Today we get an early start as we have a lot of sightseeing to do.  On the agenda is a trip to the Bad Lands, Custer State Park, Mt. Coolidge and the Needles.

The Bad Lands are just incredible.  I’ve seen Mike stream from here a few times, but seeing it in person is soooo different.  You just can’t imagine the vast expanse of this place.  The rock erosions are quite stunning.  We happen to be here early in the day with full sunlight so the colors are washed out but it is still impressive.  I touched one area and it just crumbles to the touch.  It is really, really warm here and with no shade or water, it is amazing to see wild flowers growing.

Mike and Neely again go off exploring.  I had a bad night last night with my allergies / asthma so I didn’t want to go too far or do any climbing so I walked along the upper rim of where Mike and Neely are.  I join Randy back at the van and the next thing you know the “Belgian Boys” are right behind us.   We chat with them for a while and then our two wanderers return.  It turns out that the boys are here for seven weeks and will also be heading to Yellow Stone.  Not sure if we will meet up with them again or not but they seem like really nice young men.

Then we are off to Custer State Park.  Oh boy was this a blast!  At first we were not seeing any wild life but once we did boy did we get a treat!  We encounter some antelope and deer, prairie dogs and of course the buffalo.  Let me tell you these animals are massive.  Apparently it was feeding time.  The first bunch we saw were heading to a trough.  We turned and saw a large herd of them coming across a field so we turn the van around to watch them pass us.  Randy says it’s ok to get out and take pictures so I get in front of the van and snap away.  There are many young ones being led by their Mother’s, and the “teenagers” have a little tussle, and then come the big Daddies!  I look down the pasture and there are three of them coming up.  The one in the lead gives me that hairy eye look and I decide it time to get back in the van just as he decides to do a little charge.  Whew that was close, but just as I get in the van Mike is opening the door and doesn’t see that two are charging towards him.  He gets in and they swerve away from the van.  The look on Mike’s face was priceless!

We move on from this area and we encounter the burrows… These guys are a hoot!  They just walk right up to your vehicle and stick their head in looking for something to nibble on.  We had to stop and check them out.  They really were pretty cute!

We  then head through the park to find the road to the needles.  A grouping of rocks that look like needles.  On the way we find the road the leads to Mt. Coolidge so we decide to go up.  Oh my goodness!  You can not image the view from up here.  Just absolutely breath taking.  We split up and go in different directions to take in the view and take photos.  I encounter several different butterflies but can’t get any of them to land so I can snap them.  Darn!  Then we move on to find the Needles and we are met with even more fabulous views!   God really did know how to create beauty!  We also encountered a deer on the side of the road just nibbling away at the weeds so we turn around to get some shots.  What a chance encounter that was.  Love it!

I’ve taken tons of pictures, I hope the ones I’ve selected can give you an idea of what our day was like – filled with natural wonders and many of God’s wild creatures!  A day I will never forget.  At the end of this long day the boys decide to sing happy birthday to me.  I tell them it’s too early but Mike insists that it’s for the folks who are watching that are already a day ahead….I think I’m in trouble tomorrow on the real day!