I grew up traversing the country in a Chevy Suburban with my parents and brother. For weeks out of the summer, we would tent camp at every state part, national park, or point of interest from our hometown in Georgia to parts unknown. There isn’t a location or adventure on the Discovery Channel that we haven’t been to or done.
Of course, I grew to appreciate these experiences much more when my own children were old enough to be trusted to hike parts of Bright Angel or to not hang a hammock in Joshua Tree. Only then did I truly value the weeks I spent on the road for forced family fun during my teenage years.
Since 2017, when we first visited Custer State Park, I have wanted to return to South Dakota to take part in the historic Buffalo Roundup. Custer State Park has the largest and most pure herds of bison in the world. The rangers there have meticulously maintained the herd with annual roundups since 1965, and prior to that when unofficial counting and management occurred.
There are 1,500 buffalo that can be supported on the 71,000 acres of Custer State Park but about 500 calves are born a season. To maintain a pure bloodline and prevent over population, the herd must be curated. Each year, the Buffalo Roundup herds all those animals, bringing them over a rise in the land and into the valley for a majestic, thunderous sight. Imagine 1,500 buffalo in a controlled stampede coming in your general direction. No matter how far in the safe distance you are, you still feel like an extra in How the West Was Won, which was filmed in Custer.
This year, we were fortunate enough to travel to South Dakota to take part in the Buffalo Roundup with our extended family. My parents are seasoned campers, but my in-laws are not. In their words, “camping was out of their comfort zone.” However, they rose to the occasion and our group of eight had an adventure in the Great American West.
The movie may have said it best. “The west was won by its pioneers, settlers, adventurers is long gone now. Yet it is theirs forever, for they left tracks in history that will never be eroded by wind or rain – never plowed under by tractors, never buried in compost of events.” We were able to get a glimpse of the west the pioneers saw on our trip.
This weekend, go camping, find an adventure, make your own history!