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Southwestern South Dakota

Three separate tours were available, a scenic tour, a lantern tour, and a spelunking tour.

I decide to try the lantern tour.

The lantern tour requires a short drive to Jewel Cave's only natural entrance. They gave me a highlighted map to help me find my way.

The Canyon Trailhead is where we meet our tour guide, a Park Ranger.

Our guide gives us a quick briefing about the tour. The idea is to mimic what it would be like in the 1920s when they first discovered the cave. The guide is dressed in that era's clothing and we'll all carry oil lanterns as we traverse the caverns.