Back across the Missouri River (crossing a unique structured bridge) into Yankton we were on our way to Custer State Park, with one overnight stay on the way. There has been little rain, so it’s miles of brown dry prairie grass, farms, ranches, and one lone coyote.
An early stop, driving about 5 miles off the highway, takes us to Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge. The facilities have been badly neglected other than mowing the trail. We walked along the lakeside trail with grasshoppers jumping all around us – they are also splattered all over the van. We saw a lot of birds in the lake including pelicans – we discovered on our trip last year that they migrate all the way to Winnipeg area.
At our overnight stop, a Harvest Host ranch called Steinke Ranch in Colome, SD we met our host Al and had a nice long chat about his Buffalo ranching. He is a fourth generation rancher and he usually herds about 1000 buffalo. He recently started hosting as a way to open up the ranch to others and make extra income by selling his meats. He is also a hunter, so has other meats to offer as well – he had run out of his ‘dog food’ unfortunately, but we purchased bison burgers which we ate that night, they were very lean and mild in flavor. We also bought pheasant and buffalo jerky’s and eggs (which he delivered fresh from the hen house the next morning). Our spot in a field was great for stargazing, but there were some nasty seasonal sand burrs around, so we had to be careful where we were stepping; OUCH, tiny but mighty.
The Black Hills: Several people had told us before leaving that it is a must, so…….. Driving there was picturesque as we traversed through the Badlands National Park with its butte’s, rolling hills, and prairie grass. A little further along we entered Black Hills National Forest. The Black Hills offers all the outdoors activities and wildlife viewing one could want. There are 30 campgrounds, 11 reservoirs for fishing, 450 miles of hiking trails, and scenic drives. This part of South Dakota has a lot to offer – Mount Rushmore is nearby but we didn’t visit as they don’t allow dogs anywhere, and charge extra fees to park even though we have a National Parks pass – just to walk 20 minutes to see the stone carvings – no thanks. There are also other National Parks and two National Grasslands nearby. Lots to see on another visit.
Custer State Park
Part of the Black Hills, it is SD’s first state park and named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. It encompasses over 71,000 acres of prairie grasslands and rugged mountains.
There is a varied choice of campgrounds, from rustic to resort, a few lodges with restaurants and stores, and many trails. We camped at two campgrounds during our stay – the first, State Game Lodge, was fully booked for the weekend of the annual bison roundup, so we could only stay two nights. There is a variety of sites; some open grassy areas and some with shade trees and a little privacy. The facilites are modern and clean, and the large visitor centre is close by. The third night we stayed at Stockade Lake, a more rustic environment which we enjoyed.
The yearly roundup and auction keeps the bison numbers manageable for the available feeding grounds and draws more than 10,000 people – there is also a large arts and crafts market set up for the weekend. The park is home to a herd of 1,500 bison, along with deer, elk coyotes, mountain goats, etc….. and a group of feral burros that frequent one area and beg for food from passing vehicles, occasionally causing Burro jams.
