Bucket lists are funny things. Each bucket of dreams is unique to the person, filled with their own wishes and desires. Mine usually includes a heavy dose of wild animals. Every time. And buffalo are in the top five. Majestic. Unpredictable. Wise. Patient. Until they aren’t.
So, if one wants to see buffalo, what better place than an honest-to-goodness buffalo roundup? September 25, 2026. HHH and I were there, sitting on the rolling hills of Custer State Park.
We woke at 4:00 a.m. and were on the road by 5:00. Let me start by saying HHH gets the Golden Steering Wheel Award for crisscrossing South Dakota in our rental car. He didn’t get the Corvette he would have loved to drive, but the Hyundai Elantra served its purpose. Nearing the end of its rental life, it wasn’t the cleanest or newest car on the lot. But it didn’t let us down.
Driving through unfamiliar countryside in the dark isn’t always comforting. Not knowing exactly where we were going, we started off anyway. Soon, we realized we didn’t need to know the way. Everyone else did. We also learned that 5:00 a.m. isn’t early for buffalo chasers. In fact, we found ourselves behind nearly two miles of people who had gotten up even earlier than we had.
Parking attendants directed us into our space amid the unmistakable scent of pungent buffalo patties. Everywhere. Once parked, we discovered more lines. Lines for the porta-potties. Lines for the cowboy breakfast of sourdough pancakes, sausage, and coffee.
Our viewing spot couldn’t have been better. On the South Side—opposite the North Side, naturally—we found the closest we could get.
Big sky.
Green grass.
Horses.
Cowboys. And more than 20,000 people waiting for buffalo.
Then, at about 10:45, they appeared over the ridge.
Buffalo.
They came down the hill and swept around until they were right there in front of our eyeballs. A herd of about 1,300.
Cowboys on horseback stayed with them, pushing the herd forward. ATVs and pickups joined the effort, keeping the animals moving toward the corrals. Bulls. Cows. Calves. Angry. Snorting. Irritated buffalo. With nowhere else to go, they were guided through the gate and into the corrals, where the work of sorting and caring for the herd would begin.
And just like that, another item came off my bucket list. Are buffalo more interesting to watch roaming quietly in the wild? I think so. But if you love buffalo, you should see a roundup once.
Mission accomplished.
We still had plenty of South Dakota adventures ahead of us, and I plan to share them throughout the week. Stay tuned.
There’s just one more thing before I go. Widow: A Journey Toward Life will be available on Amazon on November 11, 2026, in paperback, hardcover, and e-book. I’m also considering a large-print edition. Would that interest you? Please email me at grievinggardenerjoy@gmail.com and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
More tomorrow.