It's been a long time since we've spent any time in the Black Hills. Noelle and I decided that we wanted to head up to Wind Cave National Park for our day off. We awoke at 5 am and hit the road at about 5:45. It was a pleasant drive north into South Dakota.
After a stop in Hot Springs for fuel and lunch, we made our way into the park. First stop was the visitor center to use the restroom. Then, we headed out. We drove north on US 385 to the intersection with SD Highway 87. We stopped at the small parking lot there to watch the prairie dogs and bison there.
Then, we made our way north on Highway 87 to Rankin Ridge. We parked and started hiking on the road portion of the loop trail. The first species of wildlife we spotted was a cottontail along the side of the trail.
We continued up the road towards the old fire tower,
stopping every now and then to look for birds and other wildlife.
I made it to the base of the tower before Noelle and had a look around.
I spotted a pair of chickadees that were flying back and forth between a tree stump and a live pine, creating a nesting cavity.
Besides the chickadees, I enjoyed the nice views from the highest point in Wind Cave National Park, including Mount Coolidge in nearby Custer State Park.
When Noelle joined me at the summit, we started to make our way down on the trail section of the loop.
Wildflowers, musineon and pasqueflower, could be seen on along this section of the loop.
Besides the flowers, we observed a chipmunk on the hike down.
Once back to the car, we were ready to continue our day with a drive to look for wildlife on roads NPS 5 and NPS 6.
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