Day 10

Yesterday, following Devil’s Tower, we drove north, dipping into Montana so that I could torture Kati with a battlefield visit. When we arrived at the campground the wind was insane. We set the tarp down and the wind whipped it so fiercely that both Kati and G3 had to stand on it while I set down the tent. For the first time ever, I had to stake it down before inserting the poles.

When the tent was finally up, we sat down to enjoy the sunset. Sunsets remind me of Dad and the last sunset I ever watched with him. The summer before he died, G3 asked him to please take us to the sound to see the sunset. I took a picture of Dad and G3 at the beach that night. Now every time I see the sun heading toward the horizon I see both G3 and Dad smiling and wish they could have shared more smiles with each other.

It is so dry and hot out in the northwest that fires have been banned. Camping just isn’t the same without a campfire.

We ate breakfast in a local cafe near Little Bighorn. The waitress was wonderful and the food was fantastic. It was the best breakfast I’ve eaten since we got on the road. If you are ever in Southeastern Montana stop in for a meal.

For a long time I have wanted to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Today, I finally got there. We arrived just in time for a ranger talk. It was fantastic. He spoke about the politics behind the battle and how Grant’s War Department manipulated him and public opinion into supporting a confrontation with the Native Americans.

We enjoyed the talk so much we stuck around for a second one by a different ranger. This time he spoke about the Irish soldiers who fought under Custer. He compared the plight of the Irish suffering from the potato famine and the tyranny of the British to the plight of the Native American suffering from the decline of the bison and the tyranny of the US government. The Irish escaped to America looking for a better life but when they arrived they faced discrimination and high unemployment rates. They joined the military because they didn’t have many other options. The US government used them to wager an unethical war. This talk gave me a different perspective on the battle. In essence, both sides were fighting for survival. The Irish were pawns in another government’s imperial quest for dominance. The Native Americans banned together in an attempt to protect their families, land, and way of life.

Following the talks we took a short walk along the one trail on the battlefield. We then attempted the audio driving tour but the audio portion was boring. The narrator spoke in a dry monotone voice that nearly put me to sleep. We gave up on the audio bit and I simply jumped out to read a few signs while Kati drove.

Since G3 loves prairie dogs so much I bought him one in the gift shop.

We are now heading back into Wyoming and across the state to Yellowstone. When I spoke to Mom this morning she told me that it was exactly 11 years ago that she and Dad began their Yellowstone vacation.