We visited a second cave in the Black Hills area called the Black Hills Cavern, this one a privately owned cavern instead of a National Park.  While it was in many ways very similar to the Wind Cave, we found that there were a lot of differences too.  This cavern had flooded totally in 1972 and it took a couple of years to drain it of all the water and mud.  That changed the way a lot of the formations look.

We also saw that there were a lot more mineral deposits around this cave.  Most likely gemstones as well, but even though privately held, this cavern is under federal protection and no mining can be done here.

Back during prohibition, moonshiners used the cavern to make their liquor and there are a few remnants of it – lots of black on the ceilings in one area where they had fires.

As it’s always been privately owned, the concrete that was poured to make the walkways is not as well maintained as a national park cave is, so it was more treacherous to walk the inclines and the stairways that were narrow and steep and having to duck to one side while going up or down was a bit nerve-racking!  But, they had guard rails and the guide was very good about cautioning us when we got to a place with potholes etc.  All-in-all, a fun and interesting cave to visit!

Here are some pictures: