king of the road

 

This bison literally stopped traffic in Yellowstone by standing in the road and calmly observing the tourists.  Fortunately he was on my side of the bus!

 

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

9.15.2015

number 143

 

The Official Bison Herd of Texas freely roams the 12,000 acres in Caprock Canyon State. Rancher Charles Goodnight and his wife Mary realized that the buffalo would soon face extinction.  The Goodnights rescues two buffalo calves in 1878.  Mary even bottle-fed the babies.  The orphans thrived on three gallons of mild a day and the herd eventually grew to several hundred.  In 1997 the remaining herd was given to the State of Texas and rounded up from the JA Ranch.  Today one can visit the descendants of those bison who once roamed the Texas Plains.

 

Caprock Canyon State Park

Briscoe County, Texas

2.8.2015


where the buffalo roam

 

It is well worth a Sunday afternoon drive to visit Caprock Canyons State Park, especially on a sping-like day in February.  Caprock Canyon is home to the State of Texas Official Bison Herd.

 

Caprock Canyons State Park

Quitaque, Texas

2.8.2015





Majestic, and stoic of stature;
master of the open ground.

(Ode to the American Buffalo -- Geiger)


There is a bill in Congress "to adopt the bison as the national mammal of the United States." The bison, or American buffalo, is already the state animal of Wyoming, Oklahoma and Kansas. South Dakota has 33,000 bison one-sixth the national total (although the state animal is the coyote). Sen. Tim Johnson says "The bison has played an important role in our nation's history, holds spiritual significance to Native American cultures and remains one of our most iconic and enduring symbols."  What a sight to see a vast herd of bison with calves frolicking alongside their mothers while the bison bull surveyed his kingdom from atop the hill.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

6.10.2014