Travel... South Dakota... Buffalo Round Up

"The Boomer Magazine" is now offering Monday, Wednesday and Friday editions.  The subject matter will rotate through what we hope to be an entertaining variety of subjects.  This array of material is why I call the project a "magazine" rather than a personal blog. The general topics include: Work, Retirement, Travel, Books, Movies, Food, Music, Gardening, Photography, and any special "Boomer" related events or stories I might conjure up.

We will start off with something work related on Mondays and move to lighter subjects in the middle of the week. By Friday, it's time for some fun. Wednesday is hump day so we've all earned a little stress relief. Day dream along with us as we travel up to South Dakota on a terrific nature oriented vacation. Enjoy !

American Bison in South Dakota

Note: Please forgive the grainy pictures. I am afraid my old email program shrunk the pictures down and I am not computer savvy enough to put all the pixels back together again. However, I loved the trip and wanted to share the experience so we're going ahead and running the story.

Each fall, South Dakota's Custer State Park has an old west version of Spain's "running of the bulls".

Life is good on a warm fall day.

November 1 every year, the park rounds up their entire 2,000 plus head of Buffalo. The Bison are vaccinated, cut and sorted according to keepers or sellers.

Antelope in Custer State Park, South Dakota

The American Bison or Buffalo is one of my favorite animals. When I heard about the round up it was a done deal. I had to see it for myself. Luckily, Amy agreed and the 2011 vacation was set.

Because of my work as a stock photographer, I was able to wangle press passes. This lead to access right in the middle of the action. Well, not really in the middle of the buffalo but rather in the midst of the photographer herd. The milling about, braying and bawling reminded me of that "other" herd.  

The cowboys and cowgirls were amazing.

Buffalo round up Custer State Park South Dakota

They were riding at full gallop in the midst of over two thousand huge buffalo.

It was scary just watching them. Then you had to think of the Comanches and other horse Indians. This would be just another day at the office two or three hundred years ago.

Head em up, move em out, Rawhide !

There are a couple of lodges in the State Park.  Since I learned about them too late, we stayed in a little motel in Custer. The motel wasn't bad but the town sucked. After talking with some of the other photographers we decided we would have been much better off had we stayed in one of the park lodges. 

I don't know the names but the one with the restaurant is reported to be the best. They looked great from the highway.

Mother and calf American Bison Custer State Park, South Dakota

A young bull buffalo at Custer State Park, South Dakota

The main reason you want to stay in the park lodges and especially the one with a restaurant is to avoid the rude surprise the town of Custer gives you on the day before the big round up. With thousands of park visitors arriving for the round up the town closes for the winter on the day before the round up. When I say closes, I mean the majority of shops and cafes close for the winter over night. The day we got there the whole town was bustling. The next day, after a day tour of the Badlands, we came back hungary and ready to eat. Instead of food we found closed up cafes and shops. Almost every business in the town had closed overnight. All the tourists were walking the streets looking for someplace to eat. There were deep lines at the only two restaurants still open. 

The town closes for the season the day before one of the biggest tourism events of the year. Made no damned sense whatsoever. Unfreaking believable !

 Again, the town of Custer has nothing to offer other than high prices and few services. Stay away. Stay at the State Park if you can.

Here they come, the start of the Buffalo round up at the Custer State Park, South Dakota

You can still do the day trips and see all the great sights of the region. Don't miss Wind Cave, The Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and much more. Sturgis, the biker town, isn't that far away but it's no big deal without all the bikers. I thought it was a nice but pricey little town.

All of these spectacular sights are fairly close together and can be done in easy driving day trips from Custer State Park.

It gets a little dusty! A cowboy and herd of buffalo, Custer State Park, South Dakota

The scenery is magnificent. 

The Buffalo Herd at Custer State Park, South Dakota

The history is fascinating.

Big ole bull !

Young cow buffalo Custer State Park, South Dakota

Bison calf, Custer State Park, South Dakota

This trip, this round up, was the perfect vacation for any photographer who loves the out of doors. That includes amateurs as well as professionals.

Antelope running nearby Custer State Park, South Dakota

Just a tiny part of the Custer State Park Buffalo herd, South Dakota

Once again, I apologize for messing up these pictures. Once upon a time when I emailed the pictures from one computer to another I had no idea what might happen. Thank goodness new programs and new computers have helped that situation. That is not to say I don't still have a love-hate relationship with my computers......but that's another story.


If you ever have the opportunity to go to Custer State Park's Buffalo Round Up, go !  By all means do it ! It is a blast !

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                              John B. Boykin 

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Life's purpose is not to arrive at the grave with the body in good shape. Hell no, you want your body worn slap out, skidding in sideways, eyes bloodshot, hair smoking and all the while hollering "Yee Haw !! ...  What a ride !!"