Custer's Last Stand

Today we left Billings, Montana after spending three nights there.  Leaving early ahead of a low pressure system working its way east from Idaho, we got on the road amid a few sprinkles of rain hoping to stay ahead of the forecasted heavier weather including some possible wind gusts.  Not far out of Billings, I-90 turns due south winding like a silver ribbon toward the Wyoming border crossing over rolling, golden hills that are muted under the gray sky without a building to be seen for miles.  Occasionally the hills become flat topped and it is easy to imagine it is the 1800s with either pioneers or Crow warriors riding horses along the ridges scouting for one another.

We reach the Crow Reservation and the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument just off I-90 and stop to tour the Custer Battlefield.  This is the site of the infamous Lt. Col. George Custer and the 7^th Cavalry’s last stand on June 25, 1876, resulting in 263 men including Custer dying when they were defeated by warriors of the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.  The battlefield is on the Crow Indian Reservation and the landscape remains unchanged other than the addition of the Visitors Center and monuments, a cemetery and some paved road.  There is a walking tour throughout the site drawing visitors into imaging the events of 138 years ago.  The Visitor's Center was a wealth of information with great exhibits and a fabulous selection of reading material I could easily wish to possess.  As we were finishing our tour, the rain caught up with us pelting us with big, juicy drops of water. 

We crossed the border into Wyoming and the highways were paved in red tinted pavement with patches of the same shade of stone visible in the surrounding hills.  The golden color of the rolling terrain turns greener and we see more grazing cattle and horses along the highway.  We have outrun the rain and the sky turns blue with white puffy clouds temporarily.

We stop in Buffalo, Wyoming for the night and have a wonderful late lunch at the Historic Occidental Hotel’s Saloon founded in 1880.  This historic hotel building and saloon served the likes of Buffalo Bill, Teddy Roosevelt, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to name just a few of those who early on frequented the establishment known for its hospitality and fine food.  Restored to its original status as one of the great hotels of the Old West, their hospitality and fine food continue with the burgers we enjoyed.

A drive around Buffalo finished our day during which we encountered three deer wandering its streets with their final goal before we parted ways apparently an apple tree I suspect they’ve visited before.  Tonight the rain has returned in a downpour and we are safely settled into the RV.  Tomorrow we head for South Dakota and Mount Rushmore.