Custer Vacation Day 7 – September 25, 2015   Today’s the day! This is why we came to South Dakota! I have been planning and preparing for today since last October 3 when I approached Sandy and Gin and asked them if they would like see the Roundup. I made our lodging reservations that very same day after I got their excited YES answer and finally - here it is - today’s the day!

It’s quite dark and cool at 3:30 am when we rolled out of our bunks and prepare to leave BlueBell. By 4 am we are in the HildeVan headed to the South Gate for the 50^th Annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup! Since the gates don’t open until 6:15 we know that we are in for a wait but want to be sure to get a good spot for viewing. We arrive 15 minutes later and are #17 in line for entrance. Pleased but sleepy, everyone settles in for a nap while we wait but I can’t sit still. As soft snoring is coming from the front seat, I finally give up and pop in my ear buds and listen to some Davina Porter reading The Fiery Cross and finally am able to settle down for the wait.

At 6:15 sharp the line of cars starts their engines and slowly creep forward to the opened gate where attendants are pointing where to park. We hop out and grab our chairs, sleeping bags, and blankets and scurry to the hill of the South viewing area to choose our spot. There is also a north viewing area. Both are large hills with a great valley running between them. I read later that there are 20,000 of us here this morning to see this event!

Early Morning mist in the valleys

After settling in the next thing we need is food! Seeks Pie, Li’l Pot, and I walk over to the large white tent. A friendly volunteer force is cooking plate sized flapjacks and link sausages and they must have been doing so for several hours as the food is hot and ready for us waiting in big roasters. We move quickly through the efficient line and meet Black Kettle and Bean Gatherer who have held our spot. Eating our breakfast under a rising sun, we watch miles of cars snaking toward the viewing areas and we are glad to not fight the crowds just now coming in. Family note about the pancake eating – some of us use syrup and some prefer the jelly that we brought with us. We had discussed previously on this trip how Grandpa Carl ate his pancakes with jelly – rolled into a sandwich.

A very long pancake line mid-morning!

A very nice group of people surround us and pleasant conversations ensue as the wait continues and the heavy mist in the valley evaporates. It’s turning into a beautiful and quite warm day for late September, and we find ourselves shedding layers of clothing. I remember when we were anticipating the trip and I hoped like the dickens that it would not be 40 degrees and raining on this day – and luckily it is not! The hours pass and I find myself restless and go for a walk to people watch and talk. I am stunned at the VERY long line at the pancake tent and am happy we got ours earlier. The many porta-potties also have a line but everyone is cheerful and chatty. I meet one family from the Chicagoland suburbs standing near a fence where we are told the buffalo will start their decent into the valley. A veteran roundup attendee warns us to have our cameras ready because the buffalo will come on a dead run and if you are not ready you will not get many good shots. Another tells how the earth will be vibrating from so many buffalo running. I can’t wait!

A white mustached cowboy on a beautiful gelding named Duke – named this because Duke was born in Winterset, IA, the same town where John Wayne was born - and I stop and talk for a bit. He tell me he is from Michigan and this is his 17^th year volunteering in Custer. He and his horse come to Custer on March 1^st and stay until Oct. 1^st each year. He spends the summer riding the fences and watching the buffalo. He tells me about the application process for being allowed to volunteer in Custer and that many are denied and one was even arrested upon arrival last year after the security check was done. He kindly poses for photos and lets me pet Duke’s velvety soft nose.

As I am at the far end of the south viewing area I still see hundreds of cars waiting to get into the parking area. With all this dry land there is no shortage of parking and it is humbling to see how these thousands of cars and people are swallowed up by the immensity of the land. We are such a small blip on the earth’s radar and I feel it today.

Arriving back at our viewing spot I settle in and talk to the others. Suddenly a skinny woman with a stylish purple headband and matching jacket marches by talking over her shoulder to her companion. She is saying something like, “What is going on here? They said it would be at 9:30 but it is long past that.” She reached me at this point and I say to her politely but firmly, “Ma’am, these are buffalo and they don’t keep to a schedule.” She didn’t bother to respond, just pranced off. People are so darn funny.

Not long after we hear a murmur run through the crowd…buffalo! Sure enough, at the top of the hill we can see buffalo coming over the rise and heading down into the valley. But they are not running as we expect, just walking quickly! We hear later this is because the day is quite warm and the buffalo are not running. We are also told that they have had a harder than normal time of rounding them up this year. Finally, hundreds of buffalo trot down the hill into the great valley before us. They move toward the opening in the fence which will place them in the corral area. Cowboys yip and circle the herd in an ever tightening mass of brown furred muscle. Half of the herd does as expected and crosses the road and enters the corral area.

Some buffalo decide to go the wrong way!

But suddenly one old cow seems to remember this scenario from previous years and turns around headed up a hill to the east. In that same moment the back half of the herd turns and runs, yes now they are running, away from the open gate. It was amazing to see them turn together just as a flock of birds will do in the sky. Up and over the hill they go with the cowboys in hot pursuit! There is a great roar from the crowd as we cheer for the buffalo!

It is a little while before we see the second half of the herd again but finally they are driven back into the valley towards the coral area. About 20 cowboys and a dozen trucks are pushing them to the opening in the gate. There is more resistance by some buffalo but finally they are herded to where the cowboys want them to go. The crowd sighs, this part is now over, and we pack up our belongings, say goodbye to our neighbors, and go back to the HildeVan.

Most people leave now but we are staying for the afternoon’s entertainment so settle down in the shade of the van for our picnic lunch. Folks stop by and say hello and make conversation with us over the next hour as we wait. Everyone exclaims at the wonder of what we have just witnessed. Roundup veterans tell us that this was one of the best ones to see because the buffalo took their time coming into the valley and we could view them longer. Plus the fact that some of the herd escaped and had to be rounded up again we got to see it happen twice! Lucky us! We are thrilled!

Soon it's time to head to the corral area and see the afternoon portion of the day. We board a shuttle bus that will take us from the parking lot to the corral. We arrive in plenty of time and settle in on bleachers and watch a small group of about two dozen buffalo cut out of the main herd and moved into the corral. There is one bull that was still hanging with the ladies and he had to be removed. Then the females and calves born this spring are left to be pushed ahead by a tractor with a v-shaped metal plate into the chutes and separated – cows and heifers in one chute and babies in another.

Now these buffalo did not like this one bit! There was much resistance and it was comical to watch them tried to be shooed along with a colorful flag! The flags were ignored as buffalo jumped and turned themselves around in the chute and ran back from where they had just come! Finally the real work began and cattle prods were enlisted to move them into position.

The cows and heifers have their ear tag numbers checked and recorded and are pregnancy checked after being moved into the hydraulically-operated squeeze chutes. The babies are ear-tagged, wormed, vaccinated for brucellosis, and branded. I had never witnessed live branding before, and they receive two brands. The first is an “S” for State Park. The second is a “5” for the year 2015. Their skin and hair burn and an acrid smoke rises from the animal. There is a catwalk above the working area and I left our group and made my way above the buffalo to watch more closely. I could have stood and watched all day! The buffalo are then released from the chute area, most back to the herd but some are selected and moved into large holding pens.

Some of the buffalo will be culled from the herd today. The park is only able to sustain about 1,300 buffalo – remember the park is 71,000 acres completely surrounded by fence. Depending on how much rain is received, results in how much forage there will be for the animals, dictating a certain number that must be removed each year. These buffalo are then sold at auction in November. This year I heard that 266 will be removed from the herd and sold either for meat or to other ranchers who are starting or adding to their stock. In 2014, 223 buffalo were sold, down from 324 in 2013. The total selling price in 2014 was $378,425 an average of $2,300 per head.

Thankfully, most of the 20,000 people had left and did not show up to watch the afternoon’s activities. The several hundred who stayed were die-hards like us and really appreciated being able to witness all of this. If you are ever able to come to the roundup, do plan on staying for the afternoon too!

I want to say here how wonderful everyone connected with Custer State Park has been! The employees and the masses of volunteers have been completely wonderful and welcoming! The organization it takes to make everyone work in unison with no visible glitches to the public's eyes is amazing. Hundreds of volunteers make this place go and I will certainly consider spending a summer here in my retirement working somewhere in the park. 

Finally though, it was time to board a shuttle and go back to Blue Bell. We were tired, sunburned, dusty, and happy! Showers were in order followed by supper over the fire of individual pizzas. We sat for a while by the campfire talking over the day and week we had just experienced. A tinge of sadness was in the air knowing we must leave in the morning. Vacations are too short! However, we were truly exhausted and hit the bunkhouse early to dream of new friends, new experiences, and Tatanka! Good Night all!
 

Note: Our 13 year old beloved pit bull, and constant companion, Vega was euthanized today. While I was sitting on the hill waiting for the buffalo to arrive, I was on the phone with Eric and Dan who were at the veterinarian’s office making the final decision. We knew we had to do what was right for her but it is never easy. Tears flowed easily today for me, but I know she is now at rest. Much love, kisses, ear and belly rubs to you Vega till we meet again. You will be forever in my heart.

Custer Vacation Day 6 – September 24, 2015   Today dawns bright and beautiful and Black Kettle has a crock pot breakfast ready with a concoction of eggs, sausage, and cheese. The timer on the crockpot works great thanks to Seeks Pie and Li’l Pot who check and recheck to be certain they set it correctly! We older gals don’t even attempt to mess with the timer!  Breakfast was pretty darn tasty and just what we needed before leaving Blue Bell campground for the Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival. Today is the day to spend money!

As Bean Gatherer maneuvers the HildeVan on the twisty roads of Custer, suddenly to my left is a single creature placidly chomping grass. I say creature because we are not sure at this point if it is a sheep or goat. Research done later by Seeks Pie says it is a Bighorn Sheep. We stop roadside and whip open the side doors and take pictures. We have enjoyed this van because of the two side doors that slide open. Photos taken, we proceed down to the Arts Festival.

The Arts Festival is held on a large flat grassy area and since we are early, the vendors are just finishing setting up their displays. There is a running joke in our family about how I can never go anywhere and not run into someone I know. Well the look of surprise on my sister’s faces when I stopped and hugged a lady and exchanged pleasantries was priceless! Yes, I knew someone here! Marcia from Galesburg and is a vendor here, and is selling her beautiful artwork.

Most of the items for sale are of a western flair. Many artists are showing their paintings of buffalo and western scenery – some quite expensive! There are plenty of pelts, knives, Indian artwork, and jewelry. I settle on a beautiful elk antler that lays on its side and has slits cut into it that knives slide into for display. It will be a Christmas gift for Eric. He will love it!

It’s not long and Black Kettle and I see Bean Gatherer hurrying towards us. Bean Gatherer looks concerned. She has seen a buffalo head she wants to display on her fireplace but it is huge! How are we going to get it home? She has checked and there is not a hitch on the HildeVan so renting a trailer is out. Black Kettle and I look at each other and grin. We have stuffed cars and trucks so full of stuff in our lives that we nod and assure her that it will be okay. “Where there is a will there is a way,” we mutter as we rush to see the item in question.

The buffalo head is beautiful and quite large. We all exclaim over him and immediately name him Harry, after our jeep driver from the night before, who we have seen and talked to again today while he was ferrying people around.  The vendor continues to pull items out of his truck and we spy buffalo skulls! I text Eric and ask him if he has one in his skull collection. Eric texts back that no, he did not have one and yes, he would love to own one. So a skull was purchased for Eric. Li’l Pot and Black Kettle also choose a buffalo skull and we are set!

There is an education tent and we sit in its shade and watch a raptor program. Beautiful little owls, great big owls, and a hawk are displayed and discussed. The hawk devours a couple of mice in front of us and I snickered to myself at the revulsion an audience member showed as the hawk dissected the mice and gulped them down in a couple of quick bites.

But the next program was a snake show and we headed out of there. Besides, it was noon and time for a door prize drawing. We scurried to the main tent where there was singing and guitar playing going on but soon they were drawing names. Li’l Pot won! She went to the vendor’s booth and choose a beautiful silk scarf for her prize.  She is the Lucky lady today!

It’s time for a picnic lunch under a shade tree but on our way to the car we are distracted by the Buffalo Chip Toss. Of course, we all have to do this and choose our chips carefully. Some are light and large, some are smaller, heavier but more dense. All are real buffalo poo. Aiming carefully and tossing away, we all receive blue ribbons! However, there was one calamity. Bean Gatherer was standing in the way of a chip while taking pictures and her leg was injured. No first aid was necessary and by now we were hungry!

Leaving the festival with our purchases we headed back to camp to hang out a bit and prepare for our evening’s entertainment. After a supper cooked on the campfire, we head over to The Crazy Horse Memorial.

When I was about 14 or so, our family drove by here and I vaguely remember not being very impressed. Not much carving had been done on the mountain at that time and there was a long way to go. There is still is a long way to go! However, Crazy Horse’s face is now complete and work continues on what will be the largest sculpture in the world. The original sculptor has died and his large family continues the project and foundation. An informative movie plays to explain their vision and the history of the project and family.

We were surprised at how much beyond the mountain there is to see! A huge Indian museum full of artifacts is quite impressive and we found ourselves wishing we had more time to browse from room to room. For a donation, there are rocks that you can take home from the blasting of the mountain and a few were picked up by these Illinois natives. There is also a University and Medical School for Native Americans on the grounds. Finally, it is dark and the laser light show is about to begin! This is what we came for! We sit outside with a couple dozen other visitors and watch a colorful light show played onto the mountain. I loved it!

After the light show we visited the gift shop and I bought another stick medallion to add to my collection. But now it was time to get some sleep as tomorrow is the roundup and we must get up very early! Good Night all!

Custer Vacation Day 5 – September 23, 2015    OH MY GOODNESS! What a day! The Crazy Owl Tribe started out more slowly this cool and foggy morning in Blue Bell campground by doing a little housekeeping. Five women living together in a small cabin can make quite a mess, but it was soon cleaned up and organized and we were headed out in the HildeVan to explore.

In Custer we stopped at a store that sells hides, skulls, pelts and the like. I remember when I was here two years ago, I bought Eric a beaver skull for his collection. Nothing really interested me today except for a buffalo horn. After all, buffalo is the word of the week and it won’t take up a lot of room while packing.

We stopped at a rock shop next and then hit the main street. Custer has a wonderful visitor’s center and we poked around a bit and talked to the staff. But I was looking for internet service and headed next to a café advertising Wi-Fi. I settled in with a banana nut muffin and booted up. Yes, I could read my emails and Facebook but when I tried to upload blog with pictures it just wouldn’t do it. The service was too slow and I finally just gave up and figured it will have to wait until I find true civilization again.

Next, we were off to drive the Needles Highway.  Needles Highway is 14 miles of spectacular Black Hills scenery including; granite spires, three narrow tunnels and hairpin curves. One giant spire has the center eroded from it by wind and water and resembles a large standing needle. The twisting roadway requires caution and there are one way traffic tunnels. When you enter the tunnel you sound your horn to announce to anyone ahead of you that you are there. At a turnout everyone scrambled out to take photos when we saw a very large bus which appeared to be stuck in a tunnel. The bus sat there unmoving for several minutes and then slowly started to creep forward. It made its way out of the tunnel and then stopped in front of me and a man that were watching. The driver poked his head out the window and asked, “Can I get to Mount Rushmore from here?” I deferred to the man next to me as I didn’t have a clue. As I walked away I was wondering how in the heck that bus was going to fit through the next tunnel down the mountain which the Owl Tribe agreed was even smaller than this one! But I will never know that outcome as we drove on down the opposite side of the mountain. 

 

It is so beautiful here! I love rocks and they are here in every variety. Craggy, smooth, lumpy, and sharp. My eyes simply cannot see enough. When we arrived at beautiful Sylvan Lake, we knew we must stop and explore. By now the weather was glorious with sunny skies and warm temps. But it was not quite warm enough to swim as we would have been tempted to do in the middle of summer. In the middle of the lake is a great island of rock that looks like it would be fun to explore! We settled instead for walking around the perimeter a bit and posing for photos. We wished we could stay longer but Thunder Talker’s schedule was nagging us to stay on track.

I had made a reservation for an off road Buffalo Safari tour and Chuck Wagon dinner and with the early darkness this time of year we had to be at the State Game Lodge at 3:15.  Upon arrival we were all handed cowboy hats and blue kerchiefs and asked to load into an open jeep with our guide, Harry. Again, we liked that it was only our tribe in the jeep because they are not as busy now as they would be during the tourist season and have full jeeps.

Harry was a likeable Texan with silver hair and a white moustache and seemed to instantly take a liking to us and us, to him! Harry and his wife are retired from the careers of their youth and during the summer work in Custer State Park going back to Texas for the winter. As we bumped along, Harry shared many stories with us of the park history, some about his life, and lots of information about the wildlife of the area. It wasn’t long and Harry was pointing out a small herd of pronghorn and he drove the jeep into the middle of the herd for us to admire. He told us that these wickedly fast animals – as fast as a cheetah - do not jump over the fences but crawl under. (I am not certain I believe this and will research this later.) But Harry is charming and we hang on every word.

It isn’t long and Harry receives word on the radio that there is some exciting action up ahead and we hang on to our hats as the jeep lurches forward, up and over the hills in the backcountry of the park. Often we were on trails and I asked if private vehicles were allowed to follow these trails and was told no, these were for official park vehicles only. Not that I wanted to take the HildeVan and do this, I was just curious.

Soon we saw what we had come to South Dakota for! BUFFALO! Lots and lots of buffalo! We drive down to a watering hole and Harry turned off the jeep. (Interesting note about the water hole and most of the watering holes in the park – they are wells that have been dug and run off of solar energy as there is little natural water in the park except underground.) All around us in this valley were buffalo milling about. The grunt their guttural buffalo sound as they lumber past us, not even giving us a second glance. We are in awe! Some wade into the water and some only lower their mouths down to drink at the edge. One buffalo lifted his scrawny bottlebrush tail and pooped in the water. Mammas, babies born this spring, bulls, they all are here and so are we!  We watched, listened, and smelled it all with great fascination. After all – we are gals who grew up around cattle – to us these are just bigger! Harry tells us that here in this immense valley where we are parked, the buffalo are being gathered and being held for the upcoming round up being held in two days.

It takes three weeks of gathering buffalo from over the 71,000 acres. Cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country come each year for the roundup to work the herds. They are volunteers who supply their own transportation, horse, trailer, tack, and food to do this project. The spend three weeks riding the range and gathering the buffalo. The buffalo are massed in large connecting valleys in preparation for the actual roundup day. Speaking of cowboys! What to our eyes appear? Cowboys!!  YeeHaw! The singles in our tribe were especially excited!

 At the top of a rise from where the buffalo are coming we suddenly see cowboys astride their horses moving the herd!  Holy buffalo! The contained excitement coming from everyone was palpable. Even Harry was excited because no one usually sees this occur. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time! Down the hill came the buffalo followed by the cowboys – all we need now is Indians. The cowboy were all yipping loudly and a couple were whirling their whips making a loud "crack" that encouraged the animals to move. The herd is driven to the watering hole to drink before they are moved further down towards the corral area. Buffalo and cowboys are so close we could have reached out and touched them! One cowboy asked us to stay where we are as they move through. We are happy to oblige! We felt as though we had been transported back in time 150 years. I cannot express how thrilling this was to see. We all were awestruck - with tears sometimes blurring our vision - as we watched this living history in action. I would encourage you to take this tour when you are in the area. You won’t be sorry!

On the way to the supper portion of the tour, Harry continued driving us through the park’s backcountry and we marveled at the beauty and grandeur of this place. All too soon we were in a mountain meadow canyon for our chuck wagon feast. Steaks on the grill with all the fixin’s were prepared for us and as we ate under the open sky, a guitar playing duo serenaded us with song. The night was beginning to get chilly and we were happy to be asked to get up and form a circle – it was becoming a real hoedown now - with the other supper guests that had been brought in on wheeled hayracks. The Hokey Pokey, and Chicken Dance are just what we needed! Finally, we were all asked to shout “YeeHaw” to the mountain to hear its ringing echo. After doing this several times it was time to pile back into our jeep with Harry and head back to the Game Lodge and finally to Blue Bell campground. OH MY GOODNESS! What a day!

Custer Vacation Day 4 - September 22, 2015

Today is Tuesday and we are scheduled to visit the Hot Springs area. We woke up to the scent of cinnamon wafting through the air because Black Kettle had made Blueberry French Toast in the crock pot. We ate quickly and piled into the HildeVan to meet our 9 am appointment at the Wild Horse Sanctuary. However, nature had other plans for us.

Seemingly at every turn was one form of wildlife or another. Deer, turkeys, and most excitedly – buffalo! We witnessed one bull casually rubbing himself on a low sign. The buffalo rut is over now but he seemed to be remembering it fondly. We are seeing mostly bulls in the park because by now most of the females have been herded into large valleys to be held for the roundup. The do not roundup the bulls if they can help it because they are too aggressive. By the time we stopped to view the wildlife, take a few photos, and wait for animals to leave the roadway, we were going to be late for our Wild Horse appointment. I called and rescheduled for the next tour of the day so we had some time to kill.

In Hot Springs we found a sign reading “Pioneer Museum” and located it at the top of a hill overlooking the town and a small river. The museum is housed in a four story building that had been built in the 1800’s and was the area’s school till the 1960’s. Made of locally quarried beautiful stone blocks, this stone was also used to build many of the buildings in the area including a castle like structure we later determined was a nursing home. The interior had beautiful, heavy, ornately carved woodwork throughout and the original school bell was still intact.  We asked if it still worked and were given permission to ring it which Seeks Pie did with delight! Three floors of the museum were crammed full of what my nephew calls “old timey” displays and collections. These items were well displayed and we completely enjoyed our visit taking some fun photographs along the way. We were quite happy to have accidentally stumbled upon this treasure.

While doing research for the trip, I had found the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and determined we must go. So, at 11:00 The Crazy Owl’s piled into a rickety old blue school bus were soon driving across rough, bumpy open range to see wild horses in their natural habitat. Our blue bus was a small one and we saw parked nearby several other large full-sized busses they use for larger groups and again knew that traveling in the off season certainly has its rewards. At the sanctuary 600 wild horses are allowed to roam free over 11,000 acres of private land, living out their lives  

without the intrusion of mankind. We learned that even veterinary care is not used with the wild horses and they live their lives completely free as they would have done hundreds of years ago, roaming as far and wide as they choose. Many of the horses in more remote parts of the ranch never see men and live in huge canyons their entire lives. Some rescue horses are habituated to man and we were able to get near enough to them to actually touch. We were interested to learn that mountain lions prowl here and they routinely prey upon some of the colts but rarely get an adult horse. Again, it is just as it would have been hundreds of years ago. I asked if when a horse dies did they allow nature to take its course and our guide said that yes, they were left alone unless they were laying in the sight of human visitors. If this happened the carcass would be removed to an area where visitors would not have to see it. South Dakota is used often in movies and this ranch has been used several times with movie sets being built and then left to the weather. As out tour was finishing, a small herd of horses thundered by us but they were too fast for us to get any photos. It was thrilling to watch them run!

 More than horses are here on the ranch. There are large rock formations with ancient petroglyphs. Great mammoths were carved on the cliffs thousands of years ago. History tells us that mammoths did roam in this area and there is a Mammoth Site nearby with an active dig we had hoped to visit but ran out of time. There are also more current carvings on these cliffs from the 1800’s and 1900’s. Nestled in the rocks is the entrance to a cave where people at one time lived for a time, but now is boarded over to prevent entrance. I marvel at the years of history for us to view! Amazing! And the scenery was awesome! Rocky, hilly, dusty, and full of little sand burs that stuck to our shoes and crunched loudly in the bus floor.

 At one point we looked out over a huge canyon with a small river winding through it. This area is sacred to the Native Americans and they still camp here while gathering for ceremony. We visited an area still used each June at the summer solstice by the Native Americans for their sacred Sun Dance ceremony.  A cottonwood tree was covered in prayer flags and we were told we could take photos but asked to not enter the sacred circle. They leave the framework of the sweatlodge and other structures in place. We felt privileged to be able to see such a special and spiritual site. We very much enjoyed our visit to the sanctuary and would recommend you take the time to see it if in the area. Here is a link to their website.   http://www.wildmustangs.com/#!about2/c4ya

 Also on the outskirts of the ranch was a small graveyard with graves from the last 100 years. The headstones were varied.  Wooden crosses, elaborate modern monuments, simple quartz rocks, and my favorite – petrified wood. Ranch family and their employees are allowed to be buried here in this private cemetery. The graveyard was on top of a rise and we overlooked hundreds of acres of rolling landscape with horses everywhere. Some of the horses ran by the cemetery and we were tickled to hear their whinny’s and calls to each other. This is where we enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch of sandwiches and Dragon’s Breath Salad topped off with homemade pie we had purchased at the Sanctuary’s Cafe. Isn’t it funny how a simple lunch eaten outdoors always tastes better even if it is cool and windy as it was today?

We then spent a little time shopping in Hot Springs and soon headed back to camp for a supper of hot chili. It wasn’t long and we were back on the road headed to Wind Cave National Park for an elk bugling presentation. You see, we were here at the time of the elk rut. The males signal to the females by bugling – a loud, long sound – and there often is fighting amongst the elk at this time. After the ranger educated us about the park’s elk population in the park, we went to a pullout area known for hearing the elk. There we were, in complete darkness except for stars and an occasional car headlight on the road, sitting with several other people, in the middle of nowhere, covered in blankets, waiting to hear elk. We did hear about seven calls but they were quite far away and so the sound was rather faint. Everyone sat very still and there was no talking but after two hours of this our tribe had enough and left to head back to camp for a good night’s sleep and blog writing. It was good to be indoors tonight and no campfire was struck. Good night all!

Tatanka in Custer State Park

Custer Vacation Day 3 - September 21, 2015   Our Monday morning started off bright and early with beautiful blue skies so while the rest of our tribe got themselves going, I took a walk around the campground. It was quiet and smelled sweetly of pine and when I rounded a bend there were a flock of 17 wild turkeys pecking away at the dirt! There were also lots of bunnies and they hardly moved out of the way as I passed by. Soon it was time to leave and we piled into the HildeVan for the days adventures. Following the winding and twisty roads through Custer we spy our first buffalo! Excitement ensues as the great beast is right in front of us along the roadside placidly munching grass. We take photos and admire him for several minutes. It is odd to think that these huge animals roam free everywhere in the park doing as they please. We are the creatures that do not belong. However, they do share their space with us and seem to ignore us completely. Taking our leave, we soon enter the Black Hills National Forest. Of course, we take this opportunity to stop at a visitor's center and make a few purchases. I collect walking stick medallions from wherever I travel and added several new ones this week.

Good photography job, Li'l Pot!

First on Thunder Talker's itinerary today is the Mount Rushmore National Monument.  The sunny weather was perfect with warm, almost hot, temperatures.  I have visited here before but this time we rented the audio devices to enhance our experience and knowledge of the site. These are handheld devices you hold to your ear and listen as you would a phone - punching in the correct number on the keypad.  You trek around to various stations listening to the audio clip that corresponds. It was very informative and we all really enjoyed it. We also walked about a jillion steps – should have worn my FitBit today - up and down stairs and visited the studio and learning center at the base of the mountain. We were famished and ready for a lunch of Tatanka Stew and ice cream! We ended up spending about four hours here to our surprise!  We discussed how pleased we all were that we had taken the time to really learn about the monument and not just do a few photos and leave.

Speaking of photos - Li'l Pot is our official photographer for this trip. We all gather around a selected monument while she sets up her camera on whatever is at hand. It could be a cooler, a rock, or even a car seat with the side door hanging open. Often it is considerable distance across a ditch or over a rock pile that she must run across to take her place in line as the seconds tick away on the camera's timer. Several times it took two or three attempts but she finally always gets the photo! Good job, Li'l Pot!

Bean Gatherer - Signing Dunbar's papers

Next we visited the movie set of one of the greatest movies ever filmed, Dances With Wolves. When the movie first came out, I saw it with my sisters in Denver on the big screen. 25 years later it is just as good - a classic in my mind -  and I had purchased the DVD for us all to watch as homework before we came here. While we visited the movie set of Fort Hayes in Rapid City it was kind of fun and we took some crazy staged photos, my favorites being the ones in the office where John Dunbar received his orders from the crazy officer. We took turns playing John and the crazy guy at his desk. However, we were disappointed in how the whole area was being kept up and displayed. It was very haphazard and a little bit unorganized with random displays of old west memorabilia scattered around.  However, we managed to find and make our own fun while there! Can you imagine? LOL

Black Kettle and Thunder Talker are making a break for it!

After Fort Hayes we stopped at the Black Hills Gold Factory hoping for a tour. But we arrived  too late in the day and instead watched a movie about the jewelry production that takes place there. While in town everyone was off shopping while I stopped at a café with wifi to communicate with my family back home. I sure do miss the convenience of instant internet access!

Heading back into Custer it was coming on dusk and we actually counted 57 deer! It is pretty amazing to see them in such numbers and driving is definitely something to do very cautiously on the twisting, turning, and up and down roads. Bean Gatherer did a great job! Black Kettle had made jambalaya in the crock pot before our departure this morning and it was waiting for our ravenous tribe - hot, spicy, and delicious.

The night was clear with the stars so bright and close it felt like you could reach up and touch them, although a bit windy. Bean Gatherer built a nice fire and our tribe sat around it and talked for hours before finally giving in and going inside our cabin for the night. Who knows how many more comfortable nights like this there may be? Black Kettle and I are writing blog posts while I hear soft snoring coming from the area where Seeks Pie and Li’l Pot are sleeping. We all are exhausted and another big day looms in just a few hours. Good Night all!

Crazy Owl Tribe - Bean Gatherer, Thunder Talker, Black Kettle, Li'l Pot, and Seeks Pie at Fort Hayes.

Custer Vacation Day 2 - September 20, 2015 - We woke up in Yankton with sunny skies for day two of our South Dakota adventure. We packed quickly and drove to Gavin’s Point Dam and Lewis and Clark Lake. Built for hydroelectric power, the dam was completed in 1956 at the cost of $50 million. Lewis and Clark Lake is used for fishing, boating, irrigation, and fish and wildlife management. We had a short chat with a local fisherman who had caught a bass. I sure did wish I had a Water’s EDDGE bait with me to share! Sailboats were on the water and it was a beautiful sight. We examined a long snakeskin in the parking area then visited a small fish aquarium showcasing the local fish and reptiles. Very interesting place indeed!

 

A happy accident was driving by a roadside sign announcing an attraction called The House of Mary Shrine. We turned the HildeVan around, and were greeted by the beautiful sight of a fountain with pond in the shape of a heart. It was surrounded by flowers and along a pathway up a steep hill were pictures of various saints with their stories. There was footpath rosary one could follow along and pray.  At the top of the hill were three large wooden crosses looking out over beautiful scenery and an expansive valley. We peeked in a small chapel where Perpetual Adoration was taking place. It was a very serene and peaceful site to visit and we were very glad we had stopped at this shrine honoring the Blessed Mother.

 

A few miles down the road was a destination on our itinerary - Scotland, SD! While doing the research for our trip I learned there was a Scotland, SD, population 891.  I hoped there might be a good sign for a photo op so we could say we had been in Scotland.  Sure enough…there was! Those of you Outlander fans will know why we wanted to go to Scotland – not necessarily Scotland, SD but still - Scotland! We quickly hopped out of the HildeVan, across a ditch and as we were walking to the sign, what slithers across right in front of me but a snake! The girls laughed hysterically at the skelloch that escaped from my lips as I danced hurriedly away! I wondered out loud if my name should be Snake Finder but the girls said no, Thunder Talker it must be. There was not much else to see in Scotland but they did have a great water tower shaped similarly to the old historical tower in Orion. Scotland’s tower was emblazoned with what else…a bagpiper!

 

The miles fly by with good conversation punctuated with outbursts of laughter. The Crazy Owl tribe can make quite a lot of noise and discussions included how much hay is grown here and who may use all this hay. Which abandoned homesteads might be worth exploring if one could get into them. How difficult the pioneers must have had it crossing our country in covered wagons. More than once I heard someone say that they would have told their husbands, “Enough!” “Turn around now and take me back!” We pondered how difficult it would be to deal with cooking, walking hundreds of miles, attempting to stay clean, all the while trying not to kill your husband who drug you out to this desolate place with poor soil and endless wind. Pioneer women we are not! 70 miles per hour is more our speed, not 10 miles per day.

 

After a very yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant, we visited the world famous Corn Palace in Mitchell. What a shock to see in September! The last time I was here it was June and there were hundreds of other people here. Today it was nearly a ghost town! Very few people were out and about and several of the shopkeepers told us that this was their last week for the season. The Corn Palace was undergoing its autumn makeover. Each year a new theme is used. We saw one section that had been completely redone and another in progress. It appears that next year will have a musical theme as we saw musical notes and a mural showing Michael Jackson doing the moon walk next to a year-old mural with a Wild West theme. We decided that we like to travel in the off season and not fight the crowds in spite of a few less places to shop and much less inventory in the shops that are open.  Li’l Pot enjoyed one of the Corn Palace’s famous popcorn balls on the next leg of our journey crunching away as the miles pass under our wheels.  We see fields of sunflowers (which are rather brownish and not very yellow as it is so late in the season), sorghum, and more round bales of hay out our windows. We also see lots of coos or kine - although none of them are the hairy Scottish Highland Cows that I can tell.

 

Our next destination and where we will stay for six nights is Custer State Park.  When our group of Yellowstone vacation travelers stayed in Custer two years ago, we remarked that this place was so nice that we needed to come back and stay awhile and now are making it happen! A few stops are made during the next several travel hours and we all agree that SD has wonderful visitor centers and very nice rest areas. Stopping at them is always an adventure and worth exploring.  As we arrive in Custer State Park it is dark and we still have to find our campground amongst the 72,000 acres consisting mostly of trees and rocks with winding roads. As we follow the Wildlife Loop around the Park we do indeed see quite a lot of wildlife as the deer were plentiful tonight! We arrived too late to make a fire and cook so we decided to go into Custer for a late supper. Alas, we arrived too late to find any restaurants open and ended up driving back to our cabin empty-bellied so we eat pasta salad and a sandwich. But all is good and no one seemed to mind after the pleasurable day we had just experienced. After all, what does it matter? We are on vacation.

 As I write, Bean Gatherer is about asleep; Seeks Pie and Li’l Pot are playing with their phones and Black Kettle is writing her blog - as am I.

I am so lucky to be here tonight in South Dakota with these wonderful women! But now it is off to bed as morning will come early and Mount Rushmore is on the schedule.

Custer Vacation Day 1 - September 19, 2015

Saturday morning came quite early for me! At 2:30 am my eyes popped open after a full Friday evening of frenzied packing, rearranging, and organizing. It takes plenty of effort and stuff to move the five women of the Crazy Owl Tribe consisting of myself, my sister Sandy, my sister Gin, my niece and Sandy’s daughter Dawn, and my niece and Gin’s daughter Tiffany, across country for nine days! Because we are camping, we also have to take food and cooking utensils. Sandy, aka Black Kettle, was in charge of this portion of the vacation. She did all the meal planning and shopping. Black Kettle did a great job and even put together what is called the chuck wagon. It is a large, shelved locker box of the items needed for a small kitchen and cooking over a campfire.

Oddly enough, as I was waking up at 2:30 and IM’ing the rest of the tribe, Dawn, aka Li’l Pot, messaged back she was headed to bed for a few hours! But I still had to make a bank deposit, leave a detailed message on the phone at the flower shop, and write out instructions for Dan and Eric about the dog and cat, plus a myriad of other miscellaneous small tasks before I drove to the meeting point of departure. We were scheduled to depart at 6:15 am. Alas, we got started a little later than planned but Gin put the pedal to the metal and we made up a bit of time.

Ginny, aka Bean Gatherer was in charge of transportation and is driving us around in a white Chrysler rocket. As the HildeVan headed west, laughter and storytelling ensued. Several words and phrases seemed to keep popping up to make us giggle.  ChaChaCha, Gnash, Side-Eye, and Abandoned come to mind, all referring and connected to family jokes.  Let me tell you traveling with the younger generation of the family certainly is educational! I definitely learned things that I am unable to share with you here on this family-friendly blog! Thanks Tiff, aka Seeks Pie! Oh, and traveling with the younger generation also reminds me how often one needs to stop for any one of a million reasons! But we are on vacation time and whipping over for a pit stop for any reason is welcomed – even to simply take a photo of a storm cellar!

 A couple of extra unplanned stops brought us into Thurman, Iowa only about 15 minutes later than our anticipated time of noon. My carefully planned itinerary was once again, on track and I was relieved! You see, probably not surprising to those of you who know me, I was the planner of this trip west. I’m also known as Thunder Talker because I am not afraid to tell everyone what to do and where and when to do it, sometimes in a loud voice, and I organized the travel details for our weeklong vacation. I made the reservations, planned the itinerary, and arranged the stops for entertainment along the way. I had meetings with the girls, assigned homework for enlightenment about some of the sights we would see, and made them all watch Dances With Wolves to get in the right frame of mind for our vacation west. Happily, everyone agreed that the movie portion was not a great sacrifice with the extra bonus of seeing Kevin Costner’s naked bum!

Finally at the Sugar Clay Winery we experienced the highlight of the day which was meeting with some of our Thru The Stones/Outlander friends under bright blue skies and warm temperatures. Nineteen of us gathered from Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln, Decatur, and the Quad Cities for wine, a grilled hamburger and picnic lunch with good conversation. Flat Jamie joined us and we laughed and reminisced till it was time to visit the Moonstone Lavender gardens across the road from the winery. This lovely lavender farm is run by Sheryl Hess.  Sheryl is the lady at the TTS convention who taught the lavender class and had the lavender store.  Sheryl taught us about growing lavender and shared some yummy treats featuring, of course, lavender. Black Jack Randall would have loved them! This was a perfect place to take photos and talk some more with the lavender field blooming in the background. It was so nice to see old friends from my extended Outlander family plus meet some new ones! Thank you to each of you special ladies and one gent, who met with us to spend the afternoon. Our time together was short but sweet and I look forward to our next gathering. Hugs to you all!

Three more hours in the HildeVan rocketing down the highway brought us to Yankton, SD. A very nice KOA cabin was waiting for us and we moved in. Li’l Pot and Seeks Pie prepared a delicious supper of Reuben sandwiches while Black Kettle made hot German Potato Salad. Yum-Yum! Bean Gatherer started our campfire where we spent the evening laughing and anticipating the next day before retiring to bed at a decent hour. Rest was definitely going to be needed for the adventures we have planned for tomorrow! Can't wait!