Jewel Cave National Monument

Visited: June 2013

Nearby town: Custer, SD

In the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota lie two large cave systems. Wind Cave (which has the designation of National Park) and Jewel Cave National Monument. Why Wind got the Park designation and Jewel Cave never did...who knows? Anyway, Jewel Cave became a national monument by act of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world, nearly 193 miles has been mapped. 

The cave was discovered by Frank and Albert Michaud in 1900, when they felt cold air rushing out of a hole in the canyon. The hole was much too small for a human to enter, so they enlarged the hole with dynamite, creating the "natural" entrance to the cave. The section the Michauds first entered was filled with calcite crystals, and they named it Jewel Cave.

Before you go down into the cave, you can enjoy some hiking trails on the surface, or just take in the lovely views.

The cave offers four tours. (1) Discovery Talk: this is a very short, easy 20 minute tour. You take the elevator down, explore one cave room, and then back up. (2) Scenic Tour: the most popular, 0.5 mile tour, take elevator both ways and you visit the lowest known section of the cave. (3) Wild Caving Tour: very strenuous tour for spelunkers, and (4) Historic Tour: tour the cave by lantern. 

The Wild Caving Tour and Historic Tour are only offered during the summer. The Discovery Talk and Scenic Tour are only offered on the weekends during the winter, every day in the summer. We took the Scenic Tour, you can buy tickets the day of (as long as you arrive early enough at the Visitor Center, most tours fill up in summer by noon), you can buy tickets in advance up to 90 days.

We did the Scenic Tour. It's a very pleasant hike, not too long, not too many steps. You'll get to see lots of formations, flowstone, calcite crystals, and "cave bacon."

the lowest spot in the cave

some cave bacon

Jewel Cave is a great stop for those visiting Mt. Rushmore/Black Hills region, and is well worth a visit. I'd say if you only have time to visit one cave in the area (between Jewel and Wind) I honestly have to say that Jewel Cave is the better tour. Wind Cave is dry and doesn't have the dramatic cave formations like Jewel does. I've been to Wind Cave years ago before I met Tara (so we haven't checked it off the official completion list yet), so we'll have to return to the region to visit Wind Cave. We would have visited it back in 2013 if we had the goal in place. Oh well, the Black Hills is always a fun time. For more info on Jewel Cave, go here: https://www.nps.gov/jeca/index.htm

Put a Pin in it!

Tara and I with the most recent update on the Big Map. Tara's pointing to Big Bend. Park No. 36 on our quest to visit all of our national parks.

How do you mark your travels? 

When we visited our first National Park after we got married (Badlands NP), Tara suggested that we get a National Parks "passport" and start getting stamps at places we visit. It sounded lame to me, and it cost money, so it seemed unnecessary and I told Tara no. After visiting a few more Parks, Tara had a great idea. We would get a big map of the United States, and then place a decorative/lapel pin from each National Park we visited. Of course, we could attach the pin to the location of the Park on the map. Ironically (and of course, fitting) this endeavor has been much more expensive than the Passports would have been. 😊 But, I'm glad we did it, the pins are much more cool than the Passport stamps.

It's been kind of frustrating to get these pins. Sometimes, the Visitor Center Gift Shop doesn't have them, or they'll have a pin but it doesn't really look like any of the other pins we have from other Parks. There's no uniform series (which is something I would like). So, I like some pins more than others. But, it has been exciting for Tara and I to collect the pins and put them on our map, hoping to collect all 60 (yes, that's right, there are 60 National Parks now!) on our map.

Here is our newest pin:

 Rio Grande rolling through the canyons of Big Bend.

Love the unique shape of Mammoth Cave pin. It incorporates a stalagmite and a stalactite to take on a very cave-like look. Great Smoky Mountain pin perfectly captures what the smoky blue mountains look like. The Congaree pin shows a very common scene while walking along the boardwalk through the Park.

Acadia pin shows Otter Point.

Pins of the Washington parks: (1) Rainier (2) Olympic and (3) North Cascades

The California Pins (we have so far): Love the Yosemite one

(1) Yosemite (2) Kings Canyon (3) Sequoia and (4) Death Valley

Glacier NP is very unique from the other ones we have.

Our other pins:

Utah parks and Mesa Verde (we didn't get a close up picture of Zion pin once we got it. Oops.

Rocky Mountain Pin highlights Trail Ridge Road

Never been happy with this Crater Lake pin, probably going to get a new one next time we visit.

I must admit, even though I have zoomed in as close as I can. Other than the cabin on the right, I cannot tell what is on this pin! 😊

Arizona's pins are rockin' it! 😊

Our Nation's National Parks...majestic mountains, vast deserts, never-ending forests, magnificent rivers and streams, impossibly colossal canyons and...bathtubs?! 😊

We look forward to collecting all 60 pins. There's also other collectible things and vintage posters of our National Parks that might be subject of a future blog post. One of the joys of traveling is checking things off a list, and I think we have come up a super fun and creative way to check off that list! But yeah, I still regret not getting the goofy National Parks Passport thing. 😊

Channel Islands National Park

Visited: Nov 2016

Nearby metro: Los Angeles, CA; ferries leave from: Ventura, CA and Oxnard, CA

About 30-50 miles off the coast of southern California, lies an rugged, beautiful, volcanic island chain seemingly an entire world away from the bustling megalopolis of LA. The Channel Islands are made up of eight islands, the most famous of which is Santa Catalina Island. The Park protects five (5) of the eight islands. Four of the islands form a somewhat horizontal line, from east to west: Anacapa Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, and San Miguel Island. The fifth island lies far to the southeast of the other four, tiny Santa Barbara Island.

If you don't have your own boat, you're at the mercy of Island Packers' to visit the Park. They have year-round ferries that travel to Anacapa Island from Oxnard, CA. Anacapa Island is a small, picturesque island good for day-trippers. No camping is allowed on the island, so no overnight stays. Island Packers also has year round ferry service to Santa Cruz Island, leaving from Ventura, CA to two different ports: (1) Scorpion Ranch and (2) Prisoners Harbor. Santa Cruz is the largest island of not only the Channel Islands but all of California. Lots of camping opportunities here, but also good day trips at either of the two ports. Island Packers also offers ferry service to the other 3 islands, but it is very seasonal and there are not a lot of options. If you do camp, you have to pack in everything, there are no services on any of the islands.

We made reservations to take the ferry to Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz Island. The pier at Scorpion Ranch had been destroyed in a storm a few months before we visited and was under repair. Therefore, you needed to go on a small skiff from the boat to the shore. The day we visited had very high winds causing high waves and Island Packers did not want to operate the skiff due to the dangerous weather. Therefore, they offered a refund or to go to the alternate port on Santa Cruz Island, Prisoners Harbor. No sandy beach there, but some scenic hiking and other fun to be had as well. So, although we didn't go to our first choice, it was a good trip. Just be flexible with planning your visit here, it is very dependent on the weather. Despite the high swells, it was a beautiful day on the island.

the dock at Prisoners Harbor

The harbor is so named by an attempt to turn the island into a penal colony. It was home to about 30 convicts in the mid-1800s. It was not popular and the idea was eventually abandoned, but some of the structures built by the prisoners remain. Another interesting sight on the island is the endemic (exclusive) species, the Channel Island Fox.

Channel Fox

We then went on a short informal hike around the area. It was very pleasant.

We then hung out at the pier for the afternoon, waiting for the ferry to take us back to the mainland.

The highlight of the trip was the ferry ride. It took about an hour and half each way. The swells were pretty bad, so I got motion sick. But we saw lots of wildlife: harbor seals, dolphins, and even some humpback whales!

the marina in Ventura

pelican

oil rigs in the distance

dolphins liked to play in the wake

We were lucky to spot some humpback whales. I had never seen a whale in nature before.

the "fluke-print" left by the whale's tail

On our ferry ride back we saw another humpback whale for good measure. Check out the Park website for more info: https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm

in the distance is Arch Rock, off the coast of Anacapa Island

Perfect ending to a perfect day.