The Black Hills

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play.

We have spent the day on that range! Saw all of the above animal, plus all the cute Prairie Dogs. Apparently the buffalo were roaming far afield because we only saw one of them. We've seen many deer, including 2 does with their babies, and a family of Mountain Goats, baby included, lots of antelope and numberless Prairie Dogs. I think my favorites are the wild burros, who are really quite eager to eat out of your hand! I want to bring one home as a pet!

Before I say another word about the Black Hills, you could easily spend a full week enjoying all the different experiences—and we did that in 1999. This time, we were just passing through and checking out a couple of our favorites. Of course, we saw Mt. Rushmore.  We drove through the Custer State Park Wildlife Refuge. The guide booklet, and at least three signs, warned us that buffalo are dangerous and we should not approach them. I cannot fathom anyone being brash enough to approach one of those huge beasts! (Well, maybe the same guy I once saw approaching a Grizzly Bear in the Canadian Rockies!) Anyway, it's a beautiful drive. Then we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is fantastic and we could see a little more has been accomplished since 1999. Since they started it in 1949, we don't expect it to be finished in our lifetime. It is wonderful, however.

Then we drove to Devils Tower in eastern Wyoming. You will remember it from "Close Encounters." It is really a stunning site to behold.

We spent the afternoon driving through eastern Wyoming. The landscape is comprised of large angular hills, mostly covered with grass (golden this time of year). They stretch out forever. Occasionally you will see trees, mostly around old farms, but the effect is just velvet covered hills.

We ran on to 2 signs we enjoyed today: Jumpy Monkey Coffee and First National Pawn Shop.

It's been a great day. Tomorrow we pass through the rest of Wyoming and into Montana (and Yellowstone).