Where She Slept – Wind Cave National Park, SD, USA

After my girls weekend in Hot Springs, South Dakota, I had planned to drive to Denver. But I just wasn’t quite done with the South Dakota prairie. Big skies and buffalo still made me pull to the side of the road and get misty-eyed. During my time in the Black Hills, I had driven trhough Wind Cave National Park on my way to Black Elk Peak and the Badlands. Each visit offered glimpses of epic wildlife under big skies, so I decided to go find a place to camp there.

In comparison to the other national parks I visisted along the way, Wind Cave was empty. I think this is probably for a couplereasons, first being that it’s just not as popular as other parks in the region, and second because the main attraction of the park – the cave – was closed to visitors due to covid.

I made it to Elk Hill Campground a bit before sundown. Most of the campground was closed, but there were still a few self-service spots available. In comparison to the last couple places I had pitched my tent, there weren’t many RVs. I relished the quiet. I went on a walk up a hill near the campground to see the sunset, keeping my eyes out for rattlesnakes and mountain lions along the way (SD is beautiful but I do not trust all these predators). I found a bench at the top of the hill and watched deer and bison grazing under the lilac sky. An elk bugeled in the distance and I finished up some leftovers from the night before as I said goodbye to one of the most incredible places I had ever been.