Day 10 - Sept. 6, 2011 (Evening)

We decided to stay at Custer State Park an extra day because I wanted to be available in case I won the drawing for a motorcycle at Crazy Horse National Memorial. In addition, they were having a special night event that salutes memorial sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who was born 103 years ago on Sept. 6, 1908, and honors Lakota leader Crazy Horse, who was stabbed by a soldier on Sept. 5, 1877, and died Sept. 6 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
I knew things were going my way when we spotted these two on our way through the park. However, it bothered me a bit that the buffalo seemed to be sticking his tongue out at us. The mule deer, on the other hand, was quite pleasant.
Here are a couple of photos of the 2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster motorcycle that I was so certain I would win. Isn't she a beauty? I was really disappointed to learn that a gentleman from Washington state won the bike.
Here's a shot of the tailgate party being held in the parking lot with the memorial lit in the background. What fun we had!
George and Susan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were near us and shared their beer and sausage with us. Coincidentally, Kurt (beard) is from Wauwautosa, WI, and his friend, Sean, is from Milwaukeea, Wisconsin. We had a great time talking with these friendly folks from Wisconsin and introducing them to George and Susan from the same neck of the woods.
I shot a short video of the night blast. See below. (I hope it works, I've never posted a video!)

Wow, the memorial looks great after the festivities. It was a moving and memorable ceremony with a fun tailgate party, too. We were so glad we stayed the extra day to do this.Here is Sid in the bed of the truck after the festivities playing his banjo. He was chatting with Daniel, an employee of the memorial, who shared lots of insider information about the night blast.

Day 9 - Sept. 5, 2011 Part 2

Do you remember Norman, the buffalo who frequents the Blue Bell Lodge where we've been staying? I promised you I would post additional photos of Norman's "scratch fest" with the fire hydrant. Well, here it is beginning with a good scratch on the head that lasted for about 10 minutes. Even from a distance, I could tell that Norman was one happy buffalo!

Next, he moved to his right shoulder and leg for several minutes of satisfying scratching.

Finally, Norman moved to a thorough scratch on his right side. I believe I could hear him purring in buffalo bliss as he meandered through the cabins and out of sight.

Day 6 - September 2, 2011 (Part 1)

Look who joined us at our cabin for breakfast! Yes, that's our chair and fire pit. I was in the shower with shampoo in my eyes when Sid raced in to the bathroom INSISTING I get out of the shower RIGHT NOW!!! In response to my exclamation, "I'm naked and I have soap in my eyes!" Sid said, "Put on a towel and get outside NOW!"

I was certain there was a gas leak or a snake in the cabin, so I grabbed the towel and ran out to the front porch of the cabin. Imagine my surprise to find a herd of buffalo surrounding our cabin and the other cabins nearby...of course, all the other cabin inhabitants were standing silently on their porches (fully-clothed) with CAMERAS!


Sid looks calm, but he wasn't. We were all mesmerized watching the buffalo graze all around us, our truck, our bike, our trailer...you get the picture. There were only the sounds of munching and grunting as the herd grazed and moved slowly around finally settling in for a rest period that lasted several hours.


This cute calf was enthralled with us, staring fixedly at us on the porch...maybe my brightly-colored blue and green beach towel caught his attention...hmmm. Naturally, we looked around for mama buffalo in case she felt we were threatening to her baby. I took about a hundred photos, but I won't post them all...don't worry.


I could practically touch this one! Later, we talked with the staff at the Blue Bell Lodge where we had a late breakfast. The manager told me this had NEVER happened before. The herd always stays south of the lodge and does not pass through the cabin area EVER! She said the entire kitchen staff vacated the restaurant to go outside and look at the herd milling about around the cabins. What fun that we were there for this unlikely event!

I will post Part 2 later. We went to Devil's Tower and I took some really good photos of that spectacular and sacred site. Sid is waiting at the bike for me to get on so we can explore two nearby national parks...more to come...

Day 4 - August 31, 2011 (Part 1)

After a delicious meal of buffalo ribeye in the lodge for our first evening at Custer State Park (Day 3), Sid built a fire in the cabin's fire pit and we began making plans for Day 4: breakfast in the cabin, scenic drive on Iron Mountain Road to Mount Rushmore just in time for lunch followed by sight seeing at the monument. It's a plan!

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.