SD-5: More Caving and Animal Encounters

Sorry our last day of adventures was delayed, but we were delayed!  The last day and a half of our trip were their own separate adventure, but it was an adventure of airports and flight delays and layovers.  We made it home safely and that's what matters.
So the last day in South Dakota.  By that point we had done all the big stuff on our list of things to hit so we decided to start the day by going to the Wind Cave.  The Wind Cave Park was pretty close to our hotel and one of the major roads we had to take everyday went right through it.  This was where we were stopped by bison on a daily bases.  We figured we had been by enough times, why not stop and check it out.  I think we ended up seeing all the major caves in the area and each one was a little different the others.  Like this one and the Jewel Cave were formed in a similar way, but because one is in a drier area and the other is in a wet area the formations you find under the surface are completely different.

The rest of the day we spent looking at animals.  I love aquariums and zoos, and I love the challenge of shooting animals.  We headed down to the Reptile Gardens.  I figured there were animals for me and gardens for mom.  It was a cool place.  There were beautiful gardens outside and a tropical green house which housed some amazing orchids in a room you could walk through with lizards crawling around and birds and fountains, as well as exhibits of snakes from around the globe.

Outside they had a snake show and an alligator show.  Prairie dogs had a little enclosure, an injured bald eagle has a home there, and there were so many turtles and tortoises!! Ever since we took care of my sister-in-laws tortoise years ago I've completely fallen in love with them.  There were 2 giant tortoises and another pen with probably 20 different tortoises, different sizes and breeds. 

Adding the Reptile Gardens to our list of "places visited" meant we had seen the top 6 of the top 10 things to do in South Dakota (7 of the top 10 total).  When I had been looking through the travel guide at the beginning of the trip I had seen Bear Country advertised and got all excited about seeing bears.  Well we were driving right by so we stopped.  The first part was like a driving safari type thing but it was with bison and mountain goats and wolves and of course bears.

Once we drove around there was an area to get out and walk around and see some of the baby animals.  They were adorable!! 

Well that my friends is the end of our trip, well except for the adventures of Friday the 13th at the airport ;) 

Until the next adventure . . . 

Cheers :)