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 8 - Sept. 4, 2011

Sid took us on a drive through the back roads just outside of Custer State Park, and I was amazed to see a moose in the distance! We have been so fortunate to see all kinds of wildlife and we never imagined we would see a moose! We stopped and stood quietly near the barbed wire fence for several minutes. The moose never moved. Then, Sid spied a mountain lion and a bear in the same field not too far from the moose. After watching all three stationary animals for a few minutes, we realized they were all fake! We aren't sure of the purpose of the three figures, but we had a good laugh when we realized that we had been fooled.
We have really enjoyed our stay at Blue Bell Lodge at the park. Sid has even said, "When we come back..." So, maybe we will be frequent visitors here.
We drove up to the fire tower at Mt. Coolidge to get a bird's-eye view of everything. This photo shows some of the peaks on Needles Highway, our next destination for the day. Other views show evidence of a massive fire in July 1988 that burned the hillsides of Custer State Park. The Galena Fire destroyed nearly 17,000 acres of the park, yet no buildings were burned, no one was hurt, and very few animals were killed. Just behind where I was standing, I could see the Badlands 60 miles away.
Deemed “impossible” to construct by its critics, the Needles Highway—a National Scenic Byway—was completed in 1922 and includes 14 miles of sharp turns, low tunnels, and impressive granite spires.This is a "very tight" passage that vehicles must maneuver!
We stopped to take a photo of the Cathedral Spires in the distance. It was fun to meet some other visitors from Tennessee on this stop. I thought our Southern accents gave us away, but they had seen us earlier at the State Game Lodge talking with artists-in-residence Ron Holyfield and Kay Williams, two gifted wildlife artists who call Tennessee home. Ron and Kay have spent the last 18 summers at Custer State Park. We had a delightful visit with these folks. I urge you to click on the link on their names to see samples of their impressive work.

After our trip on Needles Highway, we headed to Custer (the town) to eat lunch, visit shops and photograph the colorful buffalo positioned throughout this historic town.
This is a photo of French Creek near the Blue Bell Lodge taken from one of the backroads frequented by horseback riders. This place is so gorgeous!
We may not have horses, but that didn't stop us from riding around the chuck wagons in front of the lodge.

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.