Jewel Cave National Monument

Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota is a jewel.  We got the last tour of the day, the shortest tour because the longer ones required reservations and they were already full for the day.  But Ranger Billie was generous with his time and ended up giving us a 40-minute instead of the usual 20-minute tour.  We took an elevator down to a large room full of crystals.  The cave is so dry that there are no stalagmites and stalactites, just crystals hugging close to the cave walls.  The adventurous soul could go spelunking in the caves, but to do so, you have to pass through a whole 7" tall and 20" wide.  We'd have to take it easy on the pasta and wine!  The pictures we took turned out a little green, but we hope you get the idea of the concurrent beauty and eerieness.