Though I’d never heard of Wind Cave National Park, it quickly became one of the coolest places in the world in my books. The park might not be as popular as others but it has a lot to boast with an intriguing history and gorgeous rock formations. I loved learning about Alvin McDonald, one of the first modern explorers of the park, and imagining his life as a teenager escaping to map out miles of the caves, especially as at the time his only light source would have been a candle.

The many types of rock formations were gorgeous also. After having been caving in the Friouato Caves in Morocco, where we were given free reign to get lost and to crash into anything, and touring the Moravian Karst cave system in the Czech Republic, where tours went far and in depth, it was interesting to compare the different types of protections that various countries use.