A Bucket List Opportunity

When we discovered we would not be going to our winter home until after Thanksgiving this year (later than the last several years) I championed for something on my bucket list ~ The Buffalo Round-Up in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This event has been on my 'to do list' for a number of years, but either Gopher football games or getting ready to migrate south seemed to always interfere. No excuses for this year. I found a tour package that would take us to the event (at a reasonable hour), drop us off at the appropriate place, and then give us a tour of the southern Hills region. Not that we needed the guided tour of the southern hills, but not having to fight the traffic and crowds outweighed seeing sights we have seen numerous times.

We boarded the old grey line tour bus at 7:30, along with 40 or so other folks, and 3 other similar buses. We waited about 2 hours for the buffalo to make their appearance. The time is always unpredictable, we learned, because the bison are wild and may not always do what the round-up officials expect them to do. (One guy told me he got up at 3:00 this morning, but the 'gates' don't open until 6:30.)

the crowd (part of them) on the south viewing area/hill

not sure of the number attending

has been as high as 14,000

part of the crowd on the north viewing hill

and here they come...

I was expecting the ground to shake and rumble

it didn't

cameras up and filming

dry, dusty/dirty conditions

maybe 300 or so in this gathered bunch

cowboys and cowgirls on horses

dignitaries, park officials, filming crews in pick-ups

the gathered herd in the large corral

they will rest (de-stress) until Tuesday

temp today was 90+

flags and riders greeting us at lunch

the lunch line, one of three

our line

it moved quickly

folks kept coming for two hours

part of the tour cost

BBQ buffalo brisket, very good

the lunch crowd under the tent

a hundred cows & calves had been gathered

earlier in the week

and put in a corral pen for us tourists

they would be pregnancy tested, vaccinated, branded, 

& checked for disease this afternoon and then culled

for continued residence in the park or marked for sale

only cows and calves were gathered for this round-up event

younger cows 

beautiful animals

soon to be separated, cow & calf

an awesome morning

hay storage for the gathered animals

We both agreed it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We both enjoyed the advantages of the bus tour. We left the campground at 6:30 AM and returned at 6:30 PM. It was a LONG day, full of lots of interesting information. Thanks Diane, for sharing the excitement of the round-up. I am so glad we went.