Wind Cave, in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, was created as America’s eighth national park in 1903 and was the first to protect a cave. During the three days that we visited, we took two tours in the cave, unique in its abundant boxwork formations, which are found virtually nowhere else in the world. We also spent time on a safari of sorts, tracking animals, including herd of bison, along Wind Cave’s backcountry roads.
Here are some panoramic photos that we took of the national parks that we visited, from Acadia to Badlands, as well as some other places on the road. Click on any of the pictures for a larger view. Enjoy!
Our last Tuesday Quiz is a tough one – you have eight minutes to recall all 59 national parks. How many can you input in the time allowed?
Seventy five million years ago a shallow sea covered today’s Great Plains area. Sea creatures that died sank to the bottom of the sea and became fossils, as well as a gray-black layer of sedimentary rock. This layer is just one of the bands of rock comprising today’s Badlands National Park area, formed as the sea retreated and the climate dried. We spent three days in the park exploring the badlands rock formations and viewing fossils, while hiking on several trails under the ancient sea.
We recently had a Tuesday Quiz about northernmost U.S. cities. Now that we are traveling on the west coast of the United States, try your skill in naming the westernmost U.S. cities in this week’s quiz.
In the 18th century, French Canadian adventurers, known as voyageurs, traveled by canoe on today’s boundary waters between the United States and Canada. Today’s Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, encompasses 56 miles of the former trade route. In order to best experience a park whose primary access is by water, we arranged to be dropped off on the Kabetogama Peninsula and make our way into the backcountry for 50 hours by foot and paddle.
This week’s quiz is all about flags. For each state in the ten-question quiz, you will have four flag design options to choose from to find the correct one.
Lake Superior is the northernmost of the five Great Lakes. The largest freshwater lake in the world by area, it seems more like an ocean or an inland sea, measuring 350 miles wide and 160 miles long. In its northwest corner lies Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior. It is part of Michigan, 55 miles away, but even closer to Minnesota and just off the coast of Ontario, Canada. Its remote location and winter park closure makes it the least visited national park in the lower 48 states.
At the beginning of our NPS Journey, we published a quiz that tested your knowledge in naming a U.S. National Park from its picture. Here is part two of this quiz: you have another six minutes to correctly identify 20 parks.
Ohio’s 85 mile long Cuyahoga River flows between Akron and Cleveland and into Lake Erie. Meaning “crooked river” in the Mohawk language, the river area was home to Native Americans. By the 20th century, the Cuyahoga River became one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. The sad state of the river culminated when it caught on fire in 1969. This incident contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water Act.
We are traveling through Minneapolis, Minnesota, which lies on the Mississippi River. This week’s Tuesday Quiz tests your knowledge of U.S. Rivers and the cities that lie on their banks. Can you match the correct city with its river?
In 1604 French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed along the coast of today’s central Maine and noted an island that he called “Isle des Monts Deserts” because of the barren appearance of its mountains. Today, Mount Desert Island is the centerpiece of Acadia National Park. We found Acadia not to be a barren place, but a delightful patchwork of forest, mountain, lake, and seashore.
