Just got back from the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup.  We drove to Deadwood where we always stay at the Deadwood Gulch Resort and Casino.  This is about a ten-hour drive.  We took Bailey the rescue dog on vacation with us and this was his first trip since the pit bull attack in May of this year.  Bailey cried and made a lot of whimpering sounds most of the way.  He did not sleep once!  Our nerves were pretty raw from the sounds by the time we arrived in Deadwood.

We got settled and put him in his kennel which we brought with… his kennel is large and could house a Saint Bernard if necessary.  We could have gone smaller but… Bailey is our furry baby.  We took off for dinner.  The second drink into at the Franklin Silverado Casino, waiting for our name to be called for dinner, we get a call from the hotel.  Two complaints about Bailey barking.  Now please understand we have taken him away before and not a peep out of him after leaving him in the room while we go to dinner… we take him everywhere else during our vacations.  Drop off the dinner pager, hop on the trolley and back to the Resort… at least we had a couple of drinks before this issue!  Dinner in the room which we ordered from their restaurant.  However, I must say it was one of the best dinners I’ve had in that area.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy… comfort food much-needed by this time.  Smiling…

We found Bailey a place for daytime hours during our stay … The Paw Spa in Deadwood, offering doggie bakery, spa treatments (i.e., grooming), boarding, and daily doggie day care.  It was very nice but Bailey hated it.  Nevertheless, he was in there daily for the duration:  Thursday short day and Friday all day until 7 PM to accommodate our dinner at the Silverado Casino.  Coming back – more whimpering and with it our decision to always make a reservation and let him vacation at the Hound Dog Hotel and Spa when we go away on vacation.  It’s just too stressful for all of us.

The Buffalo Roundup was interesting.  We couldn’t drop Bailey off at Doggie Day Care until 7 AM so we got there right before they closed the gates.  We got behind a very elderly gentleman driving down the Needles who was going about 5-10 mph and took us double time what we had expected.  But at least we got there before they started turning people away.  There were about 13,000 to 15,000 people there waiting.  Off in the distance we could see a large buffalo bull standing on the hill alone looking over the valley, his herd, and the people.  And once the drive began, he turned and walked away in the opposite direction.  Obviously, he’s been through this drill before.

While it was pretty interesting and very amazing to see they drive the buffalo with their beautiful little calves running by their mothers’ sides, it had a bittersweet feel to me also.  I knew they would be counted, their health checked and the herd would be thinned and the excess buffalo sold at auction in November.  To go from this beautiful free range setting to who knows where seems incredibly sad to me.  I really don’t want to think beyond them leaving this spiritual place.

Buffalo Drive over. no further discussion of Bailey our tramatized furry child– on to thoughts on the Black Hills.

The Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota and Northern Wyoming is the most spiritual place I have ever had the privilege of visiting. Driving through the mountains, particularly through Spearfish Canyon, touches your soul.  It is clear why the Indians consider this area to be their holy place.  Many times you can stop the car, get out, close your eyes, and you hear nothing but nature.  It is easy to believe you are back 200 years ago and there is no civilization… that you are alone.  Your spirit is quiet.  I frequently will have minor anxiety but never when I am in the Black Hills… the Black Hills quiets my soul and spirit.

The beauty of this place is really indescribable and beyond belief.  On my first trip out to the Hills, many years ago, I took hundreds of pictures trying to capture the beauty and majesty of the land.  I got home and these simply were pictures, lovely scenes of land and mountains, but only pictures without the depth of beauty and the soul of the land that clearly touches your heart when you are there in person.  I tried to paint from the pictures I took… I made some lovely paintings but none of these truly represent the peaceful calm that comes to my heart when I am physically there, experiencing the land.

I go there and I want to stay.  I think about retiring in the Hills.  I study the beauty and depth of the colors of the landscape.  I try to imprint the scenes and colors in my memory, how they fade and glow into lighter tones and darker depths of shades.  I study the sky and remember Bruce Tapola’s blending of colors into lighter and darker tones and shades and in my mind’s eye watch myself blending the colors with my paint brush.  And I wish I could live there and bring my easel  outside and study the colors, the Hills and their beauty as I paint.

So back home, here I am, trying to remember the colors, the Hills, the peaceful feelings I had when I was there.  Here I am, studying airline schedules from Minneapolis to Rapid City, planning and wondering when I can return to the Black Hills.  Thought for the day, remember the colors of the hills.