Hills we met with Dr. Alvis Lisenbee, a professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. For the first part of the day Dr. Lisenbee talked to us about the geologic history of the Black Hills, specifically the monocline structure. This is a geologic feature that is formed by uplift due to inward pressure. As pressure was exerted towards the middle of the Precambrian continent, the land buckled. This created the horizontal, vertical, horizontal feature discussed.

For the second part of the day we took a hike up and along a canyon (created mainly by a stream with occasional flash floods). During this hike we were able to see the transitions between the horizontal and vertical layers of the monocline. 

At the point where Precambrian rocks were exposed we stopped and relaxed. Some of us took naps and others climbed around on the rocks in the stream. Once we were well rested, we headed back and piled into the van to go see Mount Rushmore.

The next day we left to go see Wind Cave where we met Rod Horrock a caver and park ranger. Before lunch we took a surface tour where we learned that Wind Cave responds to barometric pressure. Low outside pressure causes air to blow out of the current natural entrance, while high pressure leads to an inflow of air.

After a lunch of sandwiches and other snacks we prepared for a tour into the cave. Currently Wind cave is the fifth largest system in the world, behind two American systems, Mammoth (in Kentucky) and Jewel (about seventeen miles away from Wind Cave; and two Mexican cave systems.

We spent three hours underground, looking at the box-work, and learning about the history of the discovery and conservation of the caves. Once we surfaced, our guide suggested we visit the Mammoth excavation site. 

There, our tour guide, Siri, yes that's right, Siri, led us through the excavation site. At this location, they have found fifty-eight Colombian Mammoths and three Wholly Mammoths. Instead of removing the bones when they are found they are left in situ, as agreed when the site was sold to the city of Hot Springs. 

In both directions, to and from our campsite we passed many buffalo. In fact they stopped traffic at least twice on the way back.

Our last day at the Black Hills we visited the Homesteak Mine in Lead, SD. Although the mine has been permanently closed since 2002, it is currently a  laboratory where highly isolated experiments are happening 4000+ feet below the surface. 

First we went on a historical tour given by Donny, a local university student. During this tour we were able to see the hoist room that brought the miners, equipment, and ore up (and down) the mine shaft. In addition we saw some of the equipment used below the surface, and many of the buildings that were used during the 176 years of mining. 

Once we had a brief look at the gift shop we met Todd Duex, a mining geologist working in the closure of the Homesteak Mine. With him we discussed the geologic history if the mine, and the process to close the mine with environmental impacts and consequences in mind. 

By the end of this meeting we were ready to eat, so with the suggestion given by Dr. Lisenbee, we made our way down the road to buy some Pasties. These are traditional miner's lunches, dough usually filled with potatoes and meat. 

On the way back to camp we took Needles Highway, and stopped to see the Needle's Eye. Back at the camp we had an early dinner and prepacked for an early morning.

"The geologist takes up the history of the earth at the point where the archaeologist leaves it, and carries it further back into remote antiquity"- Bal Gangadhar Tilak