With our visits of the carved granite mountains done we went off to explore the untouched peaks of the Black Hills. There are a lot of trails here and with limited time we had to choose carefully. We headed for Black Elk peak (also known as Harney Peak). The rock formations along the way were incredible. Great weather and great views from the summit where a 3-storey fire look-out tower still proudly stands but is no longer used. We opted for a different route back taking in Cathedral Spires (recommended by Jake & Emile who I met on the Crypt lake walk) and then a scramble to the top of Little Devil Tower. The larger 'Devils Tower' as used in the film 'Close Encounters of the third Kind is not that much farther north of here (in Wyoming). Just to finish we circuited Sylvan Lake, regarding as the most beautiful lake in Custer State Park - and it sure is pretty! What a fab day in the mountains, the Black Hills were worth visiting after all. Our last day here the weather was a bit on the dull side and so was the trail we chose to hike! There is a road here called the Needles highway which threads its way through the granite spires and mountains. Unfortunately, we could only drive part of it as there are a series of tunnels. Some of which are too low for us to drive through. At 7 foot 2 inch wide (our camper) an 8 foot wide tunnel would be a tight squeeze but at 10 foot 9 tall a 9 foot tall tunnel was out of the question. We headed to the south of Custer State park and followed the Wildlife Loop road, which is aptly named as there are Buffalos on the hills, by the roadside and in the road. Besides the Buffalo there are also very friendly burros (Donkeys) who will not leave you alone if you make the mistake of feeding them. We stopped off at the Corral where some Buffalos had been herded up. Tomorrow is a big event - the annual Buffalo round up. They keep a herd of around 1400 but each year there are usually 400 new calves. The round up allows them to vaccinate them all and sell off the excess numbers to ranches and slaughterhouses - they are expecting 20,000 people to attend! Someone told us to head out at 3am to get a place to view the Buffalo being brought into the corrals! They have 20 local cowboys and cowgirls for the round and 40 volunteers from all over the states. Masses apply and then it's a lottery draw to see who gets to ride with the locals. The buffalo already in the corral are only there so the volunteers horses can be ridden close to them to make sure the horses aren't skittish. For the volunteers this is the chance of a lifetime. This is one of the few places that you can witness a large herd of buffalo being rounded up as it would have been by the cowboys of the 19th Century. As we pulled into the corral the volunteer cowboys / girls were getting their briefing on tomorrows proceedings. These people didn't just have Stetsons on their heads but the whole Cowboy garb - boots, chaps and some even had holsters and guns slung round their waist! We saw so many buffalo on the loop road that we decided to skip the round up - It sounded like it would be complete chaos trying to get there. Before finishing our scenic wildlife drive the weather closed in - rain and fog. Snow forecast for tonight - another reason why not to go for a drive at 3am! Filling our petrol tank up in Custer - these yanks take advertising to another level. The petrol pump had a built in screen and ads were playing one after another, then we had a mini news programme and the weather! Pick ups have big tanks so you can be there a while pumping gas, lots of time to induce you to buy something that you really don't need.