Surrounding Sturgis

On Sunday, August 2, I was up again at 7 a.m.  First thing I did was look for deer.  Yep, they’re there.  Love it.  Drinking coffee and watching deer.  There were three of them laying down and eating.  I kept an eye on them and worked on a blog.  I love this place where Lenny and Missy are and wonder if I could live here if I had a place like this where there is a bit of land and deer coming around all the time.

Isn't she pretty?

 

The first ride of the day goes to Sampson.

But I got mine.  The Model A.  Later we went to the store and Sam got the front seat.  I got the rumble seat.  Haha!  Was tons of fun.  And Sam gets attention no matter where he goes.

And I got a ride in the Model T.  This thing goes!!!!

We were going to hit Custer State Park today.  Missy and I are excited because we want to see the buffalo.  We rode, and rode, and rode.  We saw some donkeys.  They are cute, but they aren’t buffalo.  We saw antelope.  But they aren’t buffalo. 

Lenny and Missy and the little donkey.

There were a lot of asses in this area, not all were four-legged.

Hey, baby.  Wanna kiss?

Then, there they were in the distance, covering the green hills with their dark mass.  I was hoping when we went over the hill and down into the valley there’d be some up close, but not too personal.  Oh wow.  There were park rangers, there were buffalo wranglers, there were cars parked, there were bikes parked.  We wormed our way into a parking spot and got off the bikes. 

There were lots of buffalo close enough to see.  I wonder if they watch us like we watch them?  I think not.  They're too busy lunching on the grass.

The park rangers were asking people to stay by their bikes and not get too close to the buffalo, some of which were right next to the road.  One woman was oblivious, and walked right next to the one closest to the road.  It charged her, and I don’t think she even realized it.  I had my camera at the ready for the photo-of-the-day … her being tossed into the air like a marshmallow by the buffalo.  It did not happen.  I was so disappointed.

The park ranger said this one's a mean one.  And it's the one that chased the lady.  Doesn't look friendly to me with those horns.

The buffalo wranglers rushed in, cracking bull whips and sending the buffalo pounding up the hill, their huge mass making the ground shake, with their little tails in the air.  It was exciting to see.  And then they were off, and it was time for us to mosey on.  We’d had our thrill.

This was an interesting operation with buffalo wranglers cracking their whips and the buffalo running on up the hill.

We continued on some great roads, riding more of the Needles Highway.  It’s great with its hairpins, spirals and twisties.

A view of Mt. Rushmore is always a plus.

Aren't they cute?  I love these people.

Norbeck pullout where we viewed Rushmore, the parking lot was full.

Can you tell these folks are from Texas?

 It was lunch time and we went back to Hill City, to engage in some more people watching and bike watching as we munched some lunch sitting on a deck overlooking the road.  It was fun to be out of it but able to see what was happening. 

Bar bikes ... but they sure are beautiful, and EXPENSIVE!!!

This was one of my favorites ... the '57 Chevy trike.

We wandered back to the house.  The roads are getting full with bikes, and cars.  There are still some trailer queens showing up, but it appears many have offloaded their bikes and are into the show mode. 



We saw the little four-point again.  Velvet antlers are gorgeous.

 Later in the evening we walked down to town again.  This time I was photographing buffalo.  They are commissioned by the city and the lady who paints them lives close by Lenny and Missy.  Some of them are truly amazing, and I loved seeing all of them.  I have a few favorites, too.

Each one of these is unique and has a different theme.



This one has a wild fire at the top of the hump.

And a fire hydrant on the other side of it.  It's dedicated to fire fighters.

There's just something about a white buffalo.

A buffalo on a buffalo.  I didn't see all of them, but sure liked the ones I did see.

The buffalo are painted and then put in a large pasture close by the lady’s home.  They are auctioned off at some point and then placed near the businesses who have purchased them.  It’s a very cool project.