Today I was packing for some upcoming Thanksgiving travel and my mind started to wander. My train of thought jumped around from “here comes Thanksgiving” to “turkey dinner sounds so good” to “there are so many turkeys in the Black Hills” to “what’s the story of those goofy-looking birds?”

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to find out more about the wild turkeys that often seem to be everywhere in the Black Hills. A quick Google search brought up more information about the big birds than I will ever need to know, so here are a few of the points that stuck out for me.

• Wild turkeys are native to North America
• The average turkey has between 20,000 and 30,000 feathers
• Adult, male turkeys can easily weigh 25 pounds or more
• The heaviest turkey recorded by the National Wild Turkey Federation weighed in at a mammoth 38 pounds!
• Contrary to popular belief, wild turkeys can fly – up to a quarter mile at a time.
• There are estimated to be more than 7 million wild turkeys in the U.S. (some days, I feel like most of those are here in the Black Hills).

An article at Newsweek.com yesterday explained how the turkey slowly came to be affiliated with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner by 1941 when FDR signed the date into a federal holiday. A few years later, the National Turkey Federation presented President Truman with three turkeys on the White House lawn – a tradition that continues today.

Whether it’s with turkey or tofu, in the Black Hills or out – however and wherever you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, stay safe and enjoy your time with family and friends. From all of us here at the Black Hills Travel Blog – have a Happy Thanksgiving!