Devil’s Tower & Little Bighorn

We had a long driving day planned for today with two stops – Devil’s Tower and Little Bighorn – before we stopped in Billings MT for the night.

We got an early start on the day – breakfast at McDonald’s across the street from the motel, refueled the car, and on the road a little after 7am. First stop, Devil’s Tower, which we hit mid-morning.

Devil’s Tower is really a remarkable geological feature, just standing out there by itself. The picture below was taken from ~10 miles away. It’s easy to see how alone this feature is. It’s even more impressive when you look at the satellite view in Google Maps.

Devil’s Tower from ~10 mi away

We didn’t spend much time here. It was pretty much limited to using the restrooms in the Visitor’s Center and trying to take some pictures even though the sun angle made it difficult. In retrospect I wish we had walked the tower trail but we were feeling too pressured to move on. We did stop at the prairie dog town on the way out. This little guy was looking at me right up until I got the camera out and zoomed in. I waited a while, but this was all he was showing. I guess that’s his opinion of tourists.

Obligatory shot of the sign – taken on the way out, of course.

Devil’s Tower from the start of the Tower Trail. Taking pictures into the sun isn’t good.

This prairie dog just wouldn’t turn back around!

From then on, it was just boring driving. We stopped in Sheridan WY for lunch at Sanford's Grub Pub & Brewery. This was a Yelp find via my newish smartphone. I’m still pretty awkward in it’s use, but it worked well this time. Although the restaurant was crowded, we didn’t have to wait long and the food was very good.

Then back in the car and on to Montana.

We got to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument around 2:30 in the afternoon. After our usual pause-that-refreshes, we did a *quick* tour of the Visitor Center museum and just made a ranger talk. The talk turned out to be excellent. The man was a natural teacher; he had his facts in hand and was able to relate them to us in a very engaging way. More importantly, he made me review my assumptions about General Custer. I had come here convinced that Custer was an utter nincompoop and used some kind of charisma and pull to get the promotions he had. That attitude is most likely an extension of my Vietnam War era youth and my opinions of our need to be there. The ranger made me reevaluate my impression of Custer and want to learn more about the man. [12/1/13 - I haven’t taken any steps in that direction yet, but I did snag a free ebook that the University of Chicago Press was offering this past January – Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer. Haven’t read it yet, though.]

We spent nearly three hours here listening to the talk and touring the battlefield. We stopped at every marker location and read every sign. I have no interest in battlefield tactics so much of what was written was meaningless to me. But I could imagine the people on both sides and their confusion and terror. This was a battle that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Battlefields don’t really lend themselves to good pictures, but here are a few.

Ken presenting the entrance sign. Naturally taken as we left.	Last Stand Hill as seen from the Visitor Center
Markers for the fallen soldiers on the flanks of Last Stand Hill	Indian Memorial near Last Stand Hill. We were too tired to walk over and view it. A decision I now regret

We got to the hotel ~6:15pm CDT, but we had changed time zones so it was ~5:15pm locally. Tell that to my body. I suppose we could have taken the extra hour to walk the Tower Trail at Devil’s Tower, but then I would have felt pressured and tired at Little Bighorn. Sigh. Can’t have everything I guess. That’s certainly one of the problems inherent in making reservations ahead of time instead of spur of the moment.

431 mi, 11:13 hrs total, 6:39 hrs moving

[written 12/1/13 – much after the fact]