Custer State Park, South Dakota

Several years ago, I went to South Dakota with Scott, Leslie, and her kids. It was our first visit to the area and I enjoyed it so much, I knew I would eventually go back. Ron had also been to South Dakota on business and had made a run through the park to see the buffalo. But, we hadn't been there together. It really is a beautiful park and I think we timed our visit perfectly because it wasn't really that crowded.  We were just going to be driving through after having spent the morning in the Spearfish area, so we didn't want to spend a lot of time at the visitor's center; just take a quick restroom break. However, we ended up watching the movie that is narrated by Kevin Costner, explaining the founding and purpose of the park. That is a must see! I'm so glad we took the time to watch it. Plus, the visitor's center has a huge model of the park that you can check out to see where the bison are grazing. There is also a natural area outside the center where we got to watch some monarch butterflies.

I let Ron do the driving while we were in the park. He is pretty good about taking pictures with his phone, when I remind him.  But, he never seems to send them to me so I can upload them. I wanted my hands free so I could get some pictures of the wildlife.  The best time to visit is actually early morning or evening, so I didn't expect to get many pictures. No elk or big horn sheep; but we did get to see bison, deer, the begging burros, and some prairie dogs.

We've decided that the next time we go to South Dakota, we really want to be there in late September. That's when the public is invited to the bison round up. They have corrals in the park where the bison are herded for sorting. The park wildlife specialists will only keep the number of bison that the park can feed without supplementing. That fluctuates from year to year, depending on weather conditions and the abundance of grassland. Some are kept in the park and the rest are sold at auction; which helps fund the bison program in the park. It must be amazing to see and hear those massive beasts running over the hills toward the corrals. 

As we were getting ready to leave the park, we saw a bunch of cars parked along the side of the road. There were several bison walking across the road to get to a mud hole near one of the forks in the road.  We spent a little time watching them and headed out of the park, thinking we had pretty much seen most of them. But, as we drove over a rise in the road, there was a crazy bull waltzing up the middle of the road. He had traffic stopped in both directions. Once he finally started moving over, there were 2 motorcycle riders that got the bright idea to pass us. That bull did NOT like the noise those motorcycles made. I thought for sure he was going to charge them.  He finally got off the road and we were able to pass him. I think Ron really could have reached out and touched him as we drove by. 

There are several lakes inside the park and you are welcome to bring in canoes or kayaks. We stopped for a short visit at the last lake you pass before leaving. Surprisingly, there weren't any people out on the lake, or fishing! It was almost like having it all to ourselves. It really was the perfect ending for our visit.