Wind Cave National Park…where the prairie meets the hills and trees.
We camped at Elk Mountain Campground inside the park. We were the only ones there.
We actually went on a really nice 5 mile hike to explore the area. Watching Dancing with the Wolves with the girls last night helped me appreciate all the prairie grasses 🙂
We took the Centennial Trail to the Highland Creek Trail to the Lookout Trail through prairie grass and ponderosa pine forest and even found another wind cave tunnel.
Prairie dogs DO NOT drink any water. They get all their water from the prairie grasses. Many animals prey upon the prairie dogs in the area, foxes, coyotes, badgers, snakes, birds. Another animal is the black-footed ferret which is the similar size as the prairie dogs. The black-footed ferret is endangered and without the prairie dogs they are in danger of going extinct.
The prairie marches on…
Prairie grasses are adapted to the hot, dry summers and the cold, dry winters. And the CONSTANT wind. They are even tough enough so that when bison eat them down to the ground or they are burned down from prairie fires, they can grow again from its core. The bison till up the soil allowing air and moisture to help the soil around the grasses. The bison also picks up the seeds with its tail and hide and helps distribute grass seeds around the prairie.
The girls made 2 scientific discoveries with their eyeballs.
