Head East!

Started our morning by heading east on I-90.  Within five miles on the interstate we saw something we’re still not sure we saw.  It looked like a little old man pushing a little old woman UP the mountainside along the interstate in a wheelchair.  Did we really see that?  If yes, was it really old people or someone in disguise trying to get someone to stop?!!?  This was a steep incline with no place to safely stop, so we’ll never know. 

Big skies!

Neither of us has ever been to Montana before (other than the one cactus-filled stay after Yellowstone) and we didn’t expect the majestic beauty of the scenery in this state.  We absolutely love it!  There are no pictures that do justice to what we’ve seen.  Mile after mile we see something new and breathtaking!  Lots of horses, lots of buttes, lots of mountains….it’s just beautiful! 

Little Big Horn Ranger, with battlefield in the background.

We take a little detour to visit the Little Bighorn Battle National Monument.  Our timing is good as a Crow Indian Ranger has just begun his talk describing the events leading up to the battle.  He gives lots of detail and switches between Crow and English in his narrative…making sure the Calvary side is discussed as well as the Indian perspective.  It’s amazing how many miles the Calvary traveled in one day and how many misconceptions and errors led to the battle.

After the briefing, we walk up the hill to the graves of the fallen soldiers.  They were buried where they were found after the battle.  Using the graves you can see the skirmish lines and the final fall-back position where Custer made his last stand.  This is a solemn site…many men died here….both white and Indian.  At the top of the rise is a monument dedicated to the 7^th Calvary…this is  where all the soldiers’ bodies were re-interred.

Buried where they fell.  The stone with Black is Custer's.

Indian Memorial at Little Big Horn

Just northeast of the memorial to the U.S. soldiers is the memorial to the Indians who fought in the battle.  This memorial lists the major tribes in the battle: Lakota, Crow, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.  The theme of this memorial is “Peace Through Unity” and commemorates the 100 warriors, women and children who died in the battle. 

We continue our journey east.  The geography continues to be beautiful and nothing like we’ve expected.    It’s rolling hills/mountains with buttes and gulleys everywhere.  We see cattle, lots of horses and many pronghorn antelope.  Loving this drive!

We end today's journey in Glendive, Montana, a small town just a few miles from North Dakota.  We walked across the highway to the Yellowstone Inn for dinner.  Of course, the restaurant has a casino inside, so we go in to play Keno and to enjoy an after-dinner glass of wine.  Ahhhh...gotta love Montana!