200 Ft Below The Ground to 5,000 Ft Above Sea Level

    We started the morning in the quaint town of Custer, SD which was just a short drive away from Wind Cave National Park, our first stop for the day. Leading up to the trip, I did very little research on the places we were stopping, hoping to add an element of surprise to each destination. Because of this, Wind Cave National Park blew me away, literally (look up the history of how Wind Cave was discovered to understand that pun)! I had no idea that the cave we would be entering would be over 100 miles in length making it the 6th largest cave in the world! The cave is one of a kind because of the unique patterns and formations inside the depths of the cave. After descending around 300 steps and 20 stories deep into the cave, we concluded our hour-and-a-half tour. You, reader, should definitely look up the story of young Alivin who was the first known explorer of the cave!

    Next, we traveled to the beautiful Sylvan Lake. Here, we had the intention of hiking up to Black Elk Peak, the highest point in South Dakota. Long story short, the peak is 7,241 ft in elevation, and we made it to 5,762 ft in elevation before calling it quits. We underestimated the length, time commitment, and were underprepared (aka we didn't pack water or food.)

    After enjoying a celebratory sandwich for surviving our shorter-than-expected hike, we took a scenic drive on Needles Highway as we made our way to Mount Rushmore. We drove through 2 very narrow tunnels through the Black Hills. These tunnels were so narrow, only one car can fit at a time!

    Finally, we enjoyed driving past Mount Rushmore and stopping for the mandatory photo op. Truly an impressive sight to see.