Lover's Leap

Yesterday, Adam and I decided to take a hike (literally). We have a 2008 pass to Custer State Park, so we grabbed Heidi and chose a trail once we reached the park. The lady at the entrance suggested a hike to a cliff called Lover's Leap. Legend states that two Native American lovers jumped off the cliff, lending its name. Creepy...

Heidi does this thing where she puts one paw up in the air. I assume she's in deep thought when she does it, so I thought I post a picture of it.

Not long after starting the 3 mile loop, we came across a buffalo! For those of you who are unaware, buffalo are very dangerous and unpredictable. They can run up to 30 mph too. They tend to charge at people when they feel threatened. I'm pretty sure my heart jumped out of my chest when Adam spotted it up ahead, because we were too close for comfort. It was heading in our direction down the trail we were on. I suggested that we slowly make our way up the hill off the trail so that the buffalo could come down the way it wanted to, and we could continue once the buffalo passed. Heidi decided to growl at it, which made us even more nervous. She thinks she's so tough. These pictures are of us up on the hill waiting for the buffalo to make its way down the trail. Apparently it prefers marked pathways too...

I was so nervous after our buffalo encounter that I couldn't help but jump at every sound in the woods. Plus, I read the brochure before we started, which said that mountain lions are native to the area. Trust me...I knew exactly what to do if one of THOSE things crossed my path. Adam carried some small rocks in his pocket just in case. It made ME feel better anyway...

After another buffalo encounter, we finally made it to Lover's Leap. It did not disappoint! It was REALLY high. My legs were actually shaking.

We felt like two crazy lovers up there all by ourselves. haha. Heidi felt like the queen of the mountain. Well...that was MY interpretation of her facial expressions. lol. We had to kind of rush through the rest of the loop because it was getting dark. Custer State Park is mostly made up of pine trees, but there were a few really pretty trees that had changed colors. It ended up being a very fun hike...considering we weren't trampled or mauled.