Wind Cave, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore

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November is my last month in the US before I return back to Finland. During the first weekend I finally drove to South Dakota to see Mt Rushmore. On the way I stopped at the Wind Cave National Park which includes one of the largest caves in the world. It's an amazing maze with miles and miles of new passages found every year. Scientists estimate that today only 5% or so of the total cave area has been explored.

The only natural entrance to the caves. Only a child can fit through that.

The Wind Cave is named so because of the barometric winds rushing through the only tiny natural entrance. When the atmospheric pressure in the park area changes, the air rushes through the hole equalizing the pressure in the cave and this "breathing" can create really strong winds.

The Wind Cave includes about 95% of the known boxwork formations in the world's caves.

The first time I've managed to get a closeup shot of a pronghorn

I had originally planned on going to Mt. Rushmore as well as the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial on Sunday but I had enough time to check them out as well. I started with the Crazy Horse Memorial which is a still very much work in progress memorial for the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. The work began in 1948 and is still far from done. It's done by a non-profit organization without any federal or state funding.

If it ever gets finished, it will be the largest sculpture in the world. Just the head itself is larger than each of the four faces on Mt. Rushmore

A bald eagle

This is what it will eventually look like. Kitsch much?

The drive from the Crazy Horse Memorial to Mt. Rushmore only takes like 20 minutes so instead of waiting until next morning, I decided to give it a go even though the sun was setting fast. Since I arrived so late, I didn't even have to pay anything to get in. Before it got dark, I managed to get some nice pictures from the main viewing area as well as walk around the Presidential Trail where you get to go a little closer and take a look at it from different angles.

After it got dark I waited half an hour for the lights to be turned on. It quickly got really chilly but I guess it was worth it.