WST Day 6: Big Sky Country and Bighorn Battlefield

Addendum to July 28 : As we were checking in to the Bowman Lodge (excellent hotel), we saw a tractor-trailer hauling one of those 80' wind turbine blades around the corner and down to the Interstate. Even FB was tickled to see one and explained the technology behind wind turbines at dinner. The things are amazing.  I had no idea how delicate they are and that the slight wind fluctuations which are normal and unnoticed by people can burn out the gears, requiring a new gear box to the tune of half a million dollars!

This educational moment carried more weight because as we drove out of Bowman heading for Montana, we went past multiple wind farms.

Second addendum: I, too, played the slots while at the saloon in Deadwood and here's proof:











Now begin the blog for what happened Friday, July 29. We drove through a bit of fog and mild weather to find these huge mounds lining each side of I-94. These buttes were amazing and confounded us for many miles as we speculated as to their origin and the stumbling blocks they would have presented to the covered wagons. Though the region is rife with Indian burial mounds, we were sure these were not ones as what our eyes were seeing averaged 100's of feet high.
                                                                                                                     We were riding along listening to John Corey dispatch the evil Kahlil AND save NYC from a second bomb at the Twin Towers site, when we came over a ridge top and saw THE BIG SKY COUNTY!!!!

We are in Montana and had no doubt about the reason for its nickname.

We stopped at the Post Office in Miles City to grab a cup of coffee and mail some purchases. The Post Office is more than 100 years old with original marble that shines like silk. Nancy comments as we return to the Kia that she will recommend the stretch of I-94 between Bowman and Miles City as a scenic American highway. This leads to a discussion of an article she read in one of the tourist magazines at the Bowman Lodge - the article expounds on the delights of The Yellowstone Trail, an "Auto Trail" that ran from Plymouth, Massachusetts to Puget Sound. While the Trail has not existed since the 1930's, the idea of it inspires us. We find books about it and even order one. Nancy jokingly asserts her "retirement project" has been decided - she'll work to get the Trail accepted as a National Historic Trail! Travel is certainly educational!

Shortly after we leave Miles City, we see a sign for the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Memorial. Guess where we spent a very, very interesting couple of hours?

Walking up to the battlefield, we encountered a massive graveyard that reminded me of Arlington, but felt like Flanders Fields. It is the Custer National Cemetery. In the late 1800's the old forts in the region were being abandoned,  the remains of the deceased soldiers were moved here. Other veterans and civilian workers were buried here until it was closed in the mid-20th century. One of the last to be re-interred was Major Marcus Reno, Custer's 2nd in command, who was originally buried in Washington, DC but moved here in 1967.

None of us had any real idea of the size of this battlefield (765.34 acres). When the ranger told us that the Indian encampment ranged for 1.5 miles across the valley of the Little Bighorn, we no longer wondered why Custer hesitated when he came over the ridge. We didn't walk through the field as the ranger's comment, "Remember this is rattlesnake territory." gave us pause, especially me in my sandals and Nancy in her soft-sided Sketchers.  We did stay on the paths to walk around, then took the loop road to read the markers and get a feel for what the 7th lived through.  Note: It was estimated to be in the mid-90's that day, so any depiction of Custer in his buckskins is historically inaccurate, according to the ranger guide. FB's favorite moment: when a woman asked a tour guide if he was an Indian, he replied, "Ma'am, when any form asks if I speak a foreign language, I respond 'English.'"

After the Battlefield, we drove through the Crow Nation Reservation where Nancy notes that at night "this place must be like being in a closed box" (except for the stars which must be beautiful). Also, we passed a sign that gave us pause: "Open Range. Loose Stock." My immediate response: How fabulous that even in the 21st century, cattle and horses and sheep can forage unhindered by fencing.

We lunched at Greybull, Wyoming's Smokehouse Saloon, where I was tickled to find evidence that gators can be found even in the arid country central Wyoming!






Here are random images from our drive today, just peering out my window and trying to maintain my calm at the diverse beauty I passing. 

 















We arrived in Cody, Wyoming to spend the night at Buffalo Bill's Country Cabins...it was like going back to the original Frontierland Village in DisneyLand!! Kitchy but comfortable!