The last couple days of our time in SD we decided to spend around Hot Springs, SD. The city got it's name from the Native Americans (Sioux and Cheyenne) that came to the area to enjoy the warm springs and considered them to be sacred. Europeans came into the area in the 1800's and not long after built a few health resorts catering to the belief that the warm springs and others like them around the country had some healing and therapeutic qualities.
It is home to the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, an Old Sanitarium that cared for TB patients and then was converted into a VA hospital (now a historic landmark), and really kick ass museum of the towns history in an old school house on a hill overlooking the town.
Located just south of Wind Cave national park the town and it's surrounding areas offer quite a few interesting things to do especially for those that like nature, history, and science.
Our first day there was a day trip from Custer where we visited the Mammoth Site and the school house museum. It was windy and rainy and since both of those places are indoors it made for the perfect activity.
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs is a really cool excavation site that was first uncovered in 1974 when construction had just begun on a mound just outside town. After bones were discovered the construction was halted and the painstaking dig for remains began and continues still. Interestingly it is the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world.
It began as sinkhole that was created when a cavern collapsed and then filled with water and then slowly filled with sediments and remains of animals that were trapped in it due to the steep edges. Many Pleistocene era specimens have been found including short-faced bears, American Camels and of course a large number of Mammoths.
The museum and the dig site are contained in a large building like I said before it makes a great place to get out of the weather and learn something at the same time. Our guide Mackenzie, did a great job walking us around the dig site and pointing out the myriad of exposed remains in various states of excavation.
It's also a great place for kids. We brought ours when they were younger and it was nice but it is even better 16 years later with exhibits, play areas, and activities designed solely for their enjoyment and education.
I've rambled on enough in this post. I'll get to the pictures and post about the town museum in another post.
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| You can see various tusks |
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| Different angle, shows how the remains are stacked on and around each other |
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| Pretty much a complete skeleton of a Columbian mammoth |
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| Another view |
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| Mural in the background shows the size of the mammoths compared to modern day elephants as well |
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| Thats a lot of tusks! |
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| This was NOT found at the site. The remains at the site are too fragile to piece together like this. This is a donation from another dig. |
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| Hey There! |
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