Little Bighorn

As I planned our route home from Billings, Montana I noticed that Little Bighorn was right along the route.  I had never visited the site before, but of course I'd read about the battle and learned about it in history classes.

My uncle confirmed that it was not too far off the highway.  We left Billings via I-90 and ended up taking it much of the way across the country.  This was one of the places that I really would have wanted to visit even if we hadn't had our pass.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes a major battle fought on June 25, 1876, between Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians, against the United States Army.  These tribes were fighting to preserve their traditional way of life as nomadic buffalo hunters.  The U.S. Army was carrying out the Grant Administrations [sic] instructions to remove the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne peoples to the great Sioux Reservation in Dakota territory.
--from NPS untitled LBBNM brochure

The building certainly isn't very impressive, but the battlefield is why you visit--not the exhibits.  We arrived early in the morning (having left Billings fairly early in the day I think on June 13) and didn't plan to stay too long as we still had plenty of driving ahead of us.

I've said it many times, but I'm a sucker for a map, especially a good historical one.  It is always interesting for me to see depictions of the country before its present arrangement (i.e. all of the current state boundaries), especially when you think about what might have been or almost was.

The building did have a decent number of exhibits talking about the battle, its participants, and the aftermath.

I really enjoy small-scale diorama exhibits also.

Learning the different divisions of the Sioux was interesting.

This is a close-up of the Reno's Retreat diorama.

Then we walked outside to hear a presentation about the battle.  The presenter was a retired school teacher who was very enthusiastic about the material.  He had a table full of props that he used throughout his talk--picking up an appropriate weapon when talking about each major participant in the battle.  I wish that I had taken a video of part of his presentation or that I'd gotten his name down.  He was well worth listening to--and his audience didn't dwindle as sometimes happens, instead it grew during the time he talked.

After the end of the talk we walked around a little of the battlefield.  We didn't have time to drive to any other part of the site (like the Reno-Benteen Battlefield to the east), or even around the are itself, but we did walk around a little.  This was the path up to Custer Hill.

This huge memorial stands at the top of the hill to memorialize the spot where the cavalry troops fell.

As you can see the bodies were moved.  In fact there is a cemetery (currently full and thus closed) adjacent to the site that was used by the military for many years.

We walked across the road and saw more white makers showing where soldiers died.

After the battle, Lakota and Cheyenne families remove their dead, estimated between 60-100, and place them in tipis and on scaffolds and hillsides.  On June 28, 1876, the bodies of Custer and his command are hastily buried in shallow graves at or near where they fell...In 1890 the Army erects 249 headstone markers across the battlefield to show where Custer's men had fallen.  In 1999 the National Park Service began erecting red granite markers at known Cheyenne and Lakota warrior casualty sites throughout the battlefield.
--from NPS brochure Little Bighorn Battlefield

As indicated above the red markers indicate where an Indian warrior died.

After the battle, 39 cavalry horses that had been shot for breastworks during Custer's Last Stand, were found among the dead on Last Stand Hill.  In 1879, a temporary cordwood monument was erected by the army on the crest of the hill.  The area, strewn with cavalry horse skeletons, was policed and the remains of the horses placed inside the cordwood monument.  In July 1881, Lt. Charles F. Roe and a detail from the Second Cavalry replaced the temporary monument with the present granite monument, and interred the Seventh Cavalry casualties around the base.  The 2nd Cavalrymen in fond reverence for the horses, reinterred them here, after the monument was erected, and lined the horse cemetery with cordwood from the original monument. 

On April 9, 1941 maintenance workers discovered a horse cemetery here while digging a trench for a water reservoir drainage pipe.  Among the artifacts recovered were partial human remains, cavalry boots, bullet-pierced hardtack cracker tins, and approximately 10 Horse skeletons.  Further excavation was delayed until July 1946 when Lt. Col. Elwood L. Nye, U.S. Army Veterinarian continued the excavation work.  Unfortunately his report has not been located, nor what became of the horses uncovered.

In February 2002, the site was examined using ground penetrating radar, revealing soil anomalies in the area.  National Park Service archaeologists excavated the cemetery April 29 to May 1, 2001.  Horse skeletal remains were found in two six foot square areas just northeast of the Seventh Cavalry Monument.  The remains included a vertebrae, leg bones, shoulder bone, and rib bones.  After thorough documentation, mapping, and photography, the horse cemetery (which was left in place for future reference) was covered with protective plastic sheeting, and the site restored with backfill.--from NPS signage on site

There was also a large area dedicated to the Native Americans/Indians who fought and fell during the battle.

We walked down into the middle of it.  Signs like this were placed on the outside walls.

The backside was open to the hills with this sculpture on display.

If you visit be sure that you hear one of the ranger presentations and take some time to walk around as much of the area as you can.

You'll find quite a few more pictures here:


~Matt

Billings Tour

After leaving Yellowstone we drove towards Billings.  We were to see my Uncle Jim there.  It is nice to have family around the country that you can visit and stay with when making a trip.  When planning out our trip itinerary I also realized that this would make a short day for us--leaving time to explore the rest of Yellowstone in the morning and get into Billings before it was too late.

One highlight of the trip was that we'd get the opportunity to see my grandma.  She was in her apartment at my Uncle Jim's house at the time.  We'd gone down to Tennessee to see her a couple months before when she'd been staying with my folks, but it was nice to see her again.  I remember frequently traveling to Tucson as a kid to see her and my granddad.  Since she left Arizona and I left California I haven't had the chance to see her as often.  Also, she is the only grandmother that I've ever known as my dad's mom died before I was born.
My mom's maiden name is Yeley, so she can say she went from one frequently mispronounced name (Yaley, Yelley, etc... to another (Grubner, Grabner, etc...)

They have a beautiful back yard.

After dinner we went on a drive around Billings.  We stopped by my cousin's house to see he and his then pregnant wife (since then their son was born).
The first place we stopped was the old Boot Hill Cemetery that served the town of Coulson, a settlement on the river that was later absorbed by the fast-growing railroad town of Billings.  I read somewhere that people aren't entirely sure who is buried where, but the crosses look nice.

The Place Where the White Horse Went Down

In 1837-38 a smallpox epidemic spread from the American Fur Trading Company steamboat St. Peter which had docked at Fort Union.  The terrible disease for which the Indians had no immunity eventually affected all Montana tribes.  A story is told among the Crow of two young warriors returning from a war expedition who found their village stricken.  One discovered his sweetheart among the dying, and both warriors, grieving over loss of friends and family, were despondent and frustrated because nothing could alter the course of events.  The young warriors dressed in their finest clothing and mounted a snow-white horse.  Riding double and singing their death songs, they drove the blindfolded horse over a cliff and landed at what is now the eastern end of the Yellowstone County Exhibition grounds.  Six teenage boys and six teenage girls who were not afflicted with the disease witnessed the drama: they buried the dead warriors and left the camp.  Great loss of life among the tribe followed in the wake of the epidemic.  Although time has reduced the height of the cliff, the location is remembered even today as The Place Where the White Horse Went Down. 

--from cemetery sign

The cemetery is located on top of a small hill and completely surrounded by the city.

Historical Significance

Fact, fiction, or legend?  Coulson Hill Cemetery, as it was originally called served the residents of the free-wheeling river town of Coulson in the late 1880s and is now the only visible reminder of the once thriving burg.  Gunfighters, Indian tribesmen, soldiers, railroad workers, lawmen, women and children were all put to rest in shallow graves here, although the number of people buried is uncertain.  The deaths were caused by disease, accidents, suicides, and murders aplenty.  A typical burial would consist of the corpse being thrown over a horse and hauled out to the cemetery where it was laid to rest.  After a brief moment of silence, the mourners got back on their horses and raced back to the aloon.  most of the time the mourners left the boots on the dead bodies, giving the cemetery the nickname "Boothill."  The name was widely disputed until Luther S. "Yellowstone" Kelly, a well-known scout in the area requested being buried in Boothill.  After his request the cemetery's identity was solidified as Boothill Cemetery and it has maintained its unique flavor that keeps the Old West alive today. 

--from cemetery sign by the City of Billings

This memorial is quite prominent on a corner of the hill.

There were several flowers to enjoy on top of the hill.

After leaving the cemetery we headed up on top of the "Rims" or the Rimrock.  These are a series of cliffs that separate the lower from the upper city.  There are only a few ways up on top even today--though in years past some of the paths were cattle paths.  The airport is located on top of the cliffs.  We also stopped by a place for ice cream (that was quite delicious) somewhere in the evening (I don't remember the exact order of events).

I took these pictures the next morning since I wasn't in a position to take pictures the night before.  Here you can see the cliffs.

This is the road up the top that used to be used driving cattle.

The top is quite flat.

You can get a great view of the city from this elevation.

After leaving Billings we headed towards South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, but with a couple stops along the way that I'll talk about next time.

~Matt

Leaving Yellowstone

At long last on the early afternoon of June 12, after having seen all the sights the Mammoth Hot Springs area had to offer, my wife and I finally prepared to leave Yellowstone National Park.  The drive north was bittersweet.  I'd greatly enjoyed our time in the park and didn't want it to end, but I was also looking forward to the sights we'd see in the days to come.  Of course, this trip north also meant that we really were heading home, even if we had plenty more to see.

We'd entered the park via the West Entrance (twice actually since we'd left the park one day to see the IMAX in West Yellowstone), but I wanted to leave via the Northwest entrance because I wanted to see the Roosevelt arch.  Before that though we passed an unexpected sign.  I actually stopped the car and turned around so that we could get a picture with it.  Later this year on another trip I saw a similar sign in Michigan--but that time there was no place to stop and take a picture.

The landscape certainly was different than the rest of the park, but that was one of the fun things about driving to virtually every corner of the park--we got to see many different environments.

What is different about the northern range soils?

While most of Yellowstone is a high volcanic plateau composed of rhyolite, the northern portion of the park is more complex geologically.  Here you find landslides, erodible shales and sandstones, and glacial till deposits of mixed rock types.  This particular area of the northern range is composed of soils that have a high clay content.  These soils bind water tightly to the clay particles, which results in little water being available for plants to use.  The soils are also poorly aerated, resist root growth, and have high levels of sodium and salts.  All of these factors combine to limit the plant communities that can grow here.
--from roadside signage

Interestingly though there is plenty of wildlife in the "northern range" as you can see on the map below.

As we came up to the arch we weren't the only one who wanted to stop for pictures.

The first major entrance for Yellowstone was at the north boundary. Before 1903, trains would bring visitors to Cinnabar, Montana, which was a few miles northwest of Gardiner, Montana, and people would climb onto horse-drawn coaches there to enter the park. In 1903, the railway finally came to Gardiner, and people entered through an enormous stone archway. Robert Reamer, a famous architect in Yellowstone, designed the immense stone arch for coaches to travel through on their way into the park. At the time of the arch's construction, President Theodore Roosevelt was visiting the park. He consequently placed the cornerstone for the arch, which then took his name. The top of the Roosevelt Arch is inscribed with "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people," which is from the Organic Act of 1916.
--from Yellowstone website, Mammoth Area Historic Highlights section

 The arch isn't quite as wide as a modern two-lane highway, but it is still well worth driving through and I'm glad the road goes through it to this day.

You can learn more about the arch and its construction via a short video on the Yellowstone website.

 Gardiner, Montana is located right outside the arch.

The Yellowstone Association also has a large building at the edge of town.  I knew that there would be a passport stamp here, so we stopped for a few minutes to look around.

The building looked to have a very interesting history, dating from 1903 it had started life as a general store.

This counter was a display showing some of the items that had been sold in the store during its heydey.

On one wall were several vintage photographs.

After leaving Gardiner behind it was strange to drive at a speed above 45 miles per hour (since that is the top speed inside Yellowstone).  However, we did adjust and headed towards Billings, Montana where we were to spend the evening with my Uncle Jim's family.

~Matt

West Yellowstone

Driving outside of the park for the second time in two days (though it was our first time off of NPS land in several days) we headed to West Yellowstone, which is directly outside of the West Entrance of the park.

Located at an elevation of 6,666 feet in the southwestern portion of Montana and just four miles from Wyoming and eight miles from Idaho, West Yellowstone, Montana is the West entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Surrounded on the remaining three sides by the Gallatin National Forest, this community enjoys the daily wonders of nature.  

To say West Yellowstone is small might be an understatement. On just over 360 acres of land, 1,200 year-around residents reside. Tourism is the economic mainstay of the town that has been hosting visitors since before the turn of the last century.  

Incorporated in 1966, West Yellowstone adopted a self-governing charter in November 1980. Currently the community runs under a strong-council form of government with a Town Operations Manager responsible for day-to-day operations.  

You’ll find West Yellowstone easily located 90 miles south of Bozeman, Montana and 100 miles north of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
--from Destination Yellowstone website

As the description above notes there isn't much to West Yellowstone.  We drove through it on our way into the park, just stopping long enough to fill up (knowing that as high as prices were there they were sure to be more expensive inside the park).  However, on this trip back out to the area I had certain plans.  A stamp and a movie were involved!  Our first stop was at the visitor center, which did indeed have a passport stamp.

There is apparently an interesting historical trail around town that follows bear paws printed onto the sidewalks.  If we go back to the area at some point I'd like to spend some time following it.

FREE West Yellowstone Historic Walking Tour - Follow this informative self guided tour and relive early West Yellowstone. The green Bear Paw Trail that’s painted on the sidewalks will lead the way! Pick up your map at the Chamber of Commerce or at one of the 21 site locations!--from Destination Yellowstone website [pdf download available at site]

There weren't any exhibits per se in the visitor center, but a few displays on the wall and plenty of brochures, including one that had a discount on the neighboring IMAX theater.  Amy was enough of a guest to ask to stack the brochure coupon with the matinee discount, and it worked.

Fifteen years ago when I visited Yellowstone with my parents we stopped in West Yellowstone to see the IMAX.  It made enough of an impression on me that I bought the film on DVD many years later, so I wanted to take Amy to see it at the theater where I first saw it.  It was definitely worth the trip, especially with the cheap deal we got.

I also got a smashed penny inside the theater, so I was happy about that.


After this we walked around just a bit, looking at a tiny taste of the area's history.

 This building apparently houses a museum now, but used to be a train station.

 On the front porch were several old vehicles like this Gilmer & Salisbury Mud Wagon/Mail Coach:

Imagine yourself riding on top of tie piles of mail and freight as this coach bumped along dusty roads.  Sometimes that was how early travelers caught a ride.  A coach this size was pulled by four to eight horses, depending on the size of the load and the conditions of the terrain. 

This coach has been restored and was originally painted red.
--exhibit signage

This vehicle is an antique 1964 Arctic Cat snowmobile.  Compare this to a snowmobile you might see today. 

To learn more about winters in West Yellowstone, please step inside the Museum.
--exhibit signage

We didn't actually venture inside the museum, but the next time I visit West Yellowstone I would like to explore inside the place.  We did step over to the front of the building and then we took a look down the road also.

It looked quite touristy across the street, but I still think that it would be an interesting place to stroll around.

The buildings may not all be antiques, but they certainly seem to have character.

When we headed back into the park we could skip the lanes where people paid their entrance fee and go through the fast lane.  Of course it didn't actually move the fastest, but that was beside the point, ;-).

~Matt

PS Here are all of the album pictures: