Day 10 - Bison, Burros and Mammoths

We were considering a half-day of hiking and half day of more attractions. Since the weather was looking a bit wet, we decided on doing some sightseeing first and then hike the second half of the day. First on the list: Custer State Park Wildlife Loop. This is a 20-30 mile auto loop that promises a good viewing of mule deer, whitetail deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, prairie dogs, wild burros, and wild bison! Let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint or break it’s promise like the government of the 1850’s. We saw mule deer, we believe we saw the antelope, definitely plenty of prairie dogs and whitetail deer, and up close and personal the wild burros, and almost close the beautiful bold majestic awesome but not too brilliant bison! Before the taming of the west, the U.S. was home to 60 million bison. How the pioneers and army, which I assume was less than the 60 million bison in numbers, managed to kill off almost all of them is unfathomable and can only be explained one way: bison ain’t too smart. They are quick and strong, but they don’t appear to be brilliant. I LOVED gazing at them, it was peaceful and almost spiritual to see God’s creature chew on grass, make some grunting noises, and play with its young, BUT I could’ve come up to all of them and had way too much ground meat to freeze for a lifetime without too much effort, I think I could’ve done it with a butter knife, I mean these guys just don’t really seem to mind, well, they are cows and they aren’t used to being hunted since they are protected in the park, but still…you could see, as you stared at them in the eyes, reading the comics would a be a challenge for them. NEVERTHELESS, I am a HUGE fan of the bison and am thrilled to have seen them, they are beautiful and graceful creatures in their own massive way.








BUT, we had even more fun with the wildlife. Years ago Custer Park offered burro rides, later it was decided a bad idea (I don’t know why) and the burro were let loose in the park, now these non-native animals are several generations into being native to the Black Hills. We thought we had seen all the fun, driving away from the bison and headed to our next destination, when we had to slow down, burros on the road, everywhere, about twenty of them. They walk right up to the car window and we saw that several people got out of their cars to pet them, so did we. It was hilarious and joyous, and so heartwarming to get out of the car and get to know these animals face to face. We had a blast. It was hard to leave them, Solomia was ready to take one home (and Darka wasn’t too unconvinced of this idea), but we really had no room in the car with our camping gear, so we bid these gentle playful creatures farewell and with a little bittersweet sorrow left.








Next stop: Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD, about an hour’s drive from the park. This is a working paleontological site, as in digging is in progress. Here a home developer found a single tusk and realizing the gravity of his find, (gravity: since these tusks are really heavy…get it??? Hee, hee) he sold the land to a private paleontological foundation that manages the dig. They’ve been digging for 14 years and say they have at least thirty more to go. We saw what is known as the largest single area of Woolly and Columbian Mammoth fossils. This was an ancient sinkhole that trapped over what appears to be 60+ male mammoths. Did you all get that? MALE mammoths, the females weren’t stupid enough to climb into a hole form which they couldn’t climb out, or some theories say the women pushed in the men…if so, what did the males do to deserving being pushed??

Despite the obvious conclusions that prove that women are smarter than men, the site was a neat trip. NOTE to any families with kids ages about 6-13, the site has a junior paleontologist program BUT you need to make reservations MONTHS in advanced, since we did not know that we’d be here back in November 2006, we did not make reservations. Dmytro was very disappointed and said when he was informed that dad couldn’t get him into the program for that day “Didn’t you tell them that I’m studying to be a paleontologist?” He figured that such a budding scholar should be given a priority space in the program. We were able to console him by visiting the interactive exhibits, taking a peek in the working laboratory, and telling him that actually the program does not take the kids into the actual dig site, but rather has a separate section in which they learn a little about paleontology. He was also comforted by the fact that at age 18 he can return to this site as a volunteer at work at the actual site, how cool is that?







These two excursions, the wildlife loop and the mammoth dig, took up more time than we thought, actually we really didn’t think, just did and were at peace that we might not get the chance to hike at Custer, which was okay since we knew that we are going to hike a great deal in Yellowstone. There is simply too much to see in the Black Hills, there is something for everyone: Teta Talia, had we known, we would’ve had you meet us in Rapid City and shown you the area there. The people are super friendly, kind, and generous. We wouldn’t want to live in South Dakota, but we hope this isn’t our last time in this state.

After our trips, we headed back to the tent-site, took a dip in the lake, and roasted hot dogs over a campfire. The kids entertained us by each telling us stories, fantasies about knights, and fairies, and dragons, and Nina’s story about a king and queen who died and then all the princes and princesses of the land became kings and queens, and this apparently happened several times.

NOTE: eating near the Mammoth site, pack something…VERY disappointing and not worth the trouble. We were hoping to not need to eat there, but time was our enemy and we were hungry, so we ate lunch at a family eatery that was gorgeous inside, brand new building with lovely décor, and NO menu to speak of. The chicken salad was a cup of roasted chicken and a single trip to the salad bar. There was a big sign by the soup at the salad bar: “dinners include ONE trip to the salad bar OR one bowl of soup, not both.” Geesh…I predicted this place wouldn’t be around for long, but then we noticed it housed a casino in the basement…aha. Yes, food there was definitely a gamble.

Also, Hot Springs, SD, is a very small village, with some turn of the 20th century buildings done in a very red stone. It looks cute, but no substance. They did plop down a HUGE five-story retirement complex there, built of the same color stone. It’s an imposing building, looks grand, but surrounding it is a cute creek, and not much else, a little sad from a glance. This is just an impression from driving through, so take note I could be completely wrong and mean no offense to aficionados of Hot Springs, SD.