Some other sights to see

We went to a Petrified Forest in South Dakota but I have to admit that it looked more like a lot of tree trunks placed along a winding path for you to notice.  They weren't all placed there, there were actually some large fallen trees that were completely petrified and quite impressive!  It was a lovely day, sunny and very windy with a cool breeze and a beautiful forest path to walk through, it was quite nice really.  They also had a very nice rock shop with lots of beautiful specimens for sale.

We also visited a place called Bear Country which is like a zoo but you drive your car through it to observe the wildlife.  There were tons of bears, at least 40 of them and I have to admit I've always been afraid of bears especially while camping (Bear-anoia)!  They didn't look as vicious as I expected though.  We saw lots of animals in the zoo.

 Above is an arctic fox

 Big horned sheep

 Mountain goats

 And of course the bears!  The dogs did not care for any of these animals and barked hysterically!  We realized that we can't take them camping say in the Boundary Waters in MN as they would likely make good bear food.  Tune in tomorrow for more pictures!

Wildlife

Here are some more pictures of my vacation to South Dakota.  If you've never had a chance to visit this State, I highly recommend it!  In Custer State Park they have a Wildlife Loop you can drive where you will get a chance to see all sorts of animals.  There are plenty of Prairie Dog towns, Bison, Antelope, Elk, and they even have Wild Burro that are very friendly!  They come right up to your car and stick their head in the window for some treats!

Here are some pictures of the Bison. Female Bison hang out in big herds with their young and the males are generally solitary until it gets closer to breeding season.  Usually at the end of June or beginning of July males start to gather up a harem for breeding season which is during July/August.  Here are some of the female Bison with their adorable young calves.

 The above picture appears to be one of last years calves with one of this years calves.  Below is a picture of some rather fearless Antelope.                            

 There is a small herd of wild Burro in the park as well.  This cute dark colored one is a baby and the mother is in the photo below.

       They were all about the same size but had very different coats than a horse.  This one had longer scraggly fur and there was even one with a wavy coat about the same length.  They were all so cute and very hungry!! 

In a rather secluded part of the park we saw a small herd of Elk, they have very impressive antlers!

    Be sure to read my blog tomorrow, I will have more vacation pictures for you!!