Day 4 was glorious, warm, sunny with blue skies -- a perfect day for a motorcycle ride in the Black Hills of South Dakota! We jumped on the bike and made our way around the park to the Wildlife Loop, a scenic road that is sure to give you a view of some of the animals who call Custer State Park home. Upon entering the loop, we paid attention to the sign that warned, "Buffalo are dangerous. Do not approach." Enough said for us -- no plans for approaching buffalo today, Less than 10 minutes later, we were stopped on the road greeted by the following sight:
Yes, we were surrounded by buffalo, hundreds of them! I had watched several videos on YouTube showing buffalo attacking motorcycles at the State Park, in particular, mama buffalo would challenge motorcycles that presented a threat to their calves. I had told Sid about the videos. In response, Sid turned off the motorcycle engine to reduce the appearance of a threat for the buffalo. We sat in silence, offering up fervent prayers and hoping we wouldn't wet our pants! Folks, these photos do not really show you how huge these animals are, especially in relationship to the size of a motorcycle. I was shaking so much that I'm surprised I managed to get a few clear photos of the herd. It was an unforgettable experience!
Imagine our horror when a precious little calf stood stock still in front of the bike...
...then Mama showed up to protect her young from us!
Needless to say we were relieved when we made it safely through the herd and were on our way about 45 minutes later. In fact, we were hardly fazed by the small herd (about 35 head) of wild burros we met just around the bend.
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