Tatanka! Tatanka!

Yesterday we saw deer everywhere in Custer park but today we got up early and left the campground at 8 and headed to Custer park where we had to do some of the dangerous road from yesterday but we were going on the wildlife loop road around the park.  The park has some tunnels carved out of the granite hills and they list the height and width so we spent a lot of the day backtracking and not taking the most direct routes because we had to avoid tunnels with names like 'Needle eye'.

To say we saw buffalo is an understatement.  We were in the middle of a herd that took a nap in the road and saw a lot of calves (even one with it's face covered in ticks!).  They were right next to our car I could have opened the door and hit them but they were a little big to pet.  But we had a lot of fun looking for them but of course after a while it was like oh - another buffalo, hmm whatever.

The loop was 17 miles and we didn't see any animals after the buffalo for a good ten miles, we almost turned back but then were rewarded by seeing burrows!  Yes wild burrows, well not so wild, they stuck their heads in the RV and when you got out they followed you around for food, Rick had one chasing him as the girls were too scared to get out until we realized they were very, very tame and sort of fat.  We illegally feed them carrots but had a great time!  Other people were feeding them bread so I didn't feel too bad about a carrot!  Blair our animal lover was terrified and wouldn't get out but later she said it was because of the horse flies, if you didn't know the Bassett children all have an unnatural fear of bugs - scream if they see a house fly.  We think it from us saying close the door you'll let bugs in.

Then on to Sylvan lake and a few of the participants were willing and others were not so happy, but of course after we got out and started walking around and found a cave and shiny rocks everyone was happy to participate again.  The trail went all around the man made lake but one side was granite outcroppings, it was pretty rough and Rick had to carry Lauren a little and I wasn't sure we were going the right way but then we saw some elderly people on the path and figured we were going the right way.  We were rewarded with a waterfall and a tunnel.  Had a good time climbing but then Lauren stepped on a fish hook - it barely went it but of course there was a lot of screaming.  She wanted a cast. 

On to Mount Rushmore, which thankfully was a short drive from Sylvan lake.  Really nicely done and the first place we'd seen food for sale, did you know Thomas Jefferson was one of the first Americans to write down an ice cream recipe?  It was really hot and we didn't realize there was a path you can walk close to the bottom but the only way we were going to get the kids to go was ice cream.  Once we were cooled off we started the path and then noticed park rangers walking quickly in front of us.  They closed the path - a fire had started about two miles away and they were closing the path but for now keeping the park open. So the fire we were detoured by yesterday (it was huge!  we saw all the firemen tents at the high school) seemed to be out on Monday, it had poured Sunday night.  So we left to come back to the campgrounds and we never saw any smoke but we did see firemen having a meeting outside of the monument.

Long day and there are a lot of cranky on each others nerves kids and there is another big thunderstorm on its way.  Wish we'd get some of this rain in Kansas!