So Many Buffalo!!

 Thursday, September 28, 2023

The day began with breakfast and a map. Our plan was to go to the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival, but we wanted to make sure our route took us along the Wildlife Loop and eventually to Iron Mountain Road.

Leaving the apartment we passed by many deer and prairie dogs, but once we reached the Wildlife Loop...nothing. Eventually we did see a few wild turkeys but we thought perhaps that would be the extent of our wildlife sightings. Oh how wrong we were.

Seeing a few cars stopped on the road ahead of us was a good indication that some animals had been spotted. When we got closer we could see it was a huge herd of buffalo grazing across the meadow and on the side of a hill in the distance. As we stopped to snap a few photos, the herd started moving toward us and crossed the road in front and back of our car. We have been detained by buffalo jams before, but never with numbers like this! For some reason they all decided they wanted to be on the opposite side of the road which meant we waited for them to cross. A. Very. Long. Time.

The line of bison stretched far up onto the hill.

I had my camera ready so I could submit a video for the evening news when this lady was gored by a buffalo. Fortunately her stupidity didn't get her into trouble. 

There was finally enough of a lull in the bison crossing that we could continue driving but we felt like we had hit the wildlife jackpot. But then...we came across another large herd. This time they were grouped together under a tree alongside a small creek. Some were rolling in the dust, others were scratching against the trees making the branches shake like crazy. A few were butting heads and others were just running through the field. What a sight!

At the end of the Wildlife Loop is the new Bison Center which we walked through and checked out the exhibits. The news media were there setting up in anticipation of the Buffalo Roundup the next morning. Following the roundup all of the bison would be herded into the large corrals in this area to be sorted and vaccinated. 

Hanging out in the parking lot we found the "Begging Burros"! We came ready with a package of carrots and once they knew we had food they got very excited. One in particular was very greedy and not very nice to the others when they tried to get a handout. Bob tried to be fair with the carrots but the "bully burro" didn't make it easy. A baby burro followed me around and when I directed my attention to one of the other animals, he would chew on my purse or even nip me in the arm! The burros are descendants of the animals that prospectors used during the gold rush. Normally feeding wildlife is discouraged, but the park encourages people to feed the burros.

They aren't shy.

When we reached the arts festival the parking area was a very long way from the vendor tents. Luckily the weather was absolutely perfect so the walk wasn't too bad...mid-60's and sunshine. It was fun to see the artistic talent on display but I have decided I am at a stage in my life that I don't buy "stuff" unless it is something I am truly in love with...so no purchases for me. Bob enjoyed stopping to visit with several pottery vendors. We also came across some folks we know from back home who had a stand from the Buffalo Billfold Company and stopped to visit for a bit.

Our scenic drive for the day took us through Iron Mountain Road. This drive is more terrifying than any thrill ride at an amusement park. The hairpin turns, narrow one lane tunnels and pigtail bridges are as beautiful as they are scary. A couple of the tunnels were strategically formed to frame a distant view of Mt. Rushmore.

Distant view of Mt. Rushmore

A stop at a scenic overlook.

A zoomed in view through the tunnel.

One of the pigtail bridges.

We were almost to the end of Iron Mountain Road when we stopped at a picnic area to have lunch. The last couple of miles brought us to Mt. Rushmore. Originally we planned to attend the evening program at the memorial, but the long drive there and a return drive back after dark made us reconsider. The dozens of deer we saw coming back to the apartment following the laser show at Crazy Horse was enough to make us stay off the country roads past sunset. Too great of a chance to have an unwanted encounter.

Each day we would pack a picnic lunch.

This was as close to Mt. Rushmore as we would get on this trip.

George's profile.

We did take a few presidential photos from the highway and then headed back to the apartment. I hung out at the apartment and sorted through the day's photos while Bob hiked up the hill AGAIN to drag down more large rocks.

Supper was leftover soup eaten early so we could get out for our sunset exploring. Instead of wildlife hunting (because there was no way to top the massive buffalo herd we experienced earlier) we picked a gravel road on the map to see where it would take us. What we found...the map does not accurately depict the roads correctly and the lack of cell service kept our Google maps from functioning on our console screen. Eventually it did start working but we weren't really sure where we were. We just drove on gravel roads up and down the hills and made a large loop route. No wildlife sightings on the drive but the scenery was top notch!

When we got back, a friend of the owner was working in the garage below our apartment. He is a taxidermist and was working on the head of a deer that he had killed the day before. I get a little squeamish just thinking about what he was doing but Bob enjoyed watching.

Off to bed...tomorrow is moving day.