September 16 –
September 26, 2020
From Minot,
North Dakota we planned to travel to Glacier National Park. Here are some
things we know; the east (Blackfeet Indian Reservation) and north (Canadian) entrances
are closed and have been all year as well as some of the roads through the park,
and most of the tourist activities are closed for the season including many of
the campgrounds outside the only entrance. No problem.
This is how Air
Quality changed our plans:
As we entered
Montana from the east, we noticed the sky was rather hazy. The temperatures
were in the mid 80’s and there were no clouds. That was the weather report for
the day. What really happened was cooler temps, hazy sky, a tiny gray-orange
sun, and irritating air. The air burned our nose and mouth and our eyes were
red and itching. What? We had been keeping an eye on the western fires but we
thought we were too far away for any issues. After some investigating, we
realized the smoke from the fires was headed our way. The predictions were the
air quality would continue to decrease for several days at best. Not what we
wanted to hear. The air quality at Glacier National Park was in the “Unhealthy”
to “Very Unhealthy” zone (now 158 and no expectation of short-term improvement).
We couldn’t go there and for that matter, we couldn’t stay where we were either
with the air getting progressively worse. Take a look at this picture taken
early afternoon– weather is sunny, 85°, breezy.
Two driving
days later we are at Yellowstone. We are very excited to be there. We had no
camping reservations but we were sure we would find something.
I’ll make the
rest of this story quick – no reservations available, no open areas for the RV
for the first night anywhere (coming in through the north entrance), in two
days the air quality went from “Unhealthy to Sensitive Groups” to “Unhealthy”.
We couldn’t stay here either. Now, where to go?
* * *
BADLANDS
NATIONAL PARK and the BLACK HILLS – SOUTH DAKOTA
On we go – this
time we will backtrack to southwest corner of South Dakota to the Badlands
National Park and the Black Hills. This time we made reservations so we know we
are good. The Badlands are further to the east than the Black Hills so on our
way to the Badlands, we toured the northern towns of the Black Hills. We
stopped at a few gold mining towns and went to a few museums. Before heading
out, we realized how close we were to Sturgis so we had to drive through to see
the town. Well, if you are In Sturgis, you are almost obligated to have a beer.
We found a nice bar/restaurant that had outdoor seating, so we stayed for a few
beers and dinner. Amazing that so many businesses in Sturgis are only open for
the motorcycle rally. So much money to be made in just a few weeks.
Our first
campground is just outside of the Badlands (Hot Springs South Dakota). Very
easy to drive into the park, a great view, and everything we need. We will be
here for 3 days. There were no level spots and once we got level the front
tires were off the ground by ~6”.
The main
section of the Badlands has one major paved road. This is the scenic road with
several side gravel roads and many hiking trails. The landscape is beautiful
ranging from prairie to unusual rock formations. There are very few trees or
shrubs. The land seems a combination of desert and prairie. Multi layers of
different colors, very worn, with an interesting composition. Unlike most
mountains that break apart over time, these seem to melt away. There is no
sediment at the bottom. At the Visitors Center, there is a display where a
metal marker was inserted into one of the hills. After 45 years, 1 foot had eroded away from the marker. Every rain diminishes the rocks. The
texture is more clay in look – dry and cracked.
The park has a
variety of animals – bison, pronghorn (antelope), prairie dogs, coyote, mule
deer, black footed ferrets, and bighorn sheep. The animals were plentiful day
and night. Although the main section of the park was a small, we couldn’t stop
going through day and night. It was so beautiful.
BLACK HILLS
We stayed 3
days at a KOA in Hot Springs which is the southeastern most section of the
Black Hills. The landscape is very different from the Badlands. The area is
very mountainous with tall spires surrounded by an abundance of pine trees.
The Hot Springs
area was quite picturesque. It’s an old town with many buildings made of
sandstone which are abundant in the hills. We stopped the Mammoth Site Museum
which is a very interesting stop. A little history – in 1974, while leveling
the ground for a housing development, a 7-foot tusk was uncovered. Work was
halted and archeologist were brought in to evaluate the area. It was determined
the area is a prehistoric a sink hole. Animals came to bathe or drink, slid
into the sink hole, and could not get out. Fast forward - It is currently an active
paleontological excavation. To
date, the remains of 61 mammoths and various other animals have been
found. Interesting, a building was built around the site which is the museum.
Custer State
Park occupies much of the Black Hills. Camping is plentiful in the park and
it’s quite beautiful. We camped here for
3 days – each day busier than the day before. There is a scenic loop around the
park which took us a few days to complete. We were told that the Needles
Highway and Iron Mountain Road in the northern/central route is the most
beautiful drive in the country. It did not disappoint. The drive was quite a
rise in elevation with some pretty tricky driving. While driving this loop, you
can see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument. The pictures do not adequately
represent the area. It was hard to capture what we saw with our camera phone. I
can tell you there were lots of “WOW”, “Beautiful”, “Oh my!”, and “Spectacular”
along the way. There are numerous places to pull off the road for pictures or
just to enjoy the beauty. In miles, the drive is short but it took us more than
half the day to complete the drive. Make sure you take a look at the 2 GPS
photos.
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Iron Mountain Road |
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| Needles Highway |
Our timing in the park couldn’t have been better. Custer
State Park ‘s annual Buffalo Roundup took place while we were camping in the
park. Every year, all the buffalo in the
park are gathered together and led into designated corrals. Custer State Park have
an annual herd of approximately 1500 buffalo that freely roam the park.
Depending on the conditions and grass available, the park determines how many
buffalo they can overwinter. This year, they will keep 1200. The rest will be sold at an auction in November.
All the females and male calves 3 years or younger will stay. Of the 1200
buffalo, about 120 (10%) breeding males will remain in the park. Once the herd
is gathered, they are separated by bulls, female, and calves. The calves born
this year are branded, inoculated, and returned to their mother. Each buffalo
is checked for health conditions, pregnancy, sperm count and is treated if
necessary.
Buffalo Roundup is a big event. The park expects several
thousand visitors to watch the roundup. The public is allowed into the park at
6:15am. If you are a camper, it is wise to get past the visitor center before
that time. We left our campsite at 5:40 am (42°) and passed the visitor center
before 6 am. From there it took one hour to get to the parking area. Not
because it was a distance away, but it was bumper to bumper traffic. Once we parked, we grabbed our chairs,
blanket, breakfast, binoculars and found our spot. The event did not start
until 10:00 am so there was a lot of waiting. There is a north and south
viewing area. We were in the north area as it was closest to our campground.
The north had a view of the buffalo running down the hills, through the valley,
and entering the corrals. The south had the view of the buffalo coming down the
hills and through the valley. Each viewing area had portable toilets and a
large tent where the was breakfast available (pancakes/sausage for $6).
Gathering the buffalo were 60 horseback riders (the Governor
was one of the riders) and helper vehicles, as well as photo vehicles and a few
medical trucks. There was nothing to indicate the round up had started except
you could see the dust from the buffalo running behind the hills. It took some
time before the herd was visible. The group continued over the hills guiding
the buffalo eventually coaxing the herd into the corrals. Once all the buffalo were
in the corral, visitors are welcome to walk along the viewing areas and see the
buffalo being processed. There is a
lunch (buffalo burgers) available in the area.
As we were touring the Wildlife Loop (a few days before the
actual roundup), we passed by the corrals and stopped by for a look. One of the
rangers explained all the details of the roundup and what was involved. A
volunteer took us on a tour of the corrals and processing areas. The rangers
gather about 300 buffalo several days before the roundup and bring them to the
corrals. That helps the rest of the herd move into the corrals at the roundup.
We were very fortunate to be at the right place at the right time. The weather
was sunny and 74°. We were told last year it rained and the year before that it
snowed.
When we first heard of the Buffalo Roundup, I confess that I
had visions of dust in the air and in my face, the ground shaking from the
thunder of the buffalo herd running over the hills, the cowboys swirling their
ropes, horses whining, and buffalo snorting. Was I disappointed? Maybe a
little. There was dust in the air, but far from where we were, the ground
didn’t shake, but the cowboys were yelling and using their ropes, the houses
were whining, and the buffalos were snorting. It just wasn’t in the grand manner
I expected.
The following pictures are a combination of the Wildlife
Loop and Buffalo Roundup.
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| Corral area |
 |
| Branding iron and propane heaters |
Buffalo Roundup
 |
| South viewing area |
 |
| Buffalo before the corrals |
 |
| Buffalo in corral area |
What a great week we had in the Badlands / Black Hills area.
Although we were ready to move on, there were still places we did not get to.
Wind Cave National Park (in the Black Hills) was one place we would have liked
to visit. It was always on the daily list, but as a ½ day excursion. Almost all
our ½ day plans ended up being full day adventures. Wind Cave National Park
ended up being something we drove past twice a day. Next time we are in the
area, it will be #1 on our list to see.
We did have a few disappointments or maybe better said as
“it would have been nice.” There is a train excursion through part of the Black
Hills that sounded fun. Better yet, there was an October-Fest train event that
really caught our attention. So much so, we bought tickets. A day later, we
realized maybe it wasn’t such a good idea in these days of the Corona virus. We
called the office and were told it was almost sold out and there are no
accommodations for “keeping your distance.” Fortunately, she gave us a refund
(even though there was a no refund policy). Sure sounded like fun!
Going along with “I guess we weren’t thinking”: The Rodeo
Championship competition was moved to Central South Dakota State Fairgrounds in
Reed City, SD this year (usually in Washington State) and the event was during
our last few days the Black Hills area. We had time to attend the finals. We
got a campsite in the fairgrounds and bought tickets. We were excited to see
all the actions so we got there hours early to watch the preliminaries. There
were many vendors and everything you would expect to find at a rodeo. Once we
found our seats, we realized this may not have been such a good idea. All seats
were so close – “knees to the back of seats and shoulder to shoulder” close. We
stayed for a few minutes. On our way out, we gave our tickets to the ticket
counter and asked them to give them to some senior citizens. Sure sounded like
fun!
As I mentioned in the first blog, this was the first time we
brought a car with us while on vacation. There was so much we were able to do
in the Black Hills that would not have been possible without having the car.
The scenic drives were definitely not for an RV. In fact, RV’s (21’ max) were
prohibited. Although there was one RV which apparently did not see the numerous
signs that warn of width, height, and length restrictions of vehicles. We saw
the RV pulled over before an incredibly small tunnel opening most likely
contemplating life as there was absolutely no place to turn around. Won’t that
be a great vacation story!
Temperature: mid/upper 80’s day– upper
40’s night
Air Quality: Excellent
Elevation: 3500’ – 6000’
Campground(s): Badlands Interior
Motel & Campground, KOA Hot Springs, Custer State Park – Game Lodge
Campground, Central South Dakota State Fairgrounds
Free Camping: Weigh station
(Circle, MT), Bretz RV and Marine (Billings, MT)
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