#4 Little Big Horn Battlefield NP

#4  Little Big Horn Battlefield

In the middle of our morning exercises the sky opened up and poured rain. Derrille had finished a 3+miles walk and was doing his mat exercises on the grass. We cleaned up.  We made some business calls.  Then the sun came out and we headed to Little Big Horn.

 Little Big Horn has been a favorite destination over the years.  We have been here several times. Today we took in the 25 minute orientation film in the Visitor’s Center.  We chose to skip the ranger talks since it was late in the day.

 I liked this poster of how the Indians used every part of the bison.

The Custer National Cemetery sits on the hill below the visitor’s center.

Side note:  Before we left Bremerton I had a very painful hip. A cortisone injection helped that. But the bad hip affected my knee and the joint on top of my ankle fusion.  Walking can be difficult.

So today we opted to drive through the park and enjoy the sights, reader boards and history.  We got out at several places to see the places of interest.  The 7^th Calvary Monument denotes where Custer’s last stand took place. The monument lists all the names of those who lost their life here.   Although some native speakers say Custer was killed down the hill and then brought back up.

 

Today we also saw free ranged horses grazing on several areas of the park. One great white stallion close to the road made his presence known with a loud whinny.

The green grassy field below held an encampment of seven tribes.  We feel that Custer underestimated the number of warriors in this village estimated to be near 2000.

 Custer decided to use the ravines and ridges for attack.  Several ravines connect the Little Big Horn River with the ridges above.  Major Reno was ordered to cross the river and attack the village from the south. But he was greatly out numbered and retreated.  Major Benteeen was to scout the bluffs and Custer would attack the village from the north. June 25-26, 1876 documents Custer's last stand.

View from the drive across the ridge.

Reader boards along the road describe the battle that took place here.

The drive south ends at the Reno-Benteen monument.  From this point you can take a 45 minute self guided tour through the hillside.    We have done that before….but not today.

White Memorial Markers throughout the park designate where the Calvary men gave their lives. Brown markers have been added in recent years to show where Indians gave their lives.

While building some drainage areas for the monument, excavators unearth a horse graveyard at this spot.  Thus the marker.

Coming back out, Derrille dropped me at the Indian Memorial and then parked the car in the lot at the bottom of the hill.  He then walked back up.  We viewed the cemetery marking Custer’s last stand.

The Indian Memorial is one of my favorite things here.  The circular structure includes engraved images for each tribe that was part of the battle.

  A stunning metal sculpture fills part of the arc. People have tied strips of cloth to the sculpture. We saw the same thing in several of Native American sites we have visited.

 An open area in the circle includes a spirit gate to the 7^th Calvary monument   to enter the Indian Memorial circle.

Following doctor’s orders to walk and keep my hip lubricated, I did walk back down the hill to the car.     We really enjoyed today.

Tomorrow we head to Spearfish, ND and meet up with Jay and Lynn . Brother Jay and his wife have been traveling with us for maybe 40 years.