Now Somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota...

August 13 - August 18, 2015 (Part One)

I couldn't get the lyrics to the old Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon" out of my head during the 5 nights we spent in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And they really do look black. They are so densely covered with evergreens that the Lakota Indians called them "paha sapa" which means "hills that are black." And they are amazingly beautiful. The prairie meets the forested mountains in the Black Hills, and combination is spectacular.

We parked the Liberty in Custer State Park, near the town of Custer City, SD. Custer State Park (CSP) is the second largest state park in the US (Adirondack State Park is the largest) and CSP is surely the best. We were just blown away by this park. With beautiful historic hotels, spacious and well-planned campgrounds, good restaurants, and many well-run activities, it rivals any private resort in the US. And with its lovely vistas and four amazingly scenic drives, it is certainly the match of any national park that we have visited. And then you have the wildlife. Everywhere you go, the park is teeming with bison, pronghorn, elk, and prairie dogs. It's like Yellowstone without the crowds and the bears! Which isn't to say that folks don't slow down to watch the animals along the roads. But a "bison jam" in CSP only sets you back a few minutes as opposed to an hour or more in Yellowstone.

One of the biggest herds was all over the grassy areas by the visitor center on two of our days in the park. But, unfortunately, by the time they left the beutiful lawns were covered with many big mounds of bison poop. I'd hate to have the job of cleaning that up!

This shows just a small portion of the prairie dog "town" that was right next to the wildlife loop.

There are quite a few burros in the park. At one time they were used to give rides up Mt Harney. When that concession ended, they were turned loose in the park. Siince they are not technically wild, the park doesn't prohibit people from feeding them. As you can see in the above shot, they are used to getting handouts!

We had a nice hike one day from the wildlife loop on a trail called the Prairie Trail. It was a pleasant hike across a scenic prairie, crossing a stream several times, and climbing several hills for pretty views. And best of all, SiSi was welcome.