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.