This afternoon we went over to Custer State Park, the site of tomorrow's buffalo roundup. We checked out the area we'll be going to tomorrow morning to be sure we allow enough time to get there by 6:00 am. The normal attendance is around 10,000 people but last year's 50th anniversary of the roundup drew 22,000 people. The park has tight two-lane roads and having that many vehicles on them is challenging. This is not a special anniversary year so we're really hoping attendance will not be as large.
We spent some time talking to a park volunteer, finding out about the roundup and where to go and what to expect. It turned out he and his wife are from Knoxville and are regular summer volunteers at the park. They spend each summer in their motorhome in the park and will head back to Knoxville on Sunday after the roundup is over. He hasn't been able to see the roundup because of his duties elsewhere in the park so hopes to return as a tourist one year.
After checking out the roundup area we went over to the Buffalo Roundup Art Show, an outdoor show just like the ones we used to do (except we never did outdoor shows). There was the usual glut of jewelry plus a lot of very nice wildlife art, both paintings and photos. The show wasn't crowded and it was nice to be able to browse without being jostled.
There's not much to show for today in the way of pictures. These two are representative of the way the park looked in the late afternoon sun. There's quite a lot of color here but it's generally rusty-red and dark yellow. It can't hold a candle to Colorado's aspens. Nothing can.
Tomorrow will be a long day (starting at 4:30 am, not our favorite time to get up) but it's one I have looked forward to since June. Jim is generously going along with it and I do hope he will enjoy it. Perhaps the pancake and sausage breakfast and the bison BBQ lunch served at the roundup will be enticing.
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