Back In The Saddle

Our friends Brock and Leola were feeling perky today after their recent illness so we made a regular touring day of it.  This morning we rode the wildlife loop in Custer State Park.  As before, we saw prairie dogs, antelope, and donkeys, but no buffalo.  After lunch we visited the 1881 Courthouse Museum in downtown Custer, SD.  Inside the double doors is a small foyer with different displays in all the surrounding rooms.  Upstairs is the original courtroom which was in continuous use from 1881 to 1974 when the new courthouse was built.  The courtroom is behind the triple windows above the steps with the judge's chambers to the left and surrounding rooms filled with different themed displays.  Downstairs  and outside behind the building are further displays. 

Main floor

Nature and Native American Room

I've only seen adult taxidermied animals before this.

   

The Custer Expedition Room

The Black Hills photographed during Custer's expedition on the left and today on the right.  Top left is the Expedition, not an Indian village.

Mining and Industry Room

Besides the usual tools was a log boring auger for making water pipes like the one below the painting.

A woman's work took a long time.

Victorian parlor (not pictured) and bedroom with three kinds of quilts.  On the bed is 

this.  What's your guess?  Hint:  it is not head or hair related.  Answer below.

Second floor

Dakota Territory courtroom with doors in corner leading to judge's chambers and one room school displays.

Court is in session.  The honorable Judge Louse presiding.

In the school room

Ranch Room

Chaps, branding irons, barbed wire

Sold our horses when we moved to Texas.  This is the closest to riding I've been in a long time.  

Forestry Room

Trees growing around things:

bottom--roots around rocks, above it--part of a ox or horse pulling harness, above it--bullets, to the right a tree grown in a knot.

Communities Room

Custer in 1876

Custer in 1886

Military Room

Brock wore "dress blues" like this in the Navy.  The Museum gave free entry to all Veterans.

Basement

General Store and Post Office 

Brock also recognized these combination lock po boxes.  Man, he's old!

Outside the jail cell is this interesting display.

The picture is of the hanging tree and a pile of rocks above his grave.

 Knife and firearms display

The top gun and knife were found at the Little Big Horn battle site.

Outside displays

Carriage house

Old and new(er)

Originally an outhouse, repurposed for a static blacksmith display.

Hand-hewn log building housing printing equipment from the 1879 era featuring Custer's first continuously operated newspaper.

Across the street

Constructed by Dr. D. W. Flick, Custer's first physician, this is believed to the the oldest existing structure in the Black Hills.

We left the Museum in search of ice cream.  We found some hand dipped at this candy store in the same building as a gallery/gift shop.

Horse sculpture in front of stores. 

Once again I was doomed to disappointment--only Blue Bunny ice cream.  I amused myself by drooling over the home-made chocolates.

 I leave you with a view of this evening's sunset, taken from my front door.

By the way, in an earlier blog we visited the Purple Pie Palace where we first encountered the Blue Bunny ice cream.  I bought a piece of  strawberry-rhubarb pie.  I found it inedible.  The crust was limp and soggy, and the filling was too tart. 

The object above is a bustle frame for a Victorian woman's dress.

Tomorrow we visit the Crazy Horse monument.

Louise and Duane