At the KOA campground in the Badlands, we always heard mourning doves (hoo hoo) and turkeys (gobble gobble), along with other more pleasant bird calls. The turkeys were very loud, and we thought they were by the White River that encircled the campground. We could hear them so clearly, but could never spot them. Tom was on a mission to find them. It was a joke with us....the turkeys were taunting him. Finally, on our last night, we were driving to the amphitheater for the night-sky program, and in the field next to the campground....turkeys! About 5-6 were sitting on the high tree limbs of a dead tree...and several were in the field, including a couple in full regalia. Finally!
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| Male turkey in full regalia (enlarge photo to see it) |
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| one last glorious sunset over the Badlands |
Driving out of the park in the RV to our next destination, we spotted a few male Big Horn Sheep. What a wonderful time we had exploring the Badlands.
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| Big Horn Sheep - a few males hanging around |
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| Another big guy |
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| And another big guy driving a big RV on these windy hilly park roads |
As we drove into our new location in the Black Hills, the skies became really dark and ominous. We had no rain, just lightning, but about 1/2 hour away a twister touched down! They usually have one touch down in the Black Hills once a year...so good...that's over for the year! No one got hurt, but someone's house was damaged. Not sure if these dark clouds were a part of it. The timing was about right! (And no one got hurt at our campsite setting up in the threatening weather!!)
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| Severe weather alert! |
Our first full day in the Black Hills, we set out to explore Custer State Park. The wildlife loop goes through this beautiful park, and there are many opportunities to spot some wildlife. There were lots of pronghorns in the hills, and of course tons of buffalo. The moms and babies travel together in large herds, and there is one buffalo that determines where they go....the rest follow. I thought that was a pretty interesting bit of information from the ranger! The males, on the other hand, travel either alone or with one or two other males. They don't stay with the females and the young ones at all. We saw many of these as well. In addition to the buffalo that roam freely, there is a coral where some of the buffalo and their young are kept. These are sold to ranchers all over the world. They are kept behind a fence....still free roaming in a very large area, but within the fence. Interesting!
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| Pronghorns poking up out of the grasslands |
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| beautiful park-18 mile wildlife loop road |
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| lots of buffalo |
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| moms and babies |
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| most of the babies were sleeping until a motorcycle rode by and scared them |
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| antelope in the road near the visitor center |
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| a guest outside the visitor center |
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| just one nest here |
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| flew the coop |
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| pronghorns in the background |
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| singing so sweetly too |
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| resting-its hot out! |
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| beautiful landscape |
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| all the wildflowers are in bloom |
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| more |
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| turning to woodland |
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| bison in the coral - there were a ton of them! |
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| hey guys |
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| what's that you say? |
nice pic! |
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It was a bit disconcerting to see the burros. They act tame, probably because of so much human interaction over the years, but they are still wild animals. There were a lot of families with young kids that took a chance feeding and petting them. Yikes! Hope the kids don't try that with the buffalo! Actually, we saw a family with the windows down and the kids hanging out the windows, and the buffalo were right there on the side of the road! Yikes! I have no words!!
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| Burrows staying cool under the trees |
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| what a little cutie |
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| come on kids, let's go pet the wild animals |
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| Hey kids....stand by the wild animal and I'll take your picture |
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| Do you have any snacks for me? |
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| Your no fun...not feeding us wild things! |
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| woah |
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| Passing this guy on the road |
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| Check out this big guy? |
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| this one cut right in front of us...he has the right of way! |
Lunchtime found us at a picnic site along the road. The park is just so beautiful. There are lots of picnic areas, really nice camping facilities, and several lodges/cabins at various points in the park. This is a wonderful state park!
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| finding a lunch spot near the babbling brook |
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| nice spot |
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| Tuna! The best lunch!! |
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| tuna again-yippee!! |
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| woodpecker above us |
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| view from a scenic overlook |
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| going for a little walk |
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| Snow! Because we didn't see enough of it this winter!! |
We traveled along the Needles Highway, one of the most scenic highways in the U.S. At points, the road is surrounded by needle-like rock formations, and mountain scenery. There are a couple of one-lane tunnels on the road as well.
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| waiting our turn |
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| Needles |
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| more needles |
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| are we going to fit through there? |
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| beautiful road-really! |
From this highway, you can access one of several lakes within the park. These lakes are all man-made. Our favorite is Sylvan Lake, which has hiking, boating, swimming and nice bathrooms! We stopped for a little break and to enjoy the view. I'm sure we will be back here one day soon.
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| who's that cool dude at Sylvan Lake? |
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| taking a break |
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| hey kids...look where we are now (Texting) |
We were headed to Hot Springs next. The drive was also really nice, through Wind Cave National Park and more buffalo. We also saw this ranch with these big guys!
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| Ranch Entrance- Buffalo and Steer |
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| Check out the horns on these guys! |
After getting a little lost for a bit, we drove through the center of Hot Springs looking for the Mammoth Site. This town is not as remote as some of the others we've been through, and has a nice little main street.
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| Hot Springs answer to the Flatiron Building |
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| cute little town |
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| the main street |
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| Buffalo everywhere |
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| refreshing waterfall in town |
A fellow camper raved about the Mammoth Site, so we decided to check it out. It was actually quite fascinating! In 1974, a guy bought the land to put up a housing development, and when they started digging, discovered bones. They immediately stopped excavating. It turns out, the land was loaded with fossils of Columbia and Wooly Mammoths! For more information, click
here. To put it very briefly, millions of years ago, a sinkhole was formed, filled with water, and the mammoths (and other animals over time) would drink from it. They fell in, and then could not get out because the sides of the walls were so slippery. They drowned and over time the sinkhole dried up and the bones were fossilized. The site has the ACTUAL bones...it is an in-situ exhibit! This active dig site can be viewed by the public. The tour we went on was very interesting! Glad we checked this out!!
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| The Mammoth Site |
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| Columbia Mammoth Bones-Huge! |
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| Actual fossil bones |
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| Actual dig site |
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| fossils in-situ |
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| Amazing! |
