As iconic to South Dakota as Mount Rushmore are these bison in Custer State Park. The rains that day cleaned them up nicely. Ordinarily, they are dusty, even muddy from wallowing in, erm, “buffalo wallows“. They clean up nicely!
We saw several individuals and small herds of bison throughout the park, with this one being the largest (and fortunately) closest to the road. There are signs reminding visitors not to get out of the car or get closer to the bison to photograph them as they are wild animals and dangerous.
Spot the wild turkeys in this photo if you can.
Still difficult to see, there are two hens in the first two “circles”, starting on the left; possibly two hens, definitely one in the “circle” right of the tree; and a big tom in the far right “circle”! Trust me! We had the benefit of seeing movement to help us spot these rascals.
Count again, and you see even more turkeys. There are at least ten in this photo.
White-tailed deer are another beautiful creature found in the park!
Adventurers need to eat, so we stopped at a bar and grill somewhere – Keystone maybe – and had a delicious club sandwich with root beer. Marianne wanted a nice hot coffee, but this was a bar afterall! The air conditioning was set at a very cold level and that coffee would have been very welcome.
I showed Marianne the photo I took of her while we waited for the sandwiches, which came with excellent french fries that we didn’t expect. She thought she looked terrible in her photo, so I took a terrible photo of myself to even things up. Ha!
It was getting late, so we set course for Custer to see the last major sight of the day, a stone sculpture that as planned will stand as tall as a forty storey/story building…
…the Crazy Horse Memorial, as seen from the viewing room at the back of the visitor center. We didn’t have time to take the bus up to the top of the mountain, but that will be on my bucket list for future day trips!
Here’s a better view. It has reached this stage since initiation of carving in 1948, and completion surely will never be in our lifetimes. The face of this famous Lakota leader and some detail on his arm and pointing finger are completed, with the head of his horse scheduled for the next work. You can see a painted horse head slightly obscured by a pine framed by the two people on the right.
Here’s a further enlarged view of the sculpture. For scale, notice the construction equipment on the flat surface (the arm). It is staggering. You can see the horse head more clearly, too.
Then we drove to Hot Springs, where I made wrong turn, tried to turn around, and smashed my car into a decorative boulder on the edge of a parking lot. After many trying minutes (the accident happened after everything was closed down), we managed to arrange to have my VW Golf Sportwagen towed to Rapid City to the VW dealer I bought it from, and to take a $200 taxi ride back to Alliance. (I told you this day was an adventure!)
But that’s another story, one that’s still unfolding. I wiped out the radiator and the front spoiler. So much for taking Marianne to Panhandle historic and paleontological sights! Gee! We didn’t even get up to Carhenge, which is a short drive from where I live.
Beautiful pic and great adventure.
Thanks! We had a good day, even with the car accident at the end.
Wonderful wildlife pics, thanks for sharing, staying in touch! Following…
Thanks! It was a pleasant drive through the Black Hills that day!
Great adventure! I would love to see the turkeys 🙂
You can see lots of them along roads and in trees in this part of the country. Farmers who grow corn and other seed crops often have them around their places since some seed gets spilled on the ground. Of course, many simply feed them in their yards!
I have seen them in the wild once. It was very exciting 🙂
Yes, I agree! They are fairly common in the Western South Dakota and Western Nebraska hills
They looked very cool. I could not help thinking about Thanksgiving 🙂
They definitely are a fun animal to see in the wild since they are very wary.
A day so exciting and interesting that ends by an accident. I am really sorry Doug. I imagine you should be upset.
In friendship
Michel
Thanks, Michel. Yes, it was a very upsetting moment, but things are slowly sorting themselves out.
These are impressive photos, Doug! What a great trip with Marianne! I’m glad you got to see all this, even with the adventures with your car at the end of it. I am sorry that happened to you. 🙁
Rick and I were at the Badlands, South Dakota some years ago. That where we lost our tent in a tornado, but that is along story! 🙂
It was a great week except for the accident and Marianne enjoyed it, too.
Wow that chief is a big sculpture! What a great adventure. Mom says she hasn’t visited North Dakota yet, but Grandma & Auntie have. Mom has been to Yellowstone several times & always loves to see the buffalo. Say, if you take one of those turkeys home will you send me a little tasty bit?! Tee hee hee!
The problem with wild turkeys is they are very stealthy, and I am not…! You’ll have to settle for a Butterball turkey. Rats!
I hope you’ll find another insurance company like you said. No claim for years says a lot about the driver. Sorry your day was cut short.
I’ll get it taken care of one way or other.
Love seeing the bison. Bummer about the car.
Yes, me, too! And the car business wears me out.
It is unbelievable that some people exit their autos for a closer look/photograph, and end up regretting it.
Absolutely. It’s dangerous inside the car if they charge.
Oh man! What a great adventure.
Yes, and very expensive….
What a day! Very intersting place, great photos. Sorry to hear of your car.
Thanks! Yes, it was a lot of fun up to the part with the car.
I am so sorry about your car, Doug. I hope you either get it fixed or get a new one soon.
The “soon” part is what I am looking for, but there’s one more estimate to get before anything can be completed.
It always takes time, unfortunately.
Yep! I’m working through it slowly.
I never saw a bison for real… and oooh the root beer there is nothing better to finish a wunderful day with root beer :o)
Yes, the root beer (to my surprise) was Marianne’s suggestion for what to have with the sandwich. Bison are huge and powerful, yet quite handsome animals!
Thalooks like a fun trip. I have not been out there since I was a very young child.
It was, and the rain, fog, and mist made everything look and smell fresh. The bison usually look dirty since they roll in the wallows to deal with external parasites, but they were quite pretty this trip!
I hope to make the the trip out there someday soon.
Let me know if you make the plans and we might be able to get together.
That sounds good but it won’t be for several years.
I hope I’m around!
Great photos…..
Thanks! It was quite a day for us, and I’m glad we got as many good photos as we did considering the weather.
Oh man, what an adventure. Hope you can get your car fixed soon. Groetjes van ons.
It’s looking like more than $6000 to repair. It’s a 2016 model, so I don’t think the insurance company would total it, but you never know. I’ll pass the greetings on to Marianne!
Oh no, hope your deductible is low and your insurance won’t increase. Best, A.
It’s $1000, a number I felt (and can) manage from two accounts I keep separate from the one I use to pay ordinary expenses (food, rent, etc.) for just this sort of expense. I haven’t had a claim in decades. If they increase it, they may find I am a former customer.
Good luck with it. The deductible on my insurance decreases by $100 every year you don’t have a claim. It’s Allstate.
I’m with AAA, and I don’t see any benefit. This accident may be the thing that pushes me away.
Shop online to see which company in your state gives you a good deal. No fun at all 🙁 Hope you get the car fixed soon.
Me, too, but the process is tediously slow.