Tetonka, Corn and Badlands

Custer State Park was not to be a large part of our trip, but on subsequent visits it will be. This is where we got a taste for wildlife in the west. As we began our journey into the park another visitor going in the opposite direction toward the exit asked if we saw buffalo. We replied "no", and he said he didn't either. We knew we would have to get off of the main loop if he didn't see any and Joe's sixth sense kicked in just in time. We were enjoying the beautiful scenery and even wound down the windows to feel a brief shower. We were coming up on some cars pulled over to the side of the road and a lady asked us if we had seen the buffalo. It seems that a calf had been separated from its mother and was running up and down a fence row calling for mom. We saw the calf and knew the herd must be nearby. Not far down the main road another steep dirt road led us up to the mother lode. We pulled over with other cars. The herd was moving and Joe did a 3 point turn when other cars drove to another area to turn around. His maneuvering got us in the midst of these buffalo that were crossing the road. Our positioning was perfect.











We caught a glimpse of our first wild antelope.

We saw some prairie dogs at Custer too.


We ventured onto the "needles". It is a precarious drive on the side of a mountain that requires one to drive through this rock tunnel.



The "eye" of the needle.
The views and vistas were worth it.


From here we headed out to the Corn Palace. I had read on Tripadvisor that this was a tourist trap and corny, but Danek had studied it in 4th grade and we all wanted to see it. Some of the corn was pulled off of the murals because it hadn't been replaced in a few years. Drought had caused there to be a lack of corn, but we were still amazed by the artistry created by the corn. Inside the palace we enjoyed corn murals of years gone by.




The views and hills of South Dakota.

Onto the Badlands!


Danek also studied the Badlands. The Badlands were named such because pioneers found it to be lacking water and of intense heat. The soil, if you can call it that, is in hard marble sized clumps. They don't break easily and in fact roll. They are jagged and could easily cut a climber. This stop was not on our itinerary, but Danek's interest demanded we make time for it and we were glad that we did. We learned that the Badlands change with every rainfall as they are quite susceptible to erosion. Even a regular rain shower produces visible changes in the landscape.

It was very bright and white at the Badlands. Squinting was a pre-requisite to seeing.


Doesn't it figure that Joe would be the one to point out the wild sheep before the volunteer ranger. She had a device that tracked them, but Joe's eyesight worked better than any gadget. He pointed them out to her and other visitors. The sheep were quite agile and able to maneuver up and down the steep and unsteady landscape.


Bad, but beautiful.






Danek and I tried to climb this small pink hill. It was nearly impossible. The ground rolled out from under our feet. The way down prove to be best done on our bottoms due to the unsteady ground. The trek down was jagged and rough, but we had to try it.

This was a very full day and we could have spent several more days investigating these Black Hills. We loved the landscape, the people and the wildlife in South Dakota.