Well, I screwed up big time. I really didn’t want to
navigate through crazy Rapid City, and it looked like on the map we could just
head East on smaller highways and make our way to Interior SD. Well, thanks to
Rand McNally I managed to turn a 2 ½ hour drive into 4. But, it resulted in us
being able to wander past the Wounded Knee battlefield, which I never would
have found as I was building itineraries. This was where on December 29, 1890, the
US Army decided instead to shoot Sitting Bull while taking him into custody,
and massacred upwards of 300 Sioux men, women and children. It’s hard to
believe that more than 20 of the US soldiers at Wounded Knee received the
Congressional Medal of Honor for this shameful act.
We are in Interior because it is the nearest spot to the
primary visitor center in Badlands National Park. We passed through here long
ago with the kids, but have few recollections of the Park, and wanted to see it
again.
And we’re glad we did! We had a wildlife extravaganza! When
we visited Buffalo Gap National Grasslands visitor center in Wall, we learned
about the plight of the Black Footed Ferret. This Ferret survives only because
of Prairie Dogs – 
they eat them, and they use abandoned Prairie Dog burrows for
shelter. When agriculture after the Homestead Act decimated the Prairie Dog
population, the Black Footed Ferret was believed to have gone extinct.
Miraculously, a small den was discovered in Wyoming, and have been successfully
reintroduced into the Black Hills of South Dakota. Being nocturnal, we were
lucky to even see one.
they eat them, and they use abandoned Prairie Dog burrows for
shelter. When agriculture after the Homestead Act decimated the Prairie Dog
population, the Black Footed Ferret was believed to have gone extinct.
Miraculously, a small den was discovered in Wyoming, and have been successfully
reintroduced into the Black Hills of South Dakota. Being nocturnal, we were
lucky to even see one.
Driving through the park we spotted a Swift Fox. Another
victim of agriculture, there were none left in the area, and their presence had
to be reintroduced. Fortunately, the efforts have been fruitful, and the Swift
Fox is now more plentiful, especially in the Park.
While the sight of Bighorn Sheep is not necessarily new for
us, it is always a special treat to see one. It is rare to be ab
le to get up
close and personal with one. This guy decided to see what all the commotion of
the parked cars was about, not realizing that he, himself, was the commotion.
We’ve pretty much already seen as much wildlife on our first
pass through the Park than on most of our trip so far!
Talk to you soon!
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