BHAG 2025 | Page 33

BEGGING BURROS

If you drive along Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, chances are you will run into a herd of friendly burros looking for a handout. They generally will eat whatever is proffered and they are quite insistent on finding something to eat in your vehicle. They are the descendants of the burros that carried tourists up to Black Elk Peak before roads were built to it.

PETROGLYPHS

There are carvings in stone in the Black Hills which are estimated to be approximately 8,000 years old. These early carvings are located in canyons near Edgemont and include both petroglyphs( scratchings or engravings in stone) and pictographs( paintings on the surface of stone with charcoal or other available natural materials). Not only may these carvings be the oldest found anywhere, but there are carvings here which have been found no place else. Craven Canyon, which contains ancient rock art, is on Forest Service land off Elbow Canyon Road, six miles north of Edgemont. Maps showing Craven Canyon are available from the Forest Service. No motorized traffic is allowed and Forest personnel remind anyone who views the site that it is a sensitive site and is very easily damaged.
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