I was looking forward to visiting Wind Cave, a National Park I had not heard of until I began this journey. It wasn’t until I read the instructions on my ticket that said those with chlosterphobia should not go on the cave tour that the reality settled in… I was going into a cave–Eeek! The initial steps leading basically straight down caused me to almost run out the entrance but thanks to some support from my fellow “cavers” I was able to relax and make it through. After the initial descent, it was much more spacious than I’d imagined. The cave system is super complex and expansive. The Ranger shared that they believed they’ve only discovered about five percent of the cave to date.

One of neatest features was the only natural entrance, which looked liked it my cat might be able to squeeze in. Humans used this way in when they first discovered the cave. This is also where the name comes from, as depending on the atmospheric pressure, there cave is either sucking in air or pushing air out. When I visited, it was blowing in (good for my fear of being trapped?) at 16 miles per hour. Both outside the natural entrance and inside, you could feel and really hear the wind! Wind Cave did not disappoint!

The sign leading into the park and the only natural entrance, which is way smaller than this photo would suggest.

Me in the cave and a photo from the begging with steps leading down into the cave