The pageantry of the Buffalo Roundup

Sixty-one years and going strong, the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup is in the rearview mirror. As always, thousands and thousands of people made their way to the area of the corrals in the park to witness the spectacle that is the annual Roundup. For many it’s a bucket list item, as people come from near and far to take in what is truly a vestige of a time gone by. Well, minus the pickup trucks trailing the cowboys and cowgirls moving the herd, of course. But you get the idea.
The Roundup is another event that we cover every year, and we can sometimes forget how special it is to live in an area and work at a newspaper that allows us as media members to attend such an event. Like anything you cover over and over, it can become more of a “ho-hum” event than something you are excited to attend. But with an event like the Roundup, that should never be the case. Especially as you wander around the grounds of the corrals and talk to people who have traveled thousands and thousands of miles to take in something that is in our back yard. Among the people we interviewed for this year’s story is a couple who came to Custer State Park all the way from Delaware for the sole purpose of watching the Roundup. They had watched it online for years and made the trek to see it in person as a birthday present to one of them. That’s amazing.
For full transparency, every time the Roundup starts to roll around, an email goes out to all of our reporters/photographers to first ask if there is anybody who wants to volunteer for the duty of going to the Roundup. For the past two years, one of our reporters volunteered for the duty because she very much enjoyed going to the event, and brought back great photos and great stories. She wanted to bow out this year, and nobody else was falling all over themselves to make the trek. We all know how amazing the event is, but it does chew up almost an entire day for staff members who are already extremely busy, and puts them behind the eight ball for getting assignments done for next week. And, if we are being honest, nobody gets overly excited about getting up that early and battling traffic all the way to the corrals and then all the way back. 
However, if you’re on the south viewing area, if you give it an hour, the drive down Lame Johnny is much less congested than if you try to leave right as the Roundup ends. And to the guy who was honking and yelling at everybody to get out of your way as you were trying to leave that area, do better.
If you have never witnessed the Roundup in person, put it on your to-do list. It’s something everybody should see in person, if only once. And don’t stop there. Head on down to the arts festival and check out all the vendors, partake in the food and watch some of the musical acts. It’s a nice dessert to the main course that is the Roundup.
Congratulations to all involved with putting on the Roundup. Being there once again has renewed our love for it and our respect for how big of a deal it is for the park, the community and the entire state. It was a beautiful day, and is a beautiful event.
We are already looking forward to next year.