Into the Rockies

So I started off today with a little off-roading in the Corolla. Well not really. I mean I was still on a road and it was even a paved road but it was a road to nowhere, or at least nowhere that I was actually going.

But it was a pretty road, so it is okay.

It was a very pretty road, so there are a lot of pictures...

Okay... THAT road wasn't paved but I was only on it for like 50 yards or so.... not enough to count.

Saw this lovely guy.

Anyway, after driving about 9 miles up this road and 9 miles back down again, I got back on I-90 and headed into Montanan.

Montana wins, hands down, best welcome sign! Seriously! Look at that thing!


I decided that since I had driven past Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument numerous times but had never actually stopped, this time I needed to visit.

Sitting Bull

Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer

"The Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought along the ridges, steep bluffs, and ravines of the Little Bighorn River, in south central Montana on June 25-26, 1876. The combatants were warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, battling men of the 7th Regiment of the U. S. Cavalry. The Battle of the Little Bighorn has come to symbolize the clash of two vastly dissimilar cultures: the buffalo/horse culture of the northern plains tribes, and the highly industrial/agricultural based culture of the U. S... This battle was not an isolated soldier versus warrior confrontation, but part of  a much larger strategic campaign designed to force the capitulation of the non-reservation Lakota and Cheyenne."  www.nps.gov


Custer National Cemetery

Last Stand Hill, where the 7th Cavalry Memorial and Indian Memorial are located.

Overlooking Custer Battlefield

On the scenic loop drive to the Reno-Benteen Battlefield.

Overlooking the Reno-Benteen Battlefield and the Little Bighorn River.

This was one of the more moving battlefields I've had the privilege to visit. As you drive along the scenic route, you see markers. Gravestones placed right where men fell...

On the ridges... in the ravines...

In clusters... and lines...

And alone...

I did visit the gift shop and stroll through the museum but did not watch the movies available or sit in on any of the ranger talks... (too close to home, gotta get back on the road...)


Getting ready to cross the Rocky Mountains...

Seeing smoke for the first time... well, not for the first time, but... you know what I mean.

When rain mixes with smoke at sunset...

Another hurdle down...

One more day to go...


To be continued...

Black Hills & Thunder Basin

After weaving my Corolla through a sea of motorcycles at the gas station, I was on my way to the Black Hills. Since it was the day before Sturgis, I decided to skip the early morning stroll through Wall Drug (as interesting and fun as it is...) AND I decided to bypass Mount Rushmore and take the truck route through Custer State Park...

Back in the land of evergreen trees...

There are a lot of things that I enjoy about deciduous trees, but I really do love evergreens...

 Red Squirrel

He loves evergreens as much as I do, apparently...

Custer State Park...

Welcome to Wyoming

Almost every time I drive through this part of Wyoming I see these weird flashes of light...out in the middle of nowhere... Seriously.  I'm sure they are alien spaceships or governmental experiments... 

Ok... they are probably lightning...

Anyway, the first time I saw these mysterious lights, imagine my surprise as I checked the map and discovered that the lights were always hovering over Thunder Basin National Grassland... 

Thunder... Lightning... moving on.

So this time I decided to take the road through Thunder Basin. It is about 100 miles of mostly straight road of nothing but grass...

The occasional oil drill pops up...

As well as the occasional cattle...

And then I happened upon this...

I told you it was governmental experiments!

Ok...it was a mining company.

 Thunder Basin Mining Company

The other highlight of the day? My first view of the Rocky Mountains!

To be continued...