South Dakota Days 8 and 9: The trip is winding down

Saturday-Sunday, August 8-9, 2010



Today is the last full day here in South Dakota and tomorrow we head towards home. Two of the riders needed to go home today. Monday was a work day for one of them, and they wanted to travel on Saturday so as to have time to relax on Sunday. They left at 9:30 after breaking camp, packing everything back into their trailer, and cleaning horse lots. Right after they left, it started to rain. We were very lucky all week, with beautiful 80’s and sun. The shower lasted about an hour, and kept the morning cooler than what the rest of the week had been.



It was nice to see a rainbow after the shower.



My other 2 friends took the time to rest, and I spent the morning reading more the Centered Riding 2 book again. We were thinking we should take a short, 1 or 2 hour, ride, just to stretch the horse’s legs out after the harder ride to Harney Peak yesterday. But they both were feeling a little stiff and sore in their backs, and needed some extra rest time in the morning. At noon, we ate lunch, and just relaxed. My 2 friends continued to rest their weary muscles, and I read the Centered Riding 2 book, underlining areas that I wanted to make sure to teach about.



We planned on a 3 pm ride. But we needed to go back to town for last minute souvenirs. We did stop along the way, and pick up these massive pine roots. I just know my husband is going to say, “what is that for?” He isn’t in to “natural decorations”. LOL

When we got back, the day had gone from morning to 5 pm, and the desire to ride one last time was fading fast. We enjoyed some wine and wine coolers around the last campfire.



And we rekindled friendship as well. Maybe it was a good think that I stayed!

Sunday morning, a small doe was in the empty corral. I'm sure she enjoyed whatever grain was left.



we broke camp and packed up. We wanted to leave at 9 and got on the road at 9:30. Not bad, considering my monster of a horse had a loading issue, after I spent 3 weeks, off and on, loading her. I guess she forgot what we worked on at home! She loading within 5 or 10 minutes, but only after evading the entrance a few times and stepping on my one foot one time. She thinks the can walk sideways into me. She had some major training time coming at home. The other trailer needed hitched, and coolers were packed.

After loading, we headed down the road. A small group of buffalo were on the side of the road, immediately before we left the Black Elk Wilderness area,



as if to tell us good bye.



I have mangers and I fed my horse 2 large flakes of hay and some grain in the trailer. An hour down the road we stopped for gas. When I checked on her, she had eaten everything, AND she tore ½ of the stall divider bumper pad off the stall divider. It was the back half. How did she do that? And she had a long scratch down the INSIDE of her front leg closest to the divider that she messed up. Did she get her leg caught down inside the bumper pad? Was she acting up and stepped down onto herself with her other front leg? I really don’t know. I just kept feeding her every time we stopped and tried not to leave her run out of hay. Mares! I usually get along with them, but this one is acting like a bully 4 year old gelding! Once again, I’m thinking she needs some of this impatience and anxiety worked out of her when I get her home!

Our trip home was a little shorter, as we planned on stopping at Halsey National Park in Nebraska to ride for 2 days.



That may be a little hard for me to do as I only have hay for 1 ½ days. I better graze her some to stretch my hay.

Originally, we planned on being at Ft Rob, Nebraska from Sunday to Wed morning, but funds were getting low. We thought it was better to head closer to home.



We arrived at Halsey campground after about a 6 ½ hour trip. We put the horses in the pens, hay and watered them and parked a few feet away in the campsite. Since this is Sunday night, there is no one else here. Camp is so quiet. After a quick supper, we got the horses out on lunge lines and left them graze. And we watered them from the large tank that is powered by a windmill. They should sleep good tonight.

I knew we will. My friends went into their trailer about 9 and I’m heading to bed by 10, which is early for me. I’m ready for an 8 hour night of sleep. Being in the mountains, a few long rides, higher altitudes, and dealing with horses are wearing me out!

Pleasant dreams…

Good bye, South Dakota.

South Dakota Day 4 Shopping in Custer and Buffalo

Tuesday, August 10, 2010



On Tuesday, we wanted the horse with the sore leg continue to heal, hoping that she would be sound to ride later in the week.



We did some sightseeing, visited some shops in Custer, went through the French Creek campground, and toured the Wildlife Loop.



Since last weekend, motorcycles, from all over the US, were in Sturgis. Motorcycles were everywhere!



All shapes and sizes, to both riders and bikes. Lots of Harleys! Everyone was in black leather, and on some, there wasn’t very much!!! Can you imagine shorts just a little bit more that a black leather thong? Geez! I’ll stick to leather chaps and half chaps! Custer, and nearby Hill City, are about an hour away from Sturgis. I can’t imagine how many motorcycles are there! In Hill City, they closed down main street to cars and trucks, because only the bikes can get through!

On the way to Custer, we saw one, lonely buffalo, and decided he was an older male who got kicked out of the herd by the younger, stronger males. Later, along the Wildlife Loop, we were delighted and excited to see a large herd of buffalo. And not only 1 group, but a 2nd group. The first group traveled out of the trees and across an open area.



We drove down the road and into a parking lot. The herd passed within 30’ of us, in an unfenced field.



A park ranger asked us to stay in our trucks as they were moving the buffalo past the parking lot. We felt like we were part of the herding!

We saw a 2nd herd, that stopped to drink water in the creek.



Once again we were lucky enough to park inside a small parking lot before a lot of people got there. We had front seats as the buffalo came to the creek, about 20’ away.



It was breathtaking to see the herd up close, yet inside or near the safety of the truck. When some of the herd crossed the creek to come to our side, we immediately got in the truck.



Being Sturgis weekend, bikes were soon everywhere near the buffalo. Not everyone was respectful of the buffalo and their young, as one cow snorted and half charged at 2 guys when her calf got too close to the guys. Talk about how this is how to get hurt or die! I wouldn’t have parked my bikes so close. One bike, with 2 people on it, were only 10’ from the nearest guy. He did start his bike, which seemed to irritate the closest buffalo, but they did move away and back into a field. The buffalo have to be used to traffic, as they got very close to the road and the motorcycles who were going back and forth.



If I was one of those bikers, I don’t think I would want one of those buffalo 10-20’ from me and my bike as I drove past them.

Some came down to the creek to drink. Some moved along the trail.



Some crossed the creek to graze in the tall grass.



Standing there by the truck, it didn’t even seem that we existed to the buffalo. I had stayed near the truck, moving from in front of the truck when the buffalo came up to the creek to standing on the running board when the buffalo crossed the creek and got closer. I knew what they could do if angered, and I rapidly stepped into the truck when they where within feet of us, even though I was on the opposite side of the truck.

The view of the buffalo among the trees made it seem like something right out of a movie. It gave me goose bumps. The buffalo were spread along the whole hillside, moving in and out of the trees.



I will always remember that hillside viewing of the buffalo herd.

We saw some deer with a young, spotted fawn. We spotted many antelope.



And we saw some young turkeys. And it was fun to see so many different colored donkeys. The mares and babies were so tame. We laughed as the donkeys would stand in the middle of the road, holding up traffic.



We stopped to shop some more. We are going to make dream catchers with items that seem relevant to the trip. At one of the store, they had miniature stone cutouts of animals. We picked a horse that was similar in color to our own horse. We picked a while buffalo, which is held sacred to the Indians. Perfect! Later that week, we found other items, a small pinecone, some flowers to dry, pine needles, small stones. This will be a special piece of history, as well as a symbolic artwork of our South Dakota trip.

We picked up dead tree branches on the way back to the campground. You are not allowed to haul in lumber. We plan on taking a trail ride in the morning, and coming back to enjoy a campfire at night!