National Park Week begins today with the theme “Park Connection” and Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave, Agate Fossil Beds, and Scotts Bluff National Monuments all have special activities or programs today or tonight
Winc Dave Chief of Interpretation Tom Farrell says the day there starts with free cave tours.
The Fairgrounds Tour is 90 minutes and travels 450 steps over 2 levels of the cave while the Garden of Eden Tour runs an hour with only 150 steps.
Farrell thinks the highlight of the day will be two programs by students at South Dakota School of Mines on fossils found at or in Wind Cave.
Jewel Cave is holding a free build-a-bat house workshop from 10-11:30 with a “Leave No Trace Earth Day Pledge and park clean-up from 1-3:00, followed by lemonade and snacks to celebrate local cave explorer Jan Conn’s 99th birthday.
Scotts Bluff National Monument Ranger Eric Graves is offering a short program on how travelers on the Oregon Trail dealt with trash and sanitation. He’ll also talk about how bison chips were an important resource on the trail, and will demonstrate how to start a bison chip fire. “Bacon and Bisonwood” will be offered twice, at 10:30 and 2:00.
Today is not only Earth Day and the first day of National Park Week, it’s the last day of International Dark Skies Week and that’s the focus at Agate Fossil Beds NM as Jason Gray leads a program tonight on the link between the earth and sky.
The Visitor Center reopens at 7:30 and Gray, a former ranger, at 8:00 begins his program on how stories and storytelling from Greek/Roman mythology, Lakota oral tradition, and modern writers and filmmakers have shaped how we view the night sky.
After his program, it’s time to go outside where telescopes will be set up to share the beautiful night sky uniquely seen at Agate. Star viewing will continue through 10:00. This is also the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower with 18-20 “shooting stars” an hour..
National Park Week is an annual national celebration of people, parks, trails, heritage areas, national trails and rivers, seashores, historic sites, and beautiful landscapes that together tell the story of our nation.