Buffalo Safari Jeep Ride

Lone Male Buffalo

We were on our way by 8 am because our tour was at 10 am. Wildlife viewing is always better in the early morning or late afternoon when the animals are more active but with the 1 to 1 ½ hour drive to get to the park 10 am was the earliest we could manage. After all, we are on vacation!

We found the park with no trouble and at the entrance Sandy offered her State Park Pass which is similar to the National Park Pass but for state parks. Having that gave us a nice discount on the entry fee here. The Park attendant , I think he was a volunteer-not a ranger, was very friendly and gave us lots of materials about the park and pointed us in the direction of the lodges where he said we would meet the tour.


Visitor Center



 

We had made good time so we had the opportunity to look around a little. We parked next to the Information and Activity Center and headed in to check in. We took advantage of the wait time to browse the publications, many free, and pick up post cards of the park. From the parking lot we could look across a large field and see the camping area.



Camping area

 Right on time our jeep and driver arrived.



Our Guide Dan and Sis Sandy

 I have to say, when we do take tours we have had awesome luck with the guides and this trip was no exception. Our driver was Dan and he brought to the job a wealth of knowledge of history of the area, the wildlife and their habits and humorous stories to share.

Now, my next comment is going to make me sound like a grouchy old lady but I have to make it. It seems to come up over and over and that is children. I am all for exposing children to a lot of experiences at a young age. I think that’s terrific but I think we have become too permissive. Children do not know how to act around strangers. Our tour consisted of my sister and me and a family with several small children. As we reviewed the seating options I think Sandy saw my hesitance to sit in the back with the kids. I wanted to take pictures and I wanted to get the most for my money. Sandy, who has raised children of her own, is much more tolerant than I am so she volunteered to sit with the family and I took the front passenger seat. As I expected, the kids did not stay in their seats and crawled all over my sister. The parents never said a word, apparently content to let a stranger take care of their kids. My sister to her credit never complained and handled the child with skill and kindness. I would not have been so gracious.

Once on our way Dan said we would “probably” see buffalo because some other tours had already been out and radioed in the herd’s location. I joked that a Zoo near me had buffalo so if we didn’t see any I would go there to get pictures and say they were from my trip. Dan laughed and said he was pretty sure that wouldn’t be necessary.

Our first wildlife sighting was as we turned onto the Wildlife loop road in the pond by the road. Turtles! I’m just all a-quiver HA HA.



Turtles

 But seriously not much farther down Dan pointed to the left and said look there and sure enough, a Pronghorn! Dan stopped the jeep so we could take pictures and then we were rolling again.



Pronghorn

 More pronghorn followed. It seemed like they were everywhere and then we saw the buffalo herd. It spilled down over the rolling hills like a brown blanket but Dan said that was nothing. He said that before the white man came along and slaughtered the buffalo, the hills would have been covered to the point that we would not have been able to see grass between the animals at all.



Bufflalo Herd

 Turning the corner we actually found ourselves in the herd. We had to stop to wait for them to move out of the way. Dan explained that the herd is mostly females and calves. The males travel in smaller groups or alone and only mingle with the main herd during mating season. The herd is led by a dominant female matriarch. As we sat waiting for the herd to pass, we all had a chance to get loads of pictures even with just a point and shoot. The animals were close enough that you didn’t even need a zoom lens.



calf



mother and calf at rest



Female buffalo

 About this time one of the children, a little boy, said he “had to go”. Dan helped him out of the jeep on the side away from the herd to let him relieve himself. Then bundled him back into the jeep. Buffalo are not nice , warm and friendly animals and it isn’t safe to approach them or to leave a vehicle if you’re waiting for a “Critter Jam” to clear.
Finally the road cleared enough to allow us to creep slowly on through the herd. More pronghorns and then we were in a Prairie Dog town. We stopped for a few pictures here too but those little dogs are fast!



Prairie Dog

 We passed through a valley and were shown an old gravesite. Dan told us the story of the grave and how the park continues to maintain it out of respect.



Western Gravesite

 As we came out of the valley we could see lots of cars pulled to the side of the road. Dan said it was probably the park’s “Beggin’ Burros” . These little burros; are considered wild but the they are not native to the Black Hills. The park burros are descendants from the herd that once hauled visitors to the top of Harney Peak. These burros have learned that tourists will stop and feed them so have become a big attraction in the park.



Beggin' Burro




Shaggy

 Throughout the drive Dan would point out native birds like the Western Meadow lark and bluebird and if he spotted one of the little birds he would pull over to see if I could get a picture. I was limited by only 200 mm zoom, a 400 or 500 would probably have been better for such tiny, timid subjects, but I did the best I could.



Meadowlark




Western Bluebird

 Too soon we were back at our start and Dan was getting ready for his lunch break before he headed back out with another group. I’m glad we started with a wildlife tour and got a guide like Dan. We picked up a load of tips for spotting wildlife that would come in handy during the rest of out stay.

Tomorrow some of the fast facts about the wildlife of Custer State Park.

Don’t forget the name suggestions for the Prairie Dog Mascot.

Check out the new site that is being built.http://aroundustyroads.com/