Jewel Cave National Monument

So much for warmth.  It was 77 deg when we arrived yesterday but had dropped to 60s by sundown. We had a storm that gave us a pretty sunset.

This morning we drove to Jewel Cave National Monument.  Jewel Cave is the third longest known cave in the world with over 189 miles of mapped passages.

 Although this is categorized as a dry cave there are still some interesting formations.

In the past the cave was flooded for a long period of time allowing the walls of the cave to be coated with about 6 to 8 inches of crystals that have a popcorn appearance.

A cross section of the crystal layer

Ribbon formations

Hollow stalactites called Soda Straws

A ribbon formation that looks like bacon

After lunch we returned to camp to do laundry, work on the camper and rest. It was a pretty nice day, starting out cool but warming to the 60s.
 Most gas stations here give a $0.10/gal discount for cash purchases so gas is $2.39/gal for cash or $2.49/gal for credit card purchases.