As usual, I tend to slow down a bit in the winter. Maybe I need a trip to some warmer climes! So, after a couple weeks of celebrating the holidays and a couple weeks of loafing, I decided to continue something I started a couple months ago. On our trip to the Black Hills and Yellowstone last fall, we saw many animals, both domesticated and wild. Instead of having a single post to summarize them all I thought it would be more fun to create several posts. That would also give me an excuse to show more photographs. You may already have read about bison (Oh, give me a home) and sheep (Feeling sheepish). Today the topic is mountain goats.
Heading west from Wisconsin, we followed I-90 for two days across many miles of flat, treeless stretches of Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. Then, like a welcoming oasis in the middle of the plains, the Black Hills rise to an elevation of over 7000 feet. They aren’t really black, of course, but the tree-covered granite hills do look dark to eyes accustomed to seeing nothing but grass-covered prairie.
Heading into the hills we soon found ourselves on narrow roads that wind around and between rugged rock outcroppings. The most interesting stretch is called the Needles Highway (a section of South Dakota 87). We eventually drove through a couple very narrow tunnels cut out of the granite, finally reaching a parking lot where we stopped to view the eye of the needle. While there we noticed a traffic jam in the narrow tunnel through which we had just driven. When I walked over to see what was happening I noticed some mountain goats in the tunnel. They appeared to be licking the side of the tunnel, possibly for salt.
As cars slowly passed the goats eventually moved. When there was a lull in the traffic we walked through the tunnel and found the goats on the rocks outside the entrance to the tunnel. One adult, the mother I presume, and two kids were on the cliffs next to the road. I was able to get relatively close but the mother kept her eyes on me and the other tourists. It was fascinating to be so close. So, if you’re ever in the Black Hills, keep your eyes open and you may get your goat!