Beautiful Scenery and Bison

While we were in Custer, we did some day trips through the park, down the Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, and the Wildlife Loop.  As usual, they did not disappoint.  The Needles Highway offered spectacular views.

And, then there was a fantastic lunch at Sylvan Lake Lodge, with still more breathtaking views.

We explored Iron Mountain Road on a misty, drizzly day.  It is almost impossible to get a good view of the park’s famous pigtail bridges because of the way the road twists and turns and the number of vehicles.  Here are a couple of images from a few years ago.  This is from September 11, 2014, and yes, there was snow!

The road does offer other magnificent scenery, though.  Its several tunnels aren’t for large vehicles, but one of them does offer a view of the faces on Mount Rushmore.

And farther along, there are other spots where it’s possible to see them from other angles, as well as enjoy more beautiful scenery.

Wildlife in the park includes a herd of bighorn sheep.  Although the big rams are more elusive, the ewes and lambs, along with younger rams, can often be spotted in the park.  These were out and about when Rick and Linda visited us on July 4, and Linda was able to get these images from her side of the truck as we passed by.

The bighorns were probably common in the Black Hills before the area was settled, but no longer.  The Custer bighorns are descendants of 8 Rocky Mountain bighorns from Alberta, Canada, that were released in the park in 1922.  

Pronghorns are also often seen in the park, as well as on neighboring farms and ranches..  We saw several bands on our drives along the Wildlife Loop Road.

But what most visitors are excited to see are the park’s bison.  The park’s 71,000 acres give them places to hide out, but this trip they were very visible.  The free-roaming bison typically number about 1400 animals, and we saw a lot of them.  On the morning we visited, they were moving across the hills and valleys, stopping traffic as they went.

In early July, the herds consist mostly of cows and their young calves, referred to as “red dogs.”  They cows also have horns, but are much smaller than the bulls, and don’t have as much of a hump.  They are the largest land mammal in North America, and the adults weigh between 900 and 2,200 pounds.  

This herd included some of the younger bulls, like this fellow.  He is probably less than 3 years old, as bulls usually leave their maternal heard when they are about that age.  The more mature herd bulls are usually solitary, or occasionally gather in small groups for most of the year.  The mating season or “rut” for these animals is determined by the hours of daylight, and usually occurs from late July through August. When we visited, the rut had not yet started, and the dominant bulls had not yet joined the herd.  

They were a magnificent sight, spread out across the unusually green prairie.

As usual, we had a great time in Custer and look forward tour next visit.