Round-Up Followup

I am posting some photos and commentary as a follow-up to Friday, 

the day of the Buffalo Round-Up.

These 'hats' were sold out by the time we got to the 

souvenir tent. We bought T-shirts.

A filming crew or TV reporter was present

A photo of the buses and cars on the south hill.

A few of these buffalo hats were still for sale ~ $40

The Cathedral Spires along the Needles Highway

I never tire of the views

The Needles Tunnel ~ 8'4" wide

We watched one of our fellow tour buses enter, back-up,

re-enter after getting straight. 

There is NO bend to the tunnel.

The buses are 8' wide.

So our driver Matt, wanted to have some fun with the

folks at the other end of the tunnel. After following the same maneuvers of the other driver, Matt stopped the bus about midway and turned on the hazard lights. He proceeded to tell us how more and more folks were staring into the tunnel, trying to figure out what to do. After a minute or so, (it seemed longer) Matt put the bus in gear and began backing up! Then he slammed on the brakes and said the tour company was looking for drivers, if anyone wanted to apply. When the bus finally emerged on the other side, Matt stopped to ask some of the people if we were on the right road to Mt. Rushmore. The people were tourists and had no idea if it was the right road or not. Matt certainly made a LONG day memorable with his tales, facts, and shenanigans. 

My photo of a tour bus going thru the same 

tunnel in August 2006.

I am standing where the folks in the previous

photo are standing. I was also gawking!

The Eye of the Needle from the bus window

It definitely was a Road Trip

A stop at Crazy Horse

We geocached

Our final stop: Mt. Rushmore

always majestic

Then I saw the Scooby Doo slippers on a young man,

maybe college age

A good end to a LONG day.

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.

Some Maroon and Gold, and a Little Football

Some photos from last Saturday's football game in Minneapolis. I enjoy the game, but I am also a people watcher. So you are getting the latest in U of M sportswear, and a little football.

our seats were on the 50 yard line...NICE!

pre-game show

in honor of coach Jerry Kill

formal wear for a football game

there was about an hour rain delay later in the game

looks like they are wearing wool...long sleeves, too

it was 80+ degrees

University of Minnesota 

100 years of Homecoming