Christmas in September

Custer, SD, September 28, 2018

Thank you, God, for a beautiful day.

The Road Less Traveled (aka Off the Beaten Path)

We have had all kinds of adventures since we arrived in Custer, some of them on roads less traveled.  On Saturday of last week, Rick and Linda acted as tour guides and took us on a four-wheeling adventure to some of their favorite road-less-traveled spots near Custer.

We headed out of the RV park on a brilliant blue-sky day, down gravel roads, past deep blue ponds,

riders and their horses,

coyotes on the prowl (practically in someone’s front yard!),

and over recently-worked (very dusty!) logging roads.

We passed through ponderosa pine forests devastated by the mountain pine beetle. 

This nasty, rice-kernel sized bug is native to the Black Hills and proliferates when forests become overgrown and the trees are too close together.  Periodic outbreaks have been recorded in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming since these areas were settled in the late 1800s.  Thankfully, the current outbreak seems to have slowed or stopped and last year was declared "over" by officials of the Black Hills National Forest.  

While the standing dead trees are unsightly, once they have fallen or been cut and removed, the more open forests are beautiful.  We traveled almost 50 miles over all kinds of trails,

and past different vistas.

At noon we stopped for a picnic. 

Across the road was a spectacular rock outcrop that overlooked miles and miles of Black Hills forests.

  

Alongside a meadow we found the ruins of something….a dugout?… a mine shaft?…We don’t know.

It was a day filled with breathtaking scenery, good friends and fellowship, as well as roads we hope to travel again.  Memories to treasure! 

A Mammoth Undertaking

We have been out exploring not only Custer State Park, but the surrounding area.  Last Friday, we set out with Rick and Linda to explore some of the sights in Hot Springs, some 30 miles to the south of Custer. 

As we headed south, we spotted a pair of coyotes. 

 

This one was fairly close, and we got a good look as he trotted toward the trees, with the wind ruffling his beautiful, thick coat.

He stopped to check for mice or ground squirrels in the grass,

then trotted along toward his mate, who was working the line between the short and tall prairie grasses.  

The colors of the grasses were breathtaking....what a great watercolor this would make.

When we reached Hot Springs, our first stop was for lunch.  On the far side of town where Hwy 385 meets Hwy 79, we found just the spot, the Highway 79 Brewery and Scratch Kitchen.  The food was great, and came just before we filled up on the salted peanuts that were sitting on our table in a pail when we arrived.  John and Rick recommend the Black Saddle Ale.  They also liked the decor,

but were really more interested in the Brew Room.  The brewmaster was on premises, and answered all their questions.  Unfortunately, he didn’t offer them samples of the other brews they make.

We also had a good time touring the Pioneer Museum, which is housed in the historic 1893 school house.  There are three floors of exhibits, thoughtfully arranged to give everyone something to see.  Linda and I especially enjoyed the sewing room with its many vintage machines, and the office with its antique typewriters.

But everyone’s favorite was the Hot Springs Mammoth Site.  The site was discovered in 1974 when construction uncovered mammoth bones in what turned out to be a prehistoric sinkhole.  The sinkhole was formed during the late Pleistocene era when a limestone cavern collapsed.  The collapse created a steep-sided sinkhole that was 120 feet by 150 feet wide at the surface, and which contained warm artesian water.  The pool was at least 65 feet deep, but may have been much deeper.  It was surrounded by the red and very slippery Spearfish Shale which you can see in some of the images.

 

It is estimated that the resulting pool gradually filled with silt over a period of hundreds of years, and that animals waded or fell into the pool, were unable to get out and died there.  Over thousands of years, the pool filled and the artesian springs dried up or were diverted.  The hardened mud inside the sinkhole was stable and the surrounding soil gradually eroded, leaving a hill composed of mud and filed with animal remains.

Following its discovery, a museum and building enclosing the site were established.  Excavation has continued here since its discovery.  We were told that the Hot Springs Mammoth Site has the greatest concentration of mammoth remains in the world, and includes the bones of 58 North American Columbian and 3 woolly mammoths.  The bones of the animals from the site were not petrified, or turned to stone, so they must be carefully stabilized before they can be removed.  

In addition to mammoth remains, bones of many other animals have been identified, including camels, llamas, wolves, coyotes, and many smaller animals.  Perhaps one of the most exciting discoveries has been the remains of at least two giant short-faced bears, which are extremely rare.  There is a replica of the skeleton of this animal,

as well as representations on the walls showing the size of the giant short-faced bear compared to other bears.

There are also replicas of Columbian Mammoth skeletons, 

as well as depictions of their size compared to other similar critters, extinct or not.

It is interesting that none of the bones from the site contain DNA, so there is no way to determine which bones belong to what animal, unless they are preserved in such a way as to allow researchers to determine they all belong together.  Several of the skeletons that are being excavated appear complete enough to belong to one individual.

By examining the bones, scientists have been able to determine that all the mammoths found so far have been young males.  Based on what they know from studying elephant behavior, the scientists speculate that the young males were kicked out of the mammoth herds once they reached adolescence.  They further theorize that lack of experience led them to venture into the sinkhole when older animals would have been wary of doing so.  I guess that makes as much sense as anything else.

This site is fascinating, and I hope you will visit if you are in the area.  It is an excellent facility, and the tours are conducted by personable, knowledgable individuals.  Depending on the depth of the site, personnel estimated it will take another 100 to 500 years to excavate completely.  That's good job security if you know anyone that would like to go into the field.

It's a Dog's Life

The dogs are enjoying their time here at Custer's Gulch.  This view is from one of our walks just a few hundred yards from our campsite.

They are also loving their  beautiful green lawn.  We celebrated Colt’s adoption day, September 9.  He joined our family on that date in 2011 as a recently-retired five-year-old herding champion.  Since then, he has excelled as a companion dog and Bagley Pack member.  He enjoys his retirement and occasionally helps with our cattle at the farm or as a set-out or exhaust dog at trials. 

We also had Colt’s 12th birthday party last week.  

Kota and Rue joined him in a bowl of ice cream to mark the occasion, then he had a good nap before bedtime.  It has been a good week for Colt.

Marrow bones are always a treat for the dogs…and the big ones keep them busy for several days.  Early one morning, Rue went to the living room window and began barking.   I looked out to see that this crow was perched on one of the bones I had given the dogs the day before.    Rue was not happy.

As I watched, the crow began pecking at the marrow in the middle of the bone that the dogs had not been able to reach.  With his small head and beak, he finished it off in short order.  It was a treat for the crow as well as the dogs.