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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, it happened again. No kisses or attempted kisses, she just wanted to let me know she would like an apple. The begging burros were at it again. This is the first time that one has actually stuck their head inside the car. I froze but I will say I’ve come a long way. You can judge for yourself by these two photos. The first photo was from our trip in 2013. I was terrified and Roy I think bribed me with maybe ice cream or something later. That’s my story at least. The second photo is this year when one of the burros probably, the same white burro or a relative of the white burro who terrorized me previously stuck his head in. If you look closely in my right hand you will see a piece of apple. I did feed him, and I wasn’t as scared as I was in 2013.
hurry up already
bowling for burros
I have never understood some of the irrational fears that I have. Birds, trains, animals that can’t eat me but are friendly. I am getting better with all of these. (I however will not get over my fear of helicopters.) I’ve gone from bowling for burros as a way to feed them (see photo) to gingerly handing the piece of apple to them and quickly pulling the hand back.
The funny thing is Roy enjoys and gets a kick out of the burros. This is a picture of him from 2013. If you notice I am safely in the car. It is enjoyable seeing him twinkle and smile as he is exploring the animals up close. I on the other hand will sit back and continue to take photos of them.
This year Roy commented about how soft the lips and mouth was on the burro. He also said that they don’t bite they are just interested in the food you have. (Apples are what we feed them). I still am not buying that. Maybe one day I might get a tad braver. I think both Roy and the burro enjoyed the encounter.
the burro wasn’t finished
I do like to sit and watch just how other people interact with the burros. The video on the right has a person with an empty bag being followed by a burro. The burro was not buying that the bag was empty even though the person showed him.
These burros are friendly and fun. Who knows maybe by the end of the summer I will look like Roy when I feed them.
They sure were and we were the end float in the parade. It was funny we try and do the wildlife loop in Custer State Park at least a couple times a week. I like being one directional when we do the loop in the same direction every time. Once in a while Roy will change directions. I am so glad he does, I also think he has a direct line to the head buffalo. This day we happened to be first in line behind the herd. Most of the action was in front of the car and was captured on the dash cam. (best $100 buy ever).
Don’t Argue
The first complete stop occurred when this little calf decided to come hang out in front of the car. Roy started to inch up to get it on its way. Mom was having nothing of the sorts as it was nursing time. I look over and this cow is snorting and huffing to get to her calf.
I do think the calf on the left was wondering if he could partake in a lunch break also.
drink up
It is amazing how a group that large moves with a single purpose and nothing else matters. I did try to get a few pictures of the action happening on the side of the road but it was more like where’s Waldo.
My efforts then turn to watching the road where we were treated to some more bonding of cow and calf. This video is titled ‘Enter stage right’
grand entrance
This little one was just brutal he was not giving up for anything.
mine
It was funny watching the head butts and the determination.
Heading down the road a little further we start getting crowded by the big guys. I am posting the video I took and then the dash cam and you can see why I was quite jerky. The buffalo was a tad close. I was thinking that might leave a mark.
close enough
With the action being active on the road I decided to add to my mirror pictures from a mirrorless camera, here are two of those.
After about a half hour we decided to move on down the road. As it seems the timing was perfect. We passed a mower that clips the weeds on the shoulder of the road going towards the buffalo.
No, I was not quiet for that long. What happened was we saw prairie dogs, burros, bison and big horn ship in that amount of time. I captured it all on dash-cam with a few photos to boot. It was one of those beautiful afternoons we went for a drive around wildlife loop, and I of course forgot the apples for the burros. This is only an 18-mile drive but each time we take it you see something different.
On wildlife loop we first came upon prairie dogs with 3 bison mixed in. The bison were some of the good old boys who just as happy to lay around alone. This area of the loop is covered with 100s of prairie dog burrows. This is where I entertained myself for hours last time we were here, I plan on doing that again. These guys are so dang cute. Check it out!
he just watching the dogs play
While we were hanging watching the prairie dogs I took another shot out the side mirror. She was taking pictures of the dogs, and I caught her looking at them on her cell phone
We had not seen any burros the whole trip, so I lost hope. The herd has had some difficulty in recent years, low birth rates and a malfunctioning jack. Hopefully that will change this year they added another jack and two jennies to the herd. This is what a ranger told me. Here is what Wikipedia says about Custer State Park
found them
The animal that everyone wants to see on the loop is of course the buffalo. That was clearly the case with this little girl. I never saw her face, but you could just tell from the way she stretched out the back window of her car.
Side note it is so cool to see people standing up and out of their sunroofs to catch sight of the animals. I will not do this because I can picture me getting stuck, and Roy laughing his butt off. Back to the story
they are big I tell you.
The herd of buffalo were everywhere even taking over the road. I think one of them was willing to play chicken with Roy or at least that is what it looks like here. Or he was pulling a Clint Eastwood on us saying ‘Go ahead make my day”.
After we got passed the traffic jam Roy did a u-turn which was cool. I can never get enough buffalo. If he hadn’t I would have missed this picture. I also would have missed the big horn sheep we saw.
As for the big horn sheep we also had not seen any yet. There is a spot in the road where they lick the salt from the winter that is left down the middle of the road. Sometimes like today they get stubborn and nothing you do will get them to move. I was however surprised at the amount and small size of the babies in the group. Here are two videos just to show you what we saw. In the first video there was some head butting going on. The second video does show they will move for motorcycles.
The treat was to see so many animals in such a short amount of time. I leave you with this photo of two babies and their mom. The looks are priceless.
After a drive down to Hot Springs SD for some things I had to do at the VA. We decided to kick back and relax sorta the trailer had to get cleaned and so did I. I spent the remainder of the day visiting with 2 parrots and watching Roy help a complete newbie figure out what was wrong with their trailer. Sometimes the fix is the simplest thing, a blown circuit breaker. Once that was fixed her thing worked.
I’ve been to a few VA hospitals and clinics but nothing compares to the VA facility in Hot Springs SD. It was built in 1907 and most of those buildings are still in use. It is on a bluff overlooking Hot Springs. It was originally a Sanitarium and used the medicinal waters of the hot springs to treat anything from lung problems to skin issues. Battle Mountain Sanitarium as it was called only cost $150,000 for construction and another $20,000 for equipment. Pricey for that day and age. Today It serves Veterans with mental health, kidney dialysis, TBIs, and an urgent care. As for how I was treated everyone was attentive and very helpful, which was refreshing. I plan on going back down to this VA and will take pictures of the grounds to share. I did get one picture of the grounds. There was this lone white lily.
After getting one prescription and trying to figure out how to get another prescription filled, we decided to do lunch. I have not stopped at a DQ for lunch in a long time, today was the day.
just hanging out
On the ride home we stopped by a known hang out for prairie dogs and of course my camera was out and snapping photos. He was just sitting there like a potato. It summed up how I felt after a long day of waiting around. I did see some prairie dog porn but didn’t photograph it. I have to say they are interesting to watch but the holes are everywhere busy colony for sure. This colony is on the way to Wind Cave National Park. I can and probably will sit for hours watching these little ones play and run around this trip.
Just a few of them
from the side mirror
We try and drive wildlife loop at every opportunity this trip around seemed like it was going to be a bust. (plus I forgot the apples for the burros). We get to one of the visitor’s centers and haven’t seen ANY buffalo which is rare. So, after taking a short cut and still seeing no buffalo I almost give up hope. We turn a corner, and it seemed like the whole herd was there. Interesting that they were this far away from the usual stomping grounds. We stayed here moving a few feet every time, some because of my picture taking but mostly because the buffalo own the road. You don’t go until they say you go.
We also decided to take some interactive pictures of a few of the brave prairie dogs next to the buffalo.
It felt good to sit back and relax today. Next, we check out some water falls on our drive of Spearfish Canyon.
You go to them. That is what we did. It all started with lunch and my good friend Lisa, (she does amazing wildlife photography trips to Alaska) plus a question about bears. I went with Lisa in 2018 (when I was more mobile) to Lake Clark National Park Chinitna Bay. Roy and I both knew that was a no-go this trip. So, what to do? Airplane to boat, to bear viewing from boat, back to airplane. My first thought was how is this going to work, I’m in a boat they are on shore (not much chance for action) I was thinking. Well, I am so glad I was wrong. I am getting ahead of myself.
This is exactly what we did with Alaska West Air. The staff there were able to help get us on the plane and then off the plane into the boat.
looking out the window
Our fearless pilot
My only experience flying in Alaska had been in very tiny planes so you can imagine my surprise when I saw a nine-seater. Ok it wasn’t super spacious I did however have a window and some breathing room. I don’t like to fly this is one time Roy told me all I had to do was breathe and look out the window and that is what I did.
Now that we are on semi dry land, (ok a wooden dock with some steps) it was time to get in. It was cool they brought the boat to us as the others who were also getting in boats had to walk the plank. This is not only a bear viewing area it is also a great salmon fishing area.
on the right side of the boat
Wolverine Creek/Redoubt Bay is on Big River Lakes, here is a description of the area we were at. We head directly to the base of Wolverine Creek and experienced a small version of combat fishing. I mean there had to be at least ten skiffs in this small area most were fishing. I caught some of their lines in my pictures which was a little annoying, but I was seeing bear. That made it OK.
almost
Our trusty guide
It took a few minutes to navigate around the boats, but our guide Evan had us tucked into a nice cozy spot. Here, we could see the water and the shore. The first bear was trying and trying to grab a fish but to no avail, lots of splashing and coming up empty. He was trying to compete with the salmon fishers (they were winning)
He then decides to come over to our side of the creek. Which was a win for both of us he got some good fish, and I got some good photos. He did also have some fun blowing bubbles.
fish heads
yum
Maybe this was done to clear the palate, between morsels
bubbles
what’s under that
There was another bear who stayed on shore and was intent on turning over every rock on the beach. He did get in the water once but there were no fireworks, the bear that was in the water was way too involved in his food.
mom
my beach
The fireworks occurred when mama bear number one came on the scene. How to clear out a beach. She made short work of the land lover as all it took was a growl from behind the bushes and he was gone. The waterlogged bear took a few more antics to get him to go. This sow had 3 cubs that were just adorable in how they hung around mom.
Common Merganser
I also saw a Common Merganser with some of her ducklings. I was hoping that they would catch a ride. They usually get a quick taxi ride on mom’s back. I did get to see that later though, so it wasn’t to disappoint.
The boat decided to head to a different part of the lake to see the actual place where the salmon spawn. I was like ok let’s go. I am glad we left because the journey over to the spawning grounds was very cold and foggy the reason for this is crossing the glacier melt it is cold coming right off the glacier. It was windy, damp, foggy, and spooky.
All you can’t see
Once across to the fresh water the temperature warmed and so did the water. Side note here I did taste the glacier run off and it was like eating a pile of rock salt. The fresh water I did not taste as I did not want to reach in and touch some salmon. There were thousands of them here it was like watching the whole lake move. A picture could not capture the intensity of the end of one life cycle and the start of another.
mixing
Stopping at a waterfall was a chance to see freshwater mix with the glacier slit and watch clear blue water turn to a brackish grey.
bear
We journey back to the bears although our vantage point was not as good as the first time there. I was still able to see a few bears. Mom and her three bears were still there but left shortly after our arrival. The next set of bears to come was a sow and two cubs. They were actually too hard to photograph so we moved on to Hidden Lake but ran across a distraction called a bear on an island. The cool thing was it was us and another boat for about 5 minutes.
reflection
Hidden Lake was the best place to end the day because it was so peaceful and quiet except for the sound of my voice in this video.
peace
From here it was back to the plane and the return trip home. I told you I am not fond of planes, so the return trip was in a smaller beaver plane. I almost wanted to say I’ll stay here. I am glad I did not because flying over the glacier was awe inspiring. Pictures do not do it justice. We were able to see deep into some of the cracks in the glacier. It is a blue color that does not have a description. Then the lake was so blue black you could get lost just looking at it.
return trip.
I will be posting a slide show of the trip in a separate post.
This bear viewing trip was much better than expected for me. I went in thinking it was going to be a disappointment because I wasn’t standing on land. Like everything I’ve had to adjust. This however is an adjustment I would do again. How else could you get pictures like these.
shake it
Plus, I don’t have to be the fastest runner just have a larger and quicker motor than everyone else.
On the Road with Buki-6 