Sunday Drives

Today’s adventures were weather dependent. We had lots of cold rain overnight that changed to snow by morning. We accumulated about an inch or two of snow.

Breakfast was supposed to be ricotta pancakes, but the house had no whisk (needed for the egg whites), backup plan was pancakes but no baking powder, maybe we would have to join the mule deer in the field to forage for breakfast?

No, I remembered I can make crepes. We made sweet and savory filled crepes. We had to chuckle because the house we stayed in Kauai had stairs that overlooked the kitchen and made for great photo vantage points.

Once the air temperature warmed above 32° we decided to venture out. We have a two mile unpaved road to navigate before a paved road. We worried the dirt road might be a bit sketchy in snow, but it was fine, just slow going.

We headed out to Custer State Park, a mere 7 minutes away, to drive the Wildlife Loop Trail. One of my hopes was to see bison in their natural habitat (we’ve seen them before in zoos/nature parks). We weren’t at prime viewing time as it was mid morning, but we didn’t care.

First we went up 87 to the Heddy Draw overlook, before the Wildlife loop. At this evaluation we had more snow, but the road was fine.

We figured out this might be a sunrise view and being so close to our rental we might actually catch it from here one morning. We continued the drive to the loop. Going down in evaluation we lost all snow.

We passed an authentic prairie dog encampment that didn’t have humans feeding them. We commented on the size and color difference of yesterday and today’s prairie dogs.

After watching the critters, we continued on looking for bison. We found some on faraway hills grazing. I thought that is all I will get for today and reminded myself to be appreciative of that.

We continued on our way and then a loner bison greeted us, just a wee bit closer. I did get out of the car, staying a respectful distance away. He lifted his head looking at me and I thanked him for granting me the opportunity to spend time with him. I thanked the Indigenous spirits for gracing me with such a majestic beast sighting. He kept moving closer, staring at me and I stepped back into the car to keep us both safe.

From the safety of our car, we watched him drink some water, but he must have gotten some up his nose, because he shook his head and did a little leap.

We departed the park through a beautiful drive and headed to Rapid City for a better grocery shopping excursion. We returned home to a late lunch and lazy afternoon.

As I write this we are trying to plan tomorrow. Once again our plans are waiting to see what Mother Nature has in store for our area, winter weather advisories are posted till mid day tomorrow. I am hoping we can get out for a hike or two.

We had one of best Sunday drives ever! Oh by the way, we purchased a whisk!