"Oh give me a home ..."

"Oh Give me a home

where the buffalo roam

and the deer and the antelope play."

Custer State Park could have been the inspiration for this song. What a mix of contrasts - buffalo, deer, antelope, bobcat, mountain lion, elk, grassy plains, forest covered hills, rocky buttes and peaks can all be found in this unspoiled park. Unspoiled that is except for continuous roar of Harleys.

Yesterday, we took a drive through the park. We got out several times to take photos of the local wildlife as well as some of the scenic overlooks. We got to see first hand how long it can take for an area to recover from forest fires. One area had a fire in 1990. You can see the felled trees, now bleached grey by the sun. The area is thick with grass and some smaller ponderous pines are growing.

After a lunch of buffalo brisket or brats, we decided to find a good hiking trail. This took us higher into the park, into the towering spires. The access roads narrowed to one lane through the tunnels, so we had to take turns with the parades of bikers. At last, we reached the trail head to the Cathedral Spires. It was a strenuous hike. 45 minutes of mostly uphill hiking over steps made of exposed tree roots, scrambling over rocks and boulders till we reached the end of the trail at the Spires. Several times we needed to stop and catch our breath - maybe not Meg - she again, was a little jackrabbit. Mark was getting too far ahead of us, so we felt he should carry the pack of water to slow him down:) The hike down was difficult, especially on my bad knees (downhill is always the worst.) Think walking down stairs only the risers could be 2 - 3 feet at times.

We were rather exhausted after that, so we stayed in and watched the Olympics before hitting the hay.