CUSTER - There wasn't any gold to be had, but there were plenty of jewels to be found Saturday during the 2009 Gold Discovery Days in Custer.

There was a little bit of everything - quilt and flower shows, a classic car show, vendor booths with smoothies, food, temporary tattoos, pottery, bags, baskets and birdhouses.

The second day of Gold Discovery Days began before 6 a.m., when seven colorful hot air balloons took off from Pageant Hill.

Vendors and patrons filled Way Park for day two of the Arts and Crafts Festival. Connie Simon of Owanka was hopeful that the day would end better than the first day of the festival. A late afternoon storm Friday forced her to shut down her Simon Sales booth, where she sold wind spinners, Beanie Babies and toys.

"Around mid-afternoon, 3:30, 4, the wind died down, and it started to rain," she said. "By the time I got packed up and ready to go, the sun was out. But I didn't reopen."

Nearby, Dean and Carolyn Seidler manned their Simply Bee Lightful booth, where they sold honey, wax candles, and other items from their apiary business in Burke. Carolyn Seidler said the creamed honey and honey straws have been the best sellers so far. She said sales are about normal this year, compared to previous years.

Dusty Dustman of the Custer Lions Club said this year's pancake feed was the best in recent memory. He said the club used 100 pounds of pancake mix and 10 to 12 cases of sausage.

Jean Duwenhoegger of Hill City was one of the hungry diners.

"They taste almost like Perkins, and I love Perkins pancakes," she said. She said she attends Gold Discovery Days every year for the pancake feed and the parade.

Money raised from the breakfast will go to Lions International's campaign to help eradicate preventable blindness worldwide.

People lined Mount Rushmore Road for the parade, which started at 10 a.m. A Custer County Sheriff's car led the way, followed by a long line of fire trucks and emergency vehicles, as well as a Custer State Park fire truck and the Pringle Volunteer Fire Department. There were plenty of antique cars, horse-drawn carriages and a horseman who maneuvered his string of five pack mules in circles as he rode. There were lots of Shriners on go-carts, mopeds and miniature four-wheelers. Smokey the Bear worked the crowd and gave plenty of photo opportunities. Parade participants included a number of local businesses and organizations that tossed candy, beach balls, ping pong balls, hot dogs and even an occasional water balloon.

The parade ended more than an hour later with a busy clean-up crew armed with plenty of shovels. Fifty horses had paved the way, so to speak. The horses belonged to members of the Custer Trail Riders and members of the Best of America by Horseback, a group that travels on horseback throughout the country and are featured in a weekly television show on RFD-TV.

Events continue today.

Custer clubs single out winners

The Custer Senior Center hosted the fifth annual flower show during Gold Discovery Days, sponsored by the Custer Mile High Garden Club. Jane Faulstich took a best of show ribbon for her striking, 2-1/2-foot-high blue Delphiniums. "Apparently, they like the microclimate in my yard," she said.

Bea Plaisted of Custer said there were 85 cars entered in this year's Cool Pine Cruisers car show, a people's-choice show with 12 classes. The People's Choice Award went to Brad Kennell of Custer for his 1971 Road Runner. The Drivers' Choice Award went to Mike and Pam Amen of Bridgeport, Neb., for their 1965 Pontiac GTO. The Club's Choice award went to Rich Cade of Rapid City for his 1963 Chevy Nova. A special Hardship Award was given to Kurtis Bell of Newcastle for his 1968 Camaro, which blew a tire off the rim.

Gold Discovery Days continues Sunday

Here's a schedule of events:

5:30 a.m. - Hot air balloon rally, Pageant Hill

8 a.m. - afternoon - Heritage Village, 3.5 miles north of Custer on Highway 385/16

8 a.m. - Gold Rush Fun Run (Registration @ 7a.m.); Mickelson Trail, 615 Washington St.

8 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Shoot for Gold, America Center Road 3D Archery Shoot, 3 miles east and 5 miles northeast of Custer

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Custer Piecemakers Quilt Show, YMCA, 644 Crook St.

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Arts & Crafts Festival, Way Park, Fourth and Mount Rushmore Road

1 p.m. & 4 p.m. - Custer Granite Men's Baseball League doubleheader, East Field

by Custer High School

1:30 p.m. - Custer Alumni Basketball Games, Custer Middle School Armory

2:00 p.m. - Guns & Gold Giveaway, gun raffle drawing, sponsored by H&B Firearms of Custer, Way Park, Fourth & Mount Rushmore Road