CUSTER STATE PARK

We took a day to check out Custer State Park.  Mr. W had read that they have a Buffalo Round-up each year and this year it will be this Friday.  We stopped at the Visitor's Center and Mr. W asked one of the Rangers about the Round-up.  He gave us a little bit of info, but did tell Mr. W that they were branding the buffaloes today and there was a catwalk to stand on and watch.  

We headed out on the Wildlife Loop and eventually reached the animal corrals. We stopped there, but didn't see any branding going on.  We walked on the catwalk to take a look and met a Ranger who gave us a ton of info on the Round-up.

They are expecting approximately 20,000 people to attend the Round-up.  They will be rounding up 1300 to 1500 buffalo. They make sure they don't round-up males over 3 to 4 years old. The Ranger said when they get older, they get meaner and more rebellious. It isn't worth the trouble of fighting a 2,000 pound buffalo. 

We asked about parking and where to see the most action.  She told us that we would need to get to the park around 4:30 a.m. to line up to get in the park. Once in, we would need to get parked, grab our chairs, and find our viewing area by 6:30 a.m.  They start the Round-up at 9:30 a.m.  Where we thought we would park would provide us the view of the buffaloes coming over a ridge with cowboys. The cowboys guide the buffalo to the corrals, which volunteers  have a process down to a science to guide them into the corrals. 

The buffalo will be chipped and tagged. They have records of those rounded up before and the info is stored on a laptop. A vet checks them out and administers shots and other medical services they need. They are evaluated as they go through. Some are kept. Some are not. The ones that aren't kept are auctioned off. 

Well, the other thing the Ranger told us was that you can't leave the Round-up until all of the buffalo are in the corral. That is usually somewhere around 1:00 p.m. After talking about it a little bit more, we decided that we really didn't want to go that badly. 

One more thing we learned was that the cowboys in the Round-up have to apply each year. If chosen, they have to show up a week early and their riding abilities verified. The Governor of South Dakota is quite the horsewoman. She rides every year in the Round-up and then signs autographs afterwards for a very long time. The cowboys carry whips. However, they don't hit the animals with them. They crack them for the sounds. It helps the buffalo stay together and not stray outside the herd. 

We only rode a little bit on The Needles highway because we were going to the Mt. Rushmore Memorial to see it at night and didn't have time to do the whole thing. We finished up the Wildlife Loop, which didn't disappoint with the animals, and plan to do the Needles tomorrow.