Busy summer is winding down

How is that possible?
That seems to be the prevailing sentiment around our office when we begin to discuss the fact that we are now staring down the end of July and heading into August. It seems like just yesterday we were putting together our graduation tab, and now here we are on the precipice of another school year. Where oh where does the time go?
Of course, the reason summer seems so short is that we get so little of it in comparison to the colder weather and spring months. Usually by the end of October the cold weather has set in and generally doesn’t break for good until about mid-May. Even this year, however, we had cooler and wetter weather through May and into June. While it is good for the fire danger (and boy could we use some rain now) you really don’t feel like summer has hit until the temperatures get into the 80s and you think “boy, it’s kinda hot out today.”
The other reason that summers seem to go by so quickly in this neck of the woods is the nonstop events that take place every weekend. Once the Tesla Rally and Custer State Park Open House weekend are upon us it just seems one event runs into the next and everything becomes a blur. We have the Off-Road Rally, the July 4 celebration and then Gold Discovery Days shortly thereafter. This weekend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally officially gets underway, and once that is over—poof, the summer is gone.
Speaking of July 4 and Gold Discovery Days, a big kudos to the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Custer, Custer Volunteer Fire Department and all the volunteers who helped both weekends go off so seamlessly. We know how much work it takes to pull off one of those weekends, let alone both of them within the course of three weeks. It takes a lot of people working hard, and there was plenty of that taking place those weekends.
As we walked through the crowds over the course of those two weekends, we couldn’t help but think they just get bigger, better and have more attendance each and every year. That may not be the case, but it sure seems like it. The word is out on Custer’s summer celebrations, and people come from near and far to be a part of what we have going on here. You need only see the mass of humanity that was parked and or sitting on seemingly every inch of land in and around Custer during the fireworks show to see how popular July 4 has become in town. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Gold Discovery Days, of course, requires a plethora of volunteers, but they are easily spotted in their gold shirts helping out wherever help is needed. It’s great to see and we greatly appreciate their efforts, and we are sure everyone who participates in the weekend does as well.
Custer has once again been the place to be this summer, and our events and people who make them possible are the reason for that. Thank you to everyone who pitched in with a helping hand. Let’s close the summer strong. It will be fall before we know it.