In a word – WOW! Located in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota is the largest state park named after Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.  Known for its beautiful scenery and abundant array of wildlife, there is plenty to feast the eyes. Bison (not Buffalo) roam freely, antelope, elk. big horn sheep and coyotes among others calls this home. All these animals are fascinating to observe in their habitat.  We were able to view our first group of Bison here. These animals are massive in size and are amazing to see in person.  Now, you may be wondering about the bison verses buffalo thing. People often use the common names buffalo and bison interchangeably without even realizing that buffalo and bison are in fact two totally different animals. Buffaloes and bison fall into the taxonomic family Bovidae, making them bovines. If this term is familiar to you, it is probably because cows are also bovines and within the same family. This means that cows, buffaloes, and bison are all related to one another.

Bovines are classified as being medium to medium-large mammals with hoofed feet. They are herbivorous, meaning they only eat plant matter.

Buffaloes and bison tend to be social and travel in large groups or herds. They also have horns, however in some bovines it might only be the males with horns present. Bison, for example, have disproportionately large heads and a protruding shoulder hump, which gives their fronts a much wider appearance. As a result, their heads tend to be much lower to the ground, sloping their backs downwards. Buffaloes on the other hand have a much smaller head relative to their overall body size, and lack the protruding shoulder hump that makes the bison unique. This makes the buffaloes head sit much higher, with a straight back. Bison are also located in places like Africa and Asia. This was such an amazing thing to learn.

Nestled within this park is an amazingly blue Sylvan Lake surrounded by rock mountains. We walked around the lake on the approx.2-mile lake trail which also took you through rocky passages and to hidden waterfall sites. This discovery was just amazing to take in and on such a stunning day. Another gem of this park is known as Needles Highway.  Named that because there are tunnels carved out in the mountain roadway to make passage through the mountains. These passages are only about 8 feet wide and so you better know how wide your car is.  Words and pictures cannot describe the emotions and reactions to what the eye can see here. It must be experienced to fully appreciate the nature of this place.