Friday afternoon in Custer, South Dakota. The long awaited day has come and gone. Ms. Kate and I set the alarms for 0500 to get up, get dressed and head out to the buffalo roundup. Of course that means we slept light and got up around 0430, and were out of the door by 0515. We got to Custer State Park and joined the long, (miles long) line of folks waiting for them to open up the area gate at 0615. I had a breakfast of pancakes and sausage and coffee out on the prairie which amped up my cowboy spirit.

The event was fairly short lived once they actually started moving the buffalo our direction. We had watched them gather different herds into a central gathering spot off on a distant hillside. At about 1000 they started moving the entire herd our direction. It was an awesome sight and was well worth the trip, worth the getting up early, worth chilling our fannies off in the morning air and 50 degree breeze cooled air. I have no idea how many people were out there to witness the roundup, suffice it to say there were thousands of people along the fence lines. We could have waited around and caught a bus down to the corrals and watched them work with them down there but decided we had seen what we came to see. So, we headed out, and stopped by the Blue Bell Lodge for lunch. There is one less buffalo somewhere out there becaue I had buffalo stew for lunch. I used to go to the Blue Bell lodge when I was a kid and traveling with my parents. They would stay in one of the cabins.

We have tonight and tomorrow night yet here in the motel. It is a fairly nice place. The beds are comfortable and the staff is friendly. We've had a flock of wild turkeys and a deer here in the yard this afternoon.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse mountain. Sunday we head out for Cody Wyoming. All of this just keeps me in touch with the Holy Spirit. Being out in nature is such a wondeerful thing to do. Feeling the sun on your face and smelling the fresh air out here in the mountains is a wonderful thing. That, however, doesn't take a single thing away from my mornings sitting in my sunporch watching all my critters in the backyard buffet. It is just a different kind or level of enjoyment.

So, as I travel, please keep me and Ms. Kate in your prayers for safe travel. We'll do the same for you and your activities in your daily life. God is always there no matter where you are, Traveling like this is simple proof in the pudding. Jonah might run, but Jonah can't hide. LOL Peace.