Events of Friday, July 23, 2010 

On our first full day in South Dakota we started to explore the Black Hills region. I learned that they are called “Black Hills” because they looked dark to westward-moving pioneers. The name also has significance to the native peoples. The six directions each have a color: blue for up (sky), green for down (grass), white for north (snow), yellow for east (the rising sun), red for south (clay dirt), and black for west (the thunder-beings, which are spirit beings who send rain, and sometimes thunderstorms). 

We first visited Custer State Park and took “Wildlife Road”. In the visitor center we learned that buffalo and bison are the same beast. The different names have different etymologies: for the first, see www.buffaloah.com; for the second from the scientific name, “bison bison”. The park rangers at the gate let us know which roads to travel for the best chance of seeing the free-roaming buffalo. Though some of the roads were unpaved, the dirt was firm and mostly flat, so Harvey (the RV) managed them well. We traveled road 2 and found several buffalo grazing about 100 yards away. We stopped to get out (though not to approach them, which would be unsafe) and took some photos. I was surprised to see some of them playfully chasing one another. I was even more surprised by the noises. Some of the buffalo made frequent sounds. The vocalization seemed like a mixture of roaring, purring, and burping: very low pitch, medium volume, and about three seconds long. We traveled on and found another herd climbing out of a forested area onto an open grassy hill. We stopped there for lunch (inside, this time) and enjoyed munching with the buffalo. As we exited to the south, we saw and heard some prairie dogs in the distance.

Our afternoon destination was Wind Cave National Park. The park service only allows ranger-led tours of the caves, to preserve the natural formations. We chose the Fairgrounds Tour, which included many lit “rooms” and passageways. The most unusual features of this cave are called boxwork, which look a bit like a chocolate waffle. Ranger Whitney’s descriptions of the geological history here entranced me. Imagine an undersea wall of bricks of various sizes and shapes, cemented together by sparkling brown mortar. Then take away the sea and the bricks. What’s left is the mortar, in box-shaped cubicles. Dazzlingly beautiful. Just for variety, add in some cave popcorn and frostwork (like icy blades of grass). Wow! I mused on the millions of years that these underground jewels lay undiscovered and unappreciated. It is good at such times to worship and thank our Creator God. So that is what I did.