Day 25 & 26 - Custer, SD to Billings, MT to Helena, MT and The Little Big Horn - 595 Miles

Deadwood, South Dakota
Today started in the snow with a drive to see Mt. Rushmore. Only the snow and fog were so thick you could not see anything. So Mt. Rushmore does not exist for us. And when we got there, the odometer for the entire trip just hit 7,000 miles.

Sigh!

Well, just because one stop didn't "materialize" doesn't mean we had a bad day at all. We drove up through the Black Hills to Deadwood South Dakota. Where Dodge City Kansas was a colossal disappointment, Deadwood redeemed the saga of the Old West.

Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. The real deal. The Saloon where Wild Bill  was shot in the back playing poker holding "Aces and Eights" which became known as the Dead Man's hand.

Growth and modernization have had their hand as anywhere else, but there remains plenty of the old bones of the bygone era. And by old bones, I'm not referring to the HBO Series Deadwood and the pigs used by the Chinese guy to dispose of excess corpses.

We headed north into a section of Wyoming on the old highways avoiding the interstate. Grand vistas that far exceed what you find in those Hollywood epics. All while listening to "The Day the World Ended at Little Big Horn: A Lakota History" told by the Lakota, not the white government version and certainly not Hollywood's.

It's an illuminating read. A great victory for the Lakota and their allies. But it was also the last victory of a way of life doomed to extinction. That includes the determined efforts of the whites to make the native people physically extinct too. Thank God they failed at that.

A portion of the battlefield at Little Big Horn
The Battlefield at Little Big Horn is vast. The site of the encampment on the river and the surrounding steeply rolling hills. The battles ranged over 5 to 7 miles because Custer had split his forces in a vain and foolish attack. The Lakota knew he was coming and were well prepared. They were certain of victory because that had chosen that place and knew it like the back of their hands.

Markers where federal soldiers were found.

Monument where Reno's group was caught. Some survived.

Native American Memorial created about 13 years ago.



After leaving the Little Big Horn we continued driving through Montana to Billings where we spent the night. Gorgeous wide open spaces everywhere. How is it you know you're in Montana? Well here's one way:


Tonight we are in Helena, Montana where Vickie started her career in planning over 30 years ago.. Helena is the state capitol and looks prosperous. Good planning, of course. 😀




Tomorrow morning, we're off to Walla Walla, Washington for a couple of nights and some wine tasting, before the final leg home.

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