Tuesday and Wednesday
We have had two awesome days. I did not post on Monday because we had no cell service in the state park. First, I have to apologize for the spelling of Custer's State Park. I woke up about 2 in the morning and realized I had written Custards State Park. Please know that I do know the difference. We are experiencing fall and it is wonderful. Had to go under the bed and pull out our sweatshirts and long pants.
Tuesday was a beautiful day driving to the Black Hills and to Mammoth Site. The Black Hills are not as impressive as the Badlands. The Indians called them the Black Hills because the rich tree coverage makes them look black from a distance. This is a very sacred space for many Indians died here. We first went to Mammoth Site. In 1972 a mammoth bone was discovered while bulldozers were working to prepare for the building of a subdivision. It turned out that many years ago there was a sink hole in the area now called Hot Springs. The sink hole filled in with water from an underground spring. The Woolly Mammoth would come to the site for water and if they fell in they would be unable to get out due to the steep sides and the slick shale that lined the sides. It is estimated that about 100 of these became victims to the sink hole over a period of about 10 years. Later the spring became dry and over time the sink hole was filled in. Amazingly, the mammoths were perfectly preserved in this sink hole. Over time the importance of this discovery was very clear and they built a building over the site to continue their excavation. The building is at least as big as any SAM'S store but much taller. I will post pictures on FB and have already posted many to the photo stream.
After the Mammoth site we headed to Wind Cave to spend the night. The camp site was too primitive for us so we decided to head onto Custer's State Park. Along the way we saw several buffalo, lots of prairie dogs, deer, and antelope. We made it to our campsite about 5:00 but could not get level due to the steepness of the site. After 4 tries of moving forward and backward the ranger suggested that we go to another campground. Nice guy, he radioed ahead so the ranger there would be ready for us. We were finally settled in by 7:00. With no internet or TV we found ourselves headed to bed by 9:00.
This morning, Wednesday, we continued to explore Custer's State Park looking for all the buffalo. We only saw 5 more but expected to see more of the herd. We did see these mules that were eating out of the hands of visitors. We had read about them and were told that you could feed them. We chose to stay in our MH and take pictures through the windows. The dogs were going crazy.
We then drove through the black hills to the Crazy Horse Memorial. I don't know how to explain what I felt but it was such a spiritual feeling there. I am not a great history buff....who am I kidding...I hated history and learned absolutely nothing...so this was a real eye opener for me. Crazy Horse was once asked where was his land. He pointed at the black hills and said, "my land is where my people are buried". That is why the memorial has him pointing to the black hills. The black hills were given in a treaty to the Indians and is considered sacred space. Now the very large state park in the middle of the black hills is named after Custer.
We are staying in a very nice park for $10 thanks to our time share. This was our first night to cookout on our new grill. We even watched TV outside in the rain. This is the live. My grandson has been following our blog and pictures and said he wants to retire right now.
I think this last week has been such a gift. I never had a dream of seeing any of South Dakota but I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity. I don't know what the rest of the journey will be like but I think this will be my favorite part.
Peace my friends, Barbara
No comments:
Post a Comment