Buffalo 10/16/2004
Here it is August and you only have a few things done. Oh yeah, it was supposed to be the summer for vacation. Great, time off from all the work around here. You promised the grandkids that they could go with you to Mount Rushmore. Now if you had have gone two or three years ago, it would have been real fun and relaxing, but no, you had to wait until this year. Now if you have ever taken a trip with a 14 year old girl who has just become involved with her first boy friend, maybe, just maybe you can picture this trip. You load up three girls, 14, and two 11 year olds. First order of business, leave all cell phones at home. Ouch, how do I call my boy friend, how do I call my Mother? Easy, write. What a concept, a trip with no phone, nothing to do but talk to grandparents, oh well, they still have their CD players and their music. May even play a game or two, but they have no intentions of watching the scenery along the way. Now grandparents can be so weird, they check out the CD's and low and behold, not fit to listen to. OK may one or two are acceptable. First day out and already turning ugly. You won't play that horrid music on the truck CD player. You stop for lunch, and little did you know that this would be a preview of things to come. They order more than they can eat, have no manners, and think that you are being unfair to correct them. Before the trip is over, you cringe at the thought of going into a restaurant.
Now you finally make it to the Black Hills. Look! a cavern to go into, let's go. You stop, wait for the tour, then what do you hear, "its cold down here". Can't wait for the next event. Check into a motel, you had to be cheap, the front falls off the air conditioner, the bathroom door doesn't stay closed, and only half the lights work. But you stay because there is a SWIMMING POOL. Next morning, you are on your way to climb Crazy Horse. Once a year, the mountain is open to anyone that wants to climb the sculpture. Now walking and climbing mountains is not your idea of fun. OK, you can do this. Off you all go. First mile of six, laughing, talking, almost flat, fun. Second mile, starts uphill, now the younger girls are starting to complain. Third mile, wife and 14 year old are tired of waiting on you and the younger girls, they go ahead. Now your fun ends as you listen to complaints of "I'm tired, can we quit". Now you are taking more breaks more often than you want. Now you threaten to beat the girls to an inch of their life if they don't keep up. Only one more mile, straight uphill. You can see the top, and your wife waving at you. This is not fun anymore. Who said children were a joy to be around? Finally, the top. Your wife and the 14 year old are rested, want to go back down, hurry take pictures. You want to strangle both of them. Look at that road, it goes straight to the bottom. Finally, you agree on the short cut to the bottom. Have lunch and back to the motel to rest. "Quick, let's go swimming", what happened to "I'm too tired to walk". Three hours in the pool and they still have energy.
Off to see Mount Rushmore, "I'm sick, I can't walk anymore", so it goes. Back to the motel, "Let's go swimming". Now you think, why leave town, they could have stayed home and swam for all they care. More walking, around Devil's Tower. More swimming, time to leave. Drive through Custer State Park, see hundred's of buffalo. sure would like to have one of those, talk to a Ranger, find out there is an auction in the fall of each year. Must go back then and get one.
You have stopped at every state line and taken pictures, a real tourist. Been through ten states, spent more money than you planned, now it is time to drop those brats off with their parents and hope you never see them again.
Next weekend, you have a Field Day for Longhorn Breeders. You go, have a nice social, but interestingly enough, one of the members also raises buffalo. You talk. You have a few extra heifers, he has an extra buffalo cow. Maybe, can trade for the cow. He will deliver next week.
Buffalo (Bison) are a wild animal, they are unpredictable, and mean. What ever possessed you to trade for something that will hurt you. Some times, you can be so stupid. But now you have a buffalo cow, no place to put it, so you put into a pasture with a heifer and a bull calf. Now they are smart. Only takes a few hours until they know to stay away from this animal, she charges everything. You learn to keep a fence between you and this buffalo, she will let you feed her, but don't stand by the fence once she is fed, you give her water thru the fence, but if you take to long, she gets tired of waiting, and will charge. Now you are really having fun and life is good. A morning cup of coffee, look out over the cows and the buffalo, and enjoy. What happened to the gate that kept the buffalo and cows separated? A crumpled mess. You go down, the heifer has a bad cut on her mouth, bleeding badly, will probably stop, can't do anything with it. The gate is scrap metal, and the buffalo is going down the wrong fence line. Life is good. Get the feed bucket, rattle it and the buffalo turns around, and comes toward you, best to stay ahead of her. She follows you back to the pasture she should be in and you close her in. Life is good. Go back to drinking coffee.
You have a cow in heat, got to get that bull calf (Zephyr) moved back to the pasture with the buffalo. maybe tomorrow. Other things to do. Wait a couple days, drinking coffee, watching the cows enjoying the morning. Is that blood on Zephyr's face. Set your coffee down and go look. Blood running down the side of his face, you look closely, and find a horn ripped at the base. Need to stop the bleeding. Duct tape will work. Put him in the head gate, and duct tape him back together. It will probably wear off. Life is good.
Now if anyone ever ask you what it is like to live in the country, have grandkids, and have a purpose in life, just tell them that "It don't get any better".