Day 74 - USA Tour - Yellowstone National Park

Overnight: West Yellowstone, MT
Sightseeing Day:
- Yellowstone National Park, Lower Loop Drive

Up early this morning (before 7 AM) to get ready for our van trek. I microwaved a couple of "bowl" breakfasts. They have scrambled eggs, bacon, and taters all in one bowl. Of course, it wouldn't be breakfast without cheese on top as well. The tour stops for lunch, but wasn't sure what time, so wanted us not to have a "sugar drop" too early. We also packed some snack, just in case--we certainly wouldn't want to whittle away to nothing!

We were picked up on time and there were two families joining us. One family consisted of a couple from England and their daughter who is attending a university in Idaho. The other family was from California and they have two girls (about 12 and 10) and a boy about 6. Just how small is this world? The mother of the woman from California was in Dave's sister's graduating class at San Fernando High School. Her family also lived in Sylmar, where we lived, when the earthquake hit in 1971 (she was about 8 at that time).

Our guide wasn't very talkative, but he was definitely informative. There are a lot of pictures in this blog entry to share. Depending upon the width of your screen, the blog may not display the text with the picture (as I'm sure you've experienced already). I will try to describe the pictures in the text preceding the picture. I am sure the names of certain geysers and waterfalls will not be important to you, but as my feeble mind begins to forget, I know it will help me to remember.

So, here goes...

The guide told us that all these dead trees are the remnants of the 1988 fire that went through Yellowstone. One-third of the park was destroyed before the snows fell in the winter, which finally put out the fires.



The first and most exciting part of the trip today (for me) was seeing a coyote stalk his victim. We, fortunately, didn't see a victim. We were very surprised that he stayed so close to the road (about 10 yards) with about 10 cars parked along side and at least 20 people gawking at him. He stayed so long that we finally had to pull out else get behind on our travels. I think we watch him for about 5 minutes. The funniest thing was that all the cars were parked on the opposite side of the street from the coyote. And, along comes a jogger who is running on the same side of the street as the coyote. The jogger couldn't figure out what everyone was looking at--even though our driver told him--and he just kept jogging. He missed a most unusual wildlife experience. I don't think I'll ever forget how oblivious he was.







We were told that park of the loop has been closed due to a fire that erupted yesterday. So, we will not be able to make a complete circle and will be doing a lot of back-tracking today to get everything viewed. OK with us as the more repeats the better!

Our first official stop was to what is known as the Upper Falls. After crossing a bridge to the falls area, we got out to observe their magnificence. But, at the time, we had no idea of the beauty that was still ahead of us on our two-day trek. The picture of Upper Falls has a bridge in the picture above the falls.



Onward to what’s known as the Hayden Valley. There were bison galore. It is rutting season, and we had many opportunities to see nature at its best. We even witnessed a fight between two bulls for the opportunity to win the affection of a nearby buffalo gal.





Next, we traveled up the road to the Lower Falls area. The falls are located at one end of what is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The colors are so beautiful. And, the Grand Canyon area is more desert-like in its appearance, yet it’s nestled among pine trees. Quite unique. One of these pictures captured the colors so well. Most of the time, I don’t get true colors in my pictures due to haze or other factors. But, this one is exceptionally beautiful.





We stopped early for lunch at Canyon Village. The only eating place open was a grab-n-go deli. Dave and I each bought one sandwich, a package of potato salad to share, and one water. The bill was $19. I about choked. We’d pay that for lunch and get service elsewhere. We gobbled down our food and headed to the gift shop. There was a power-outage, so we fumbled around in the dimly lit shop. But, we still managed to find several items to purchase. Dave had been looking for a zip-up, hooded sweatshirt with pockets. And, he found one. I purchased a carved shell necklace and two charms. By the time we got done, it was time to leave and we never did make it over to the visitor’s center.

Next stop, Gibbon Falls. We were entertained there by a begging Raven. Gibbon Falls is very close to the road, so you can get an up-close listen to the power of the water.



Onward to Firehole Falls. This fall is on a side road that larger vehicles should avoid. And, of course, they don’t listen and try it anyway. I thought we were going to collide with an RV driver who decided he should have the right of way. The falls were fairly close. But, the interesting thing about Firehole Falls is that there are very few fish in the river. The water is close to 80 degrees and doesn’t get very cold in the winter. It is fed, naturally, by several hot springs—hence its name.



This next picture is a close-up view of the water plunders over the rocks below.



As we drove on down this road, we were surprised to see this beach at Firehole Lake filled with swimmers. When you are so high up in the mountains, you just don’t think of the water being warm enough for a swim.



By now, I am beginning to chomp at the bit, I’m so anxious to see a geyser. And, there one was, off in the distance. This picture is our first view of the Lower Geyser Basin.



We drove onward to catch a glimpse of the Silex Spring. These pools are brightly colored due to the bacterium that grows within these hot pools. The water in these pools ranges between 180 and 220 degrees. Not only is the water hot enough to scald you or kill you if you fall in, but they are loaded with acids (low levels of sulfuric acid) and bacteria that will eat off the top layer of your skin within a few hours. So, if you keep on the boardwalks and don’t wander off or put appendages into the water, you will be just fine. Also rising from these pools and many of the geysers is hydrogen sulfide gas—what we would describe as rotten eggs. Phewy!



Turning down Firehole Lake Drive, we were shown what they do with elk carcasses that they find from the winter. They leave them for the wild animals. The guide was rather upset that it was left so close to the highway where bear and wolves might venture too close to humans. But, alas.



As we drove through Firehole Lake Drive, we saw a couple of geysers. First was Great Fountain Geyser. This geyser erupts every 12 hours, give or take 2 hours. So, that means that if it was scheduled to erupt at 3 PM, it could erupt anytime from 1 PM to 5 PM. It has a history of erupting approximately 40 minutes after this gaping hole you see fills with water. Today, it filled with water and then emptied without a large eruption. So, it had begun to fill again. The guide said we’d come back later to check on it. But, I was glad to see it empty for a better perspective. Because this geyser is so unpredictable, it’s rare to see it erupt. But, we had hope.



Directly behind Great Fountain Geyser is Castle Geyser (some call it White Castle Geyser). It was quiet when we drove by. But by the time we come back, maybe it, too, will awaken. It isn't really as large as this picture makes it seem. It's probably about 5-ft. tall from it's base. But, it is larger than the built-up area of Old Faithful.



Onward into traffic, you can see that we came upon Beehive Geyser erupting. It goes off quite frequently, and because it’s so close to the road, it was fun to watch as we drove past.



As it was getting late, we rushed over to Old Faithful. When a geyser is scheduled to erupt, the time is always given with a leeway. For example, Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt at approximately 2:30 PM. It has a 10 minute window before or after that time. So, there is actually a 20-minute spread. We arrived at 2:10 PM. So, this was 10 minutes prior to the 20-minute spread. It finally erupted at 2:40 PM. I stood on the path waiting to take my pictures because so many people were crowded around the grandstand, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see it all. Yes, truly, I stood in one spot for 20 minutes. It was quite spectacular, but I spent the whole time behind the camera, and I don’t really think I got the true oohh-aahhs. So, I have something to go back for. I’d like to just watch it without trying to capture it on film.

Here's a picture of Old Faithful before it erupts.



Here's a picture of its eruption.



Next stop on the tour was to get out and walk to see the mud pots. But, by now, Dave and I have about had it. Dave decided to stay in the van. I tried to see if I could make it, but when I got to the base of the boardwalk, I decided I would go back and sit with Dave. I know it would have been really neat to see, but it will be something to do when we aren’t at the end of a long day. It took the group 45 minutes to get back from their walk, so I was glad we were chillin’ in the parking lot. We had a great time people watching.

Here's a picture of the boardwalk that leads to the top of the hill to view the mud pots.



Our next dash was back to Great Fountain Geyser. We were told that it was ready to erupt. Again, it is rare to get to see it. And, if it filled up and then emptied without erupting, we would just be out of luck. As it was, we hit the jackpot. We arrived and got onto the boardwalk about 5 minutes before it starting “coughing.” There is a real term for it, but I forgot. The geyser gurgles and gurgles, and finally in a last spew forth, up comes all that water.



Notice all the water that flows outward from the geyser and glistens in the sunshine.



Although, I was talking pictures again, it went on for so long that I was able to stop taking movies and enjoy some of it.

In the picture where you see the cars along the road, our white touring van is parked between those two campers. So, you can see we had a LONG walk back to the van. But, we made it, dodging those cars that wanted to zoom past us and get to the next adventure.



On our drive back to West Yellowstone, I happen to catch a great photo of three geysers erupting at one time. I have no idea which ones they are, but they are in the Norris Basin.



As you can see, in areas where geysers erupt, the land is barren and is mostly white. This ground becomes filled with silica or travertine. The ground is very hot and nothing will grow in these areas.

Needless to say, when we arrived back at the RV, I was not going to cook tonight. So, we got into the car and drove to a recommended steak place. We were not overly impressed. The food was good, but, of course, it was overpriced. The service was ho-hum. I was tickled as when we went to the Mexican restaurant yesterday and we had asked for two boxes to take home our lunch, the waitress told us that they only had one large container left—ya, know, those Styrofoam boxes. And, when I asked at the steak place for two boxes, they only brought one and the waiter wondered why we couldn’t share. So, I guess there is a shortage of the Styrofoam boxes in Yellowstone.

Early to bed tonight as we have to rise early again to meet our van. We had such a great time today and saw such beautiful sights, we can’t imagine that we’ll see anything much better.

Day 73 - USA Tour - Yellowstone National Park

Overnight: West Yellowstone, MT
Sightseeing Day:
- Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

Up and out this morning by 9 AM. Called to make reservations for our three tours, but we were told that the Grand Tetons tour was a no-go. The smoke from the California fires and the Red Lodge fires had made it impossible to view the Tetons. So, I hope we can do this on our way home. But, the Lower and Upper Loop tours are now booked.

Off we went to a local restaurant for breakfast that Ken recommended. It was a very nice atmosphere. But, oh, so very slow.

We had planned to be at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center by 10 AM. We got there right on the dot. We had been told that feeding time was 10:30 AM. So, we certainly didn’t want to miss that! When we arrived, we were told it was 10:45 AM. So, we walked around in the center for a while. They have displays of stuffed bears, front and back paws, and touchy-feely displays of fur and skins. It was all done quite nicely and not gruesome. It was a great education on the comparative size of these bears. We were quite surprised by the enormous size of a polar bear. We thought a grizzly was the largest bear, but not so.



The feeding was very different than we had anticipated. The children that are visiting the park sign up to feed the bears. I know this sounds scary, so let me explain.

The children pay $2 for the opportunity to feed the bears. The park attendants give the kids an informative talk on bear safety and conservation. The attendants explain how bears like to forage for their food, so the kids are told how to hide the food. The bears are then removed from the open area, and the children are let into the same area. It was fun to watch the kids hide the food under rocks, logs, in bushes, etc. Meanwhile, the numerous Ravens that fly in and out of the open habitat area watch carefully. While the kids are hiding food, attendants also hide buckets of vegetables and other nutritious foods.



After the kids are done hiding the food and leave the area, the bears are sent back into the habitat. They quickly begin to search for the food.

You should have heard the squeals of excitement as each child or parent recognized when the bears found their specifically hidden snack.

The Ravens then scavenge what the bears leave behind. The Ravens are also fed dead rabbit pieces, so you could see them strip the fur and indulge on their snacks. It wasn’t gross.



Across from the bear habitat is a wolf enclosure. You can view the wolves by standing on a platform that overhangs their habitat. In addition, you can go into a building that has one side of the room all glass. This glass wall allows you to view the wolves from indoors in inclement weather.





When we were finished viewing the bears and wolves, we ate our late lunch (will be our dinner, too, as it was now 2 PM) at a Mexican restaurant in town. The food was good and overly plentiful.

Our next stop was to drive to the ranger station at the West Yellowstone Entrance to view a video (hopefully) that give us an overview of the park. When we got there, we were told the closest station was 14 miles down the road. We drove to the Madison Ranger Station only to find out it's mostly a book store with a few displays. Bah Humbug. However, it was a beautiful drive and we did enjoy getting a touch of what we will see tomorrow and the next day. Here's a display of horns and antlers we found interesting.



We also took this cute picture of a Yellowstone squirrel. Gotta love those critters!



We arrived back at the RV about 3:45 PM. I finally reached the owner of the WiFi company late this afternoon. He said that he would not recommend we access the system because the signal is very weak and he has not updated his authentication certification (mostly because he’s been busy--is he a great business man or what!). He said he would be installing a new antenna tomorrow. Bottom line, we are on our second day without any Internet. Bah Humbug.

While I was on the phone with the WiFi company, Dave began the process of put up the new blinds I had purchased. Well, wouldn't you know it, I bought one beige and one white blind. Duh. So, he can only put up the beige one. At least the blind that was missing half it's slats is replaced. Guess that means I'll have to find another Home Depot and exchange the white one. Looks so nice and will hold up much better than the vinyl blind. Now, I can have some privacy in the evening. :-)

Dave received a phone call this evening from a Bertha Thornton who is a relative in Portland, Oregon. Peggy Thornton, from Lambert, MT, (whom Dave had spoken to a few days ago) called Bertha in Portland and told her about Dave’s search for relatives. Bertha is 85 years old and she is the daughter of Dave’s grandmother’s brother. She is mentally sharp and is anxious to meet Dave. Kenny Thornton, whom we had waited to hear from on Friday before leaving Glendive, is Bertha’s brother. (I know this doesn’t mean much to a casual reader of our blog, but I have to record these things before “I” forget them!) We hope to be in Oregon within 5-6 weeks and will plan to stop and see Bertha.

Early to bed tonight as we have to meet the tour van at 8:45 AM. We are really anxious to see the geysers.

Day 72 - USA Tour - Yellowstone National Park

Sightseeing Mileage in Bozeman area: 0
Starting Mileage leaving Bozeman: 5655
Ending Mileage arriving West Yellowstone, MT: 5737
Miles Driven: 82
Avg. MPG: 6.4
Gas Price: $4.31--West Yellowstone, MT

Overnight: West Yellowstone, Montana
Wagon Wheel Campground
Travel Day

After styling my beautifully colored "do" this morning, we left Bozeman at 9 AM. Early for us! We had a couple of hours to drive to West Yellowstone, WY.

For 2 days I have unable to get anything except a busy signal from the campground we had selected. So, thought we’d take our chances and maybe check out some of the other available campgrounds before settling in.

The drive took much longer than we had anticipated. The scenery was so overwhelmingly beautiful; we had to keep stopping to take it all in. Well, truth be told, we had to pull into turnouts often because we were holding up traffic with our gawking.

Here’s some of the pictures I was able to capture.







Check out the white-water rafters in the last two pictures of this group.





We arrived at noon. The choices of campgrounds, as expected, were not the greatest. But, we settled on the one that had the best comments about the owner’s exemplary helpfulness (the same one I had been trying to call for 2 days).

This campground is old (as are most) and the sites are very tight for today's larger rigs. But, the owner (Ken) offered to cut some branches from the pine trees, if needed. Miracle-driver Dave fit us in perfectly. As you can see from the photos, it was a tight squeeze with the slideout on one side and being able to open the RV door on the other.





The picnic table is wedged in under the beautiful pine tree—it’s like Dave’s private sun umbrella (Mini and Smookie love it, too).



The folks that are camped next to us have a Chocolate Lab. He’s so much like our beloved Bonnie. So, we are having dog-envy. They are cool with allowing us to pet him, so we're taking advantage.

The downside to this campground is that we have to pay for WiFi (not mentioned in the reviews I read or the ads). But, that seems to be the norm here in West Yellowstone. Mind you, I was totally complaining about paying for WiFi in Billings at $1.50. Now, I wish I had been more appreciative. It is $10.95 per day here. Or, you can pay $24.95 for a week. Needless to say, we are only going to sign up with one laptop--Dave's.

After getting all set up, we gobbled down leftovers for lunch. Dave took a nap and I tried to read through the sightseeing materials I had gathered at the “fly trap” at our previous campground. I had not planned any particular activities for Yellowstone because I wasn’t sure exactly what there was to visit—except scenery and Old Faithful.

Dave doesn’t really like to do the planning, so after I came up with a few things we'd both like to do, we have settled on taking three van tours of the area rather than trying to drive the route ourselves. We also want to go to the Grizzly Bear and Wolf center.

As for the scenery drives, when there is so much to absorb and the roads are really twisty-turny, Dave doesn’t get to view as much as he’d like. So, we'll fork over the big bucks and let someone else do the driving and narrating. Each tour takes a full day. Here's our choices: the Lower Loop, the Upper Loop, and the Grand Tetons. (With the current price of gas, the tours are really a bargain.) We chose a tour company that caters to smaller groups in a van (no more than 9) so that we can get into more scenic areas. The larger buses and tour groups cannot go on some of the off-the-beaten-path drives because of their size. Also, we thought the guide and fewer passengers might be more patient with our inabilities to walk fast or far. Dave is having a lot of problems with his hips on long walks and his knees on stairs. I still have to stop walking now and then and rest for a few seconds to alleviate my hip pain and then move onward. Geez--what a pair we are!

I sat down tonight to sign up for our week of WiFi, only to find out that the sight is not automatically redirecting our PC to the “signup site” as the instructions stated it would. So, I called the service desk to find out that they close at 4 PM—it was now 5 PM.

To dust off my frustration over the WiFi, we took a ride through town to check it out. We also needed to get some cash at the bank. I have never been in a town that I have driven around and around and seen nary a bank. The town is only about 10 square blocks in either direction. We finally come back to the campground to ask Ken where it was.

After finding the bank, we headed for the grocery store to get a few essentials: bread, laundry detergent, cookies and ice cream. (I am getting a little tired of giving Dairy Queen my money.)

The weather here is delightful. It is mid-80s but there is low humidity and a great breeze. This keeps us cool and comfy. I even took a little walk late in the afternoon. Shocked, aren’t ya?

I tried the WiFi again when we got back, and I was now redirected; however, I got the warning that their authentication certificate is not up-to-date. So, I wasn’t willing to pay $25 only to find out that it might wreck our laptop. I am now writing the content for the blog entries in MS Word. I’ll transfer them when I can get on. Ken told said he has been telling folks to take their laptops over to the café across the street, order a cup of coffee, and plug in for free. So, we may just do that when we get back from our sightseeing.

Well, I’ll say goodnight as we’ve had our cake and ice cream dinner. We are going to get up early to go feed bears!

Day 71 - USA Tour - Bozeman, MT

Sightseeing Mileage in Billings area: 145
Starting Mileage leaving Billings: 5487
Ending Mileage arriving Bozeman, MT: 5655
Miles Driven: 168
Avg. MPG: 7.2
Gas Price: $4.09--Billings, MT

Travel Day
Overnight: Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman KOA

This morning as we were preparing to exit this blacktopped lava bed upon which we camped, I decided we should find a Best Buy to take back a WiFi booster I had purchased in Sioux Falls, SD. After all, it could be a long time before we see a big city again. I need to return it because when I had tried to load the software, I received a warning that the certificate for working with Microsoft Products was not authentic. So, needless to say, I stopped the installation and wanted to return the product.

We hooked up (didn’t take long as we had no “dumping” to do this morning). And, believe it or not, we were sitting in the Best Buy parking lot by 9:30 AM! Unfortunately, they did not open until 10 AM.

While waiting, I noticed a Home Depot next door. This was a great opportunity to purchase some new window blinds for the RV. When we purchased the RV, Dave had replaced the pull-down window shades in the living and dining areas (at my request) with blinds. You can tilt blinds and peek out at the world, but with the shades that come in the RVs, you can't see out unless you completely raise the shades. Dave did a great job at replacing the shades, but We can now tell you from personal experience, vinyl blinds do not survive the rigors of a trailer. Little by little, slats have been breaking off. The missing slats created opportunities for creating peeking in at us by fellow campers, especially at night.

I dashed into Home Depot to make my purchase while Dave played chauffeur and picked me up when I was done shopping. We were so speedy that by the time we got back to Best Buy, we still had a few minutes until the store opened. However, at 10 AM, I was first through the door; I received my refund quickly; and we were off to Bozeman.

Here's an unusual sight we spotted along the way. I thought you'd get a kick out of it as much as we did. Have you ever seen cows walking in the water next to fishermen? Now that's country!



We made a brief stop in Columbus, MT. Dave has been drooling about this stop for over a year. He loves Western-style belt buckles. He found out that his favorite buckle was manufactured in Columbus, so that was a definite stop.

The manufacturer sells their products through distributors, so they do not have a factory tour or shop. But, they do have a factory outlet store for discontinued items. So, Dave shopped till he almost dropped. He special-ordered a belt to commemorate his family ancestors’ settling in Montana. We both found some great bargains and had a good time thinking we could afford the moon, and settled for the little dipper.

We worked up quite an appetite from all the shopping and dreaming, so we went to a restaurant/saloon/casino for lunch called “The 407.” The food was quite good and the atmosphere was very nice. The waitress informed us that all the haze we have been seeing for a few days was from a nearby forest fire that was out of control. And, truly, it did make it difficult to see in the distance and to take clear pictures.

We were back on the road about 1:30 PM.



The terrain on today’s drive gave us glimpses of more and more mountains. We are still following the beautiful Yellowstone River. At some breaks between the hills and mountains, there are still patches of farm land.



The mountains in the distance began to look like scenes from old cowboy movies. The countryside is really getting quite extraordinary. But, as you can see, we are still suffering haze from the fires.





As we were engrossed in the river’s splendor, all of a sudden we caught our first glimpse of snow-peaked mountains. The snow is hard to see through the haze, but if you look carefully at the picture, you can see a bit of white at the peaks far in the background.



When we left Billings this morning, we had not yet determined if we would drive through to West Yellowstone or stop in Bozeman. But, by the time we got near Bozeman, it was obvious, we were ready to stop.

This KOA is the nicest we have ever stayed in. There are hedges between many of the campsites, which makes it cozy and private. We were parked very close to the office area. And, hold on to your hats, we were told they had an ice cream social between 7 PM and 9 PM every night. Wow! Could I have been dropped off in heaven?





Dave took his afternoon nap while I chilled out watching TV and doing some more crocheting. I’m now making a few gifts for folks, so I won’t be able to share exactly what I’m working on. But, as usual, I am doing a lot of ripping out and re-crocheting. It keeps me entertained.

At 8 PM, Dave and I meandered over to the club house to get our huckleberry ice cream. There are a lot of huckleberry-flavored this and that in Montana, so I had to try it out. Yumm. We sat on the patio and watched the kids play in the pool. I thought folks would stick around the area to eat their ice cream, but most just came to purchase it and then took it back to their campsites to devour it.

We did not unhook the RV when we arrived as we only plan to be here one night. And, that meant we didn’t hook up the sewer either. Therefore, my shower would be at the camp's facility tonight. Showering there provided a good opportunity to color my hair (chemicals better in their drain than ours). I slathered on the Nice ‘N Easy, waited my 30 minutes, and tip-toed over to the showers. It was dark, which was a good thing because I hate running past children and scaring them with a smelly, purple skull.

By the time I got back to the RV, it was nearly 11 PM. So, quickly to bed as tomorrow, we are off to Yellowstone National Park.

Day 70 - USA Tour - Billings, MT

Overnight: Billings, MT
Sightseeing:
- Little Bighorn Battlefield

We donned our coolest clothes (as in "weather" and not in "style") this morning in anticipation of walking around on the high desert area of Custer’s Last Stand, which is about an hour's drive from Billings. About halfway there, we stopped in Hardin, MT, for breakfast at the Purple Cow.

The food was OK, but the restaurant sure was in need of a good cleaning and a bucket of paint. It’s really hard to go to these out-of-the-way places and feel comfortable. But, when you are hungry and there is nowhere else, you just squint and hope you don’t notice too much of the disrepair.

Here's a picture of the terrain on the way to the battlefield.



We arrived at the battlefield about 12:30 PM. We walked around the museum for a bit until it was time to get on our Native American-led tour bus. The tour took us out about 5 miles into the beginning area of the battlefield to explain the battle's "big picture."

Here's what I gleaned about the battle (and I hope I have it mostly correct). There were three military flanks converging on the Indians. The guide showed us how the flanks were planning to capture the Indians with those three flanks and move them onward to other reservations. This movement of the Indians was ordered to take place because miners in cities like Deadwood and Lead had moved in to the Black Hills area to search for gold. The miners were not allowed in the Black Hills area as it was Indian reservation land. But, the miners and other settlers came anyway. It all happened fast and in mass numbers. And, now there was no way to get the miners and settlers out of the area. So, our government went back on their word about giving the Indians the Black Hills and surrounding areas as a reservation. And, I know the government didn't want to disrupt the search for gold, either. The government was now forcing the Indians to move westward. This move would take the Indians away from their hunting grounds and make them dependent upon the government for subsistence.

Humm...the government is still trying to make us dependent upon them for our subsistence. Nothing much has changed there. Excuse the political diversion.

Back to the movement--when the three military flanks arrived, they didn’t realize that several tribes had converged in the area for their annual celebrations. The rolling hills masked much of the Indian encampment and when one general was nearly wiped out after converging on the encampment, he forced the second flank to stay and help him fight.

This left Custer without the anticipated support from the second flank--he was also unaware of the mass number of Indians in the encampment. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference anyway, because the three military flanks amounted to about 800 men and there were about 1500 warriors armed with repeating rifles, while the soldiers were armed with single-shot rifles.

By the way, there were survivors of the three-day battle, which I didn't know; but, there were no survivors from Custer's regiment.

This picture shows the lush green trees in the valley. This is the area where the tribes were camped. As you can see, the hill obscures the area, and the soldiers were unaware that thousands of Indians were camped in this valley.



The unique part of this battlefield is that there are headstone scattered throughout the vast battle area (see pictures).

When the burial detail began their nasty task of burying the dead, they took empty bullets and filled them with as much information about that person as they could. Then, the bullets were driven into the wooden crosses at each burial site. This information enabled archaeologists to find where most of the soldiers fell.

However, many of the soldiers were buried in one mass grave. The large monument you see in the picture at the top of the hill represents those buried. But, markers were placed as accurately as possible for many of the fallen soldiers.





Notice the one black-background marker near the center of the field; this is the place where Custer supposedly fell. I have also provided a close-up of his marker.







Only a few of the Indian headstones were put into place in the battlefield, because the Indian villagers came to the battlefield and gathered the dead warriors and took them back to the encampment for burial. The “red” stone markers in the pictures are for Indians.



The white markers are military markers.



A gruesome part of the slaughter was that the Indians mutilated the white man. I knew this but didn't know why: this was done because the Indians believed that you entered the afterlife in the same condition in which you died.

So, if your trigger finger was removed, you could no longer shoot; if your inner thigh muscle was cut, you couldn’t ride a horse. I’ll stop there as I'm sure you "get it."

After our tour, we attended a 30-minute lecture by one of the forest rangers out on the patio. Although there was a breeze now and then, it was blistering hot. The 30-minute lecture was still going at 45-minutes when we had to skedaddle to attend a 17-minute video on “The Last Stand.” (The video was in an air-conditioned area--yipee.)

All in all, this was very worthwhile. When so much detail is given as to the position of the battle participants and their plans--and you can see the vast area for yourself (pictures do not do the vastness justice), it really brings the history to life. It is much more memorable (or should I say, “rememorable” in our elder state).

The visitor’s center did not have any silver charms, so we stopped outside the National Park to get one. We had planned to get an ice cream cone, but it was so hot, I didn’t even have the energy to order one! Yea, did you about faint on that one? OK. OK. We did stop at the Dairy Queen in Hardin on the way back.

We did not have supper tonight--just our ice cream. We crawled into bed pretty worn out from the heat and the battlefield adventure. And, just as I was falling asleep, Dave wants to talk about the mutilation of the soldiers and why and so forth. Needless to say, I had a restless night’s sleep! Thanks, Dave!!