We left two weeks ago today and are getting a little anxious to be home again. Only one tourist stop today - Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
But that would be a few hours from now. Before we got there we had to pack up and get on the road.
Leaving town we saw some more colorful hills; the pink and green stretch throughout this region.
Deadwood is about one mile in elevation; we had to lose some of that on the way down to I90. There was a little mist in the air when we loaded the car; as we descended the valley we saw we were destined for a little fog.
It wasn't very deep; we dipped below it in just a couple of minutes. We had taken one look at the buffet in the casino and figured we could do better elsewhere. Soon after getting on the freeway we saw a Perkins restaurant; we'd seen them quite a bit along the trip and thought we'd try it out. Our waitress was friendly and efficient. Carla had an English muffin and fruit; I had the "senior special"; hey I'm over 55 now and figure why not. One egg; couple of pieces of sausage, toast and hash browns.
Back on the road we didn't have long before we crossed into Wyoming - our second visit to the state, but this time we were a bit farther north.
It was a quick jaunt through Wyoming where the speed limit is 75. We had a quick lunch in Sheridan and were going along so well we barely got the Welcome to Montana sign!
I thought there was no posted speed limit in Montana; but I guess that changed in the last few years. We continued to bomb along at just under 80 MPH but still managed to capture some countryside
Around 3:00 we got to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. I had read a book about Custer's Last Stand when I was in 5th grade and just beginning to enjoy books. Since reading the book I have wanted to see the battlefield. We got there just in time to hear a ranger giving a description of how the battle took place; I was surprised I had remembered so much.
They were truly surrounded; there were placards with accounts from the Sioux and Cheyenne participants telling how they worked up from all sides. The hillside is strewn with white and red markers; the white markers were where the troops had died; the red markers where the warriors met their demise.
Here is a shot to the west from Last Stand Ridge.
With Custer's marker.
Technology has arrived at our National Parks. There is a phone number you can call from your cell phone and each spot has a number to enter to hear a description of the site. We had also seen this in Springfield when visiting Lincoln's home.
After a walk around we climbed back in the car and pointed west. Hey what do you know we were running parallel to a BNSF coal line!
And there was more to see than just trains (as long as I was driving and Carla taking the pictures).
We continued to gain elevation; the Rocky Mountains loomed before us. We had just been discussing the fact that the Rocky Mountains is a pretty tame name and we were wishing for something a little jazzier. No sooner said than done; the range in front of us is the Crazy Range
We pulled into Bozeman a little after 6:00 PM. Still two days from home. Tomorrow we will make at least Spokane if not the Tri-Cities.
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