The size of a national park, and with some of the features of a national park, Custer State Park in South Dakota is pretty incredible for a not-a-national-park destination. Mostly because of the animals. Ok it’s entirely because of the animals.

This park has an 18-mile loop road that is dedicated to animal viewing and is even called “Wildlife Loop Road.” We enjoyed the first visit so much, we visited again one morning later in the week at sunrise, so these pictures are a combination of both trips.

Let’s start with the Prairie Dogs. Recall from our visit to Devil’s Tower that we were surprised by our first encounter with these little chirpers congregating in communities called Prairie Dog Towns and uttering a strange sound somewhere between a squeak and a bark that I liked to call a “squark.” Custer also had several Prairie Dog Towns, so we took advantage of the chance to see these little cuties again, and captured some video along the way.

Next on the list, in no particular order, were the unexpected wild donkeys. No we don’t mean the uninvited relatives who ruin family gatherings; we mean actual wild burrows.

Perhaps most interesting at Custer were the bison. On our visit to Yellowstone – where bison are usually ubiquitous – the bison were at some distance this time. However, whatever bison cravings might have remained were satisfied at Custer, because the herd was out in force and occupying the road.

We also saw many pronghorn antelope along the way. We hadn’t seen many of these guys before, although I know they are prevalent in this part of the Country.

The geese were not a unique sight for us, but merit mention regardless.

And perhaps the wildest animal of them all: Bella!