Custer's Last Stand

We left Bozeman very early. It was going to be a busy day. We got our hotel in Billings and headed out to the Little Big Horn. Yet another beautiful day in Montana. I got tickets for a bus tour lead by young Indian guides. But before that, we listened to this Crow park ranger speak about the battle and all it entailed. She was great. Karen learned that all who work at the visitor's center must have college degrees. Although this young lady has always spoken Crow, she didn't learn how to read and write it until she went to college. Now, in her spare time, she teaches grade school students how to do just that. Nice.

Then it was time for our tour. The tour vehicle was broken. All they had was a van with no step to help lame folks get on board. I had someone on a bus at the Festival of Books reach down from the bus and grab my ass to help me on board. Sorry. There is no other way to tell how shocked I was. So when I saw that step I said no way. I'd bought a tape tour anyway, so Karen and I donated our seats to the Indians. Our tour was perfect for us. We saw a lot more of the grounds than we would have on that tour.

There were gravestones all over the place. They marked the fallen soldiers. There were other markers that showed where the Indians had fallen. Speaking of fallen Indians, Sitting Bull didn't fare too well after winning this battle. He fled to Canada and then returned to the US in 1881, only to be killed by soldiers in 1890. 1881 stuck in my mind because that's when the Los Angeles Times started publishing. Then it was killed by a light-weight from Chicago in 2009. Let's talk about Last Stands.

After Custer, we drove to Pompey's Pillar. This is a rock that William Clark signed on his trip East with Sacagawea, her family and his followers. They found this huge rock jutting out of the ground. Clark climbed it and signed his name in the rock as many Indians had done previously. They etched in petroglyphs. He was so impressed by the rock that he named it after Sacagawea's son, who he called Pomp. I can't remember what his real name was.

All in all, a very fine day. We were glad that we already had beds in Billings to fall into at the end of the day. We were, as always. . .

The Ramblers