A Few More Buffalo and a Turkey

The turkey however is not who or what you think. Roy is a turkey yes, but he is not a wild one. On one of our last days in South Dakota we decided to do the wildlife loop one more time. Roy and I were talking about how we had not seen any turkeys this year. Someone had to be listening because just about then on the side of the road we saw turkeys. We were able to follow their journey in the brush for a couple of hundred yards.

We had to go off the beaten path to find where the buffalo were hiding. Unlike, the time we thought the day was going to be a bust and discovered them right around a curve where we had never seen them before.

Early evening right before sunset the light is definitely golden and magical. If you add a little dust in the air you can capture (in my opinion some iconic buffalo pictures).

I also loved the fact that the crowds of the summer were gone by late August early September. I think the animals were also happy for that. I love how the buffalo will use anything they have to itch that scratch. He must of spent a good ten minutes just standing around and loving all over this tree stump.

I am in awe especially after spending all summer around these massive animals and the herd.

Seeing the interaction between mom and calf and how it changed over the summer. The powerful image of a male standing firm and tall. I felt blessed and lucky to be able to take photographs this particular night because it seemed like everything came together. The rain had finally stopped so when a buffalo would lay in a ‘mud’ hole you wondered where Pigpen was from Charlie Brown.

I could have spent all evening hanging with the buffalo but that was not to be. We saw some clouds building on the horizon which meant only one thing. There was going to be an awesome sunset. This summer we did not have many colorful sunsets. I am glad that we experienced this one.

I wasn’t done taking photos yet. I was going to try and recreate a cell phone photo that Amanda one of the workers at the campground captured. The backstory: She is a camper and every weekend she would pitch a tent. Then one weekend she was walking towards her tent that was lit up just enough to show a silhouette of her dog Zeus. She snapped the picture with her cellphone. I loved it and thought maybe I could repeat it for her using my camera. We tried to repeat it but the magic was gone. This was one of the nights that the moon looked full so, we decided to try a silhouette of her and her dog with the moon in the picture. I had fun setting the scene and snapping the pictures. It was the perfect end to a day of magical photographs.

The Custer State Park Welcoming Committee.

That’s what these buffalo were for us one morning towards the end of the summer we were heading around the loop. Roy has been pretty good at finding the buffalo because they move about 2 to 3 miles a day. The fun thing was trying to figure out where they would show up. It was kind of a surprise when we pulled around the corner to see this.

There was a small group hanging around the self-pay entry station to the park. (I’m glad we had our pass park.) The buffalo were just hanging around the start or end of Wildlife loop depending what direction you are going. This was really fun just watching them scratch and hanging across the road. In this area is also where the volunteers that work in the State Park stay with their RVs.

They also wanted to make sure we knew buffalo are dangerous do not approach as they stood under the sign.

Just a side note I ran across this article 15 Fun Facts about Our National Mammal

After our welcoming committee it was off to find the burros and maybe my stalker again I had more carrots. Yes, I saw my stalker and I did feed him. All was forgiven and he promised me no more kisses. I do have to say the baby is getting big and has started to let people touch her. Although I do think she is still a tad nervous you can see it in her eyes. Here are a few more pictures of baby and mommy. It is nice that she is still nursing.

We also got to see a mutual petting/cleaning session going o between two of the burros. Roy even moved the car to get a better video. I tried to get a shot of the two but could not get an angle until I moved and caught one of them being a butt licker. It also seemed like Roy needed cleaning because his headlight got some action.

It was still early in the day so we decided to take the dirt road that runs between Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park. It was here where we had seen quite a few prairie dogs in the past and the bunny who would not move. They seem to have spread out this year. Although we were able to catch a few enjoying peanuts.

We also saw a bluebird and he let me capture his best side. After lunch we ran into the burros again. This time we let them be.

Not to be forgotten I did get my butt shot of the big horn sheep.

They Hang Horse Thieves.

Lucky for me I just got to ride it for two hours. Actually, this summer I rode a horse three different times. My first trip was an hour long and, in my opinion, it was too short. So, what did I do I booked the two hour trip. The rides were amazing. I see know why they say horse therapy is good for MS. I think I will look into that when I get home.

I will say I felt like someone had beat me up the next day. I will have to learn moderation. The funny thing is Roy never took any pictures of me until the last one. I am proud of him he learned how to use my phone for a camera.

I was challenged by the river crossings I did a total 14 crossings. I was an old pro by the end. It was so peaceful and calming just because there was no car traffic or man-made noise. On the ride we caught sight of a deer and lots of wildflowers.

I did not take any pictures on the trail because I would have dropped my phone.

This was at the Blue Bell stables in Custer State Park.

It happened I got Kissed!

Yes, I did. It wasn’t a buffalo or a pronghorn, it wasn’t even Roy. You ask who or what was it then. My resident burro stalker. The only Jack in the herd had to have a crush on me. I am not sure that burros can recognize cars or people my bet they do. He was the first burro I fed, and I only did it to get close to the baby he was protecting. Every time that we fed them there, he was on my side of the car. I would get out of the car and there he was. I will come back to my kiss later on.

Our day started early we were on a mission to find where the whole herd of buffalo were hiding and to find and feed the burros again. We also had a chance to have a scout for a small group of pronghorns and then the small group crossed in front of us.

So, about the buffalo I have to say it was one of those times when it seemed most of the herd was in one place. Everywhere you looked you could see buffalo. I caught them rolling around, coming towards us on the road crossing in front of us. After we turned around to head out of the herd, we have a car speed by us and park in amongst the herd. As you can see from the video I think they are a special breed of stupid. When we drove past the car we did see that the crew were from the park. I guess they have to get in among the herd to get those epic shots people enjoy. Speaking of shots here are a few of the ones I took that day.

After the herd we took a short cut to see if the burros were where they usually hang out. This was where we were lucky enough to watch the pronghorn scout turn into crossing guard.

After we got back underway again, we found the burros. The baby is learning the art of begging early as you can see. Here are a few photos of Roy feeding them. The last picture he ran out of carrots.

So, about my stalker. I was out of carrots and wanted to take some pictures because other people had stopped to feed them and that act always make for good photos. I get out of the car and he starts to follow me. I decide to ignore him, as you can see from the video, he did not like that.

After a full morning of animal fun, we decided to grab a bite to eat then head home. Looking at each other we said the only thing missing from the animal sightings were the big horn sheep. Ask and look what appeared around the corner. Our day was complete.

stupid

No Luck with the Night BUT

the animals shined this year. I will be summing up my nighttime adventures soon. I will say that it was nothing like Joshua Tree. After striking out in the Badlands we lucked into seeing deer in the daylight as we headed out in search of the burros. I was only able to get their little white tails though. The deer do move fast especially when someone has to change camera settings. (Yes, I had to do this.)

We did not find any burros that day which was good because we would not have been able to feed them, we had no carrots. As you know if you ain’t got the carrots they ain’t got the time. We did have to do some errands and stuff so we grabbed lunch and then headed around Wildlife loop. We thought maybe today might be a bust until we came upon the most reliable animal in the park the buffalo. This year it has been funny they have been turning up in so many places you would not expect. It’s good because it keeps me on the look out. We saw them just hanging out near the road and hurrying across it when they did cross. So, there was not an endless buffalo jam. I think they were on a mission.

We ended the day with a look at a few of the young pronghorns that hangout near the start to Wildlife loop. We saw one set of the twins.

So what do you do….

when Sturgis is in town and you are not a biker? Roy and I decided to get up early and explore the park some more. We went out one morning after a day and night of rain which left water in the rivers and streams. The reason I bring up the water and rain is not to whine about it. The rain was able to provide water so these Turkey Vultures could bathe and dry their wings. The funny thing is we have not seen them in that spot since. I do say photography is 80% timing. There were at least 20 turkey vultures siting in the trees. I was able to take my time and enjoy, observe and yes, photograph these birds. I don’t think I realized until that morning how large of a wingspan they have. Here is more details on the turkey vultures.

That same morning we also had the opportunity to feed the burros. (This was the first 5lb bag of carrots). I am getting better with the burros being as close as they are. I know they are just looking to be fed. The best part about the burros is how much Roy enjoys feeding them and getting close to them. Leave it to him to find out how soft their lips are and how flat their teeth are. (Yes, he did touch both.)

The first thing we encountered were some pronghorns. I’ve said this before. This year we have seen quite a few more than the last time we were here. I know there are at least two sets of twins.

Right before we stumbled upon the turkey vultures we drove up right next to a buffalo who was close enough to pet. (I did not) The rest of the herd was down the hill.

We were just driving the loop and came across this berry branch encased in spiderweb

That evening we were treated to deer crossing the road right in front of the car.

Yes, there are bears

in South Dakota. I found some at Bear Country USA, I also found a bobcat, elk and reindeer. This and a trip around wildlife loop was what we decided to do the first day of the Sturgis Bike Rally. (Unfortunately, the rally was quite rainy this year.) The weather started off great in the morning but by the early afternoon, we had strong winds and heavy rain. You can imagine me riding around in my chair going please don’t start, please don’t start raining while I’m exploring. the area that you can get up close to the smaller animals. But I am getting ahead of myself.

We started out encountering the burros, but they were only in the rearview mirror. I think we had also run out of carrots, so it is ok that we only saw them out the mirror. We were more on the hunt for the buffalo. We found them off one of the gravel roads far enough away from the roar of the motorcycles.

So, up the gravel road we head and see buffalo spread out all over the place. Once you come around a curve the whole expanse of green opens up and when it is filled with buffalo the feeling for me is peaceful and awe inspiring. I did enjoy the interaction of some of the bulls as they are getting ready to rut and claim a cow for their own. We even had some of the younger bulls play fighting check out the video. Here is also a photo of the start of a stand off.

I find such enjoyment in just watching these animals here are a few more photos. The first photo is of a cow bellowing at first, I thought it was a bull. I then realized that she was wanting her calf to come home. This is what you see in the second photo. My thought was Lassie come home. The third photo is a tombstone memorial for a baby who died in 1902. The bottom row shows a calf and a cow just hanging near the side of the road.

Now onto those bears. We’ve been to Bear Country before and enjoyed it. This time on top of driving through and seeing the animals from the car I had my chair, and I could get out and see some of the babies and smaller animals. The drive started out with the Rocky Mountain elk there were a couple of nice racks.

Reindeer are up next on the drive around the park we were lucky to catch them finishing up a daily bath. Roy has perfect timing as always. Just click the picture to play the video. We followed them until they decided to get off the road.

Around a few more bends we come upon the big horn sheep. It was a little warm for these animals today so they did not seem to be that active which is ok. We continued on through the park and drove right by two mountain goats, lounging on the cool rocks.

We made our way around to the bears. I have to say I am glad it did rain for them later in the afternoon because with all that fur they looked extremely hot. Here is one trying to get toe jam out of his fur and doing it in some cool water.

After the bears I got my chair out and headed for the small animals and the cubs. All of the bears at Bear Country were born there. The cubs are taken from the mothers after about 8 weeks and are then bottle fed by staff for another 6 to 8 weeks. I saw a badger, bobcat, raccoon and then fell in love with this little black bear cub.

I spent about ten minutes watching and taking pictures of him and the tree he was up in. Check out the video of him climbing down.

These are some of the antics of the cubs who seem to be enjoying life.

I went back to the bears and saw the little black bear in the water and this is my favorite photo from that day.

I had to hurry back to the car because it looked like the clouds were going to open up and let out a bunch of water. At least my timing was perfect I got everything put back into the car right before the bad weather happened. This year I will have to state beyond any doubt this has been the strangest year for weather.

The Whole Herd or

most of it. A couple of weeks ago we had to head into Hot Springs SD to the VA to pick up another one of my prescriptions. This is a story in itself. Needless to say the confusion created by a simple automated text from the VA gave me an opportunity to see the whole herd of Custer State Park Buffalo.

It is the season that the rut is starting so they are starting to gather and some of the bulls that have been on the perimeter of the herd are starting to make their voices heard literally. We came round a curve and saw a bunch of buffalo grazing in the field wallowing in a couple of mud holes and drinking from the river. Everywhere you looked you saw them. We were stopped here for about twenty minutes at least the pharmacy was open until 4pm so there was definitely no rush.

One of the things I noticed was how the babies with their red coats are growing and getting small nubs for horns and the loss of the red coat. The little ones are getting bigger.

We left the buffalo as they were headed on a dirt road (4-Mile Draw Rd) back into the park. It turned out to be an all-day affair for them. I say this because we were lucky enough to catch the tail end of the herd finishing up their journey into the park. 4-Mile Draw Rd is a road that connects HWY 87 with the park.

We have driven this road a few times mainly looking for Prairie Dogs. We knew that they were headed down that road in the morning, so we decided to take 4-Mile Rd on the way home. I’m glad we did because we encountered one of the big daddies bringing up the rear. So, we get to the junction of 4-Mile Draw Rd and Wildlife loop and are greeted by a buffalo traffic jam. Another amazing sight to see. The funny thing to this is that they kept coming and coming and still coming.

I am thinking there were more here than what we saw in the morning. That tells me that we missed seeing some of the herd in the morning.

I do have to sit back and wonder if I am awestruck by this number of buffalo, I can’t imagine what it would have been like for the settlers.

Here is a slide show of more of the buffalo from that day.

It’s a Bouncy Baby….

Burro. We were able to get a peek at it when it was less than a week old. Here is the link to the birth announcement. I was amazed at how nimble this little guy was on his feet. Yes, it is a boy. Side note here: As a male burro he will eventually be sold as there can be only one ‘Jack’ in the herd.

This was another morning we decided to hit wildlife loop earlier in the day then normal. I am thinking it was just the start of the small heatwave we had. I also remembered the carrots, (so much easier than apples). I think at least for me giving the burros carrots is easier because I can keep my fingers farther away from their mouths. When feeding them apples the burros get too close to me. I was growing a little concerned because we had gone past the normal places the burros visit and they were not there.

I look up and I see the small herd headed towards us. As you can see from the video the burros seem to like Roy’s side of the car instead of mine. I was ok with that as I only had one burro to deal with and feed. Roy ended up with three burros vying for his attention and carrots.

Check out the video it actually looks like he was going to come over to my side of the car and then changed his mind. I would say he made the right decision. I have to say even though I get nervous when they want to stick their whole head in the car. These burros are harmless and doing what begging burros do. Beg for food and stick their faces in cars. Roy also got an extra look from the daddy of the baby burro. I think he gave Roy the look of approval. (or he was upset that he was out of carrots.)

After the feeding frenzy Roy pulled up to the turn – off and they were waiting for us and everyone else that was there to feed them. I was able to get close enough to the baby to take some pictures. I even had a guy directing traffic to keep people out of my pictures.

Roy is an awesome judge of where things are headed and usually stays one step ahead of the animals so on to the next turn – out. I was able to use my zoom lens to capture some cool action even maybe the next generation that was until the mare decided to make it clear she had a headache. I even got a car to photo bomb the headshot of mom.

Sitting in the car watching the last beggars get fed

The herd decided that enough was enough they were all fat and happy they started heading down the road. Yes, we followed right behind them.

Earlier in the day we did see a few buffalo and a mom pronghorn and babies. So, it would not have been a total disappointment had we not seen the baby burro.

Later that evening we took another drive around the loop this time looking for night shooting spots. Well, it got dark so we were treated to what buffalo look like on the road at night.

It wasn’t scary at all in fact driving through the middle of them at night was actually fun.