Little Big Horn

Critters seen on 2009 trip so far: beaver, groundhog, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, buffalo (bison), white tail deer, chipmunks, pronghorn, burros

It was on to Hardin, MT, not far from the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/libi/), driving through the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations. In fact the Monument and battlefield are located within the Crow Reservation. We knew that the couple days we would be in town were over the annual Little Big Horn Days (132nd annual to be exact), but we didn’t realize that the one day, June 25, was the actual 133rd anniversary of the battle. As we found out, being there on the actual anniversary was good and bad. Good because special events were going on not otherwise seen, and bad because it was extremely crowded and you never knew when anything was really happening.

Besides all the activities scheduled in Hardin and the surrounding area June 24-28, there were several special performances and events scheduled at the Monument. However, we soon learned not to trust the time something was scheduled because it might start earlier or later for as we were told by a park ranger, the events run by the American Indians operated on “Indian time”. Consequently scheduled events by the park service might have to be jostled depending on when the tribes started or finished their event. We never did see the orientation film at the visitor center because both times we went to the room where it was being shown, it had already started or was about to end, and there was standing room only with really no view of the screen from where we were. Oh, well, we got plenty of info from the exhibits and the brochures.

As we walked from the parking lot, we passed the tail end of a dedication of some sort by one of the tribes. A short time later across from the visitor center we saw a number of people on horseback. As we learned from a flyer, it was a Lakota presentation regarding the battle. They were across the field and a number of people had walked down to the end of a walkway watching. Soon those on horseback began riding in a circle, whooping and hollering, carrying their tribal flags, and then they charged towards the group of bystanders. A short time later they dismounted and stayed in that area for quite a long while. Either this entire presentation lasted several hours, or there was more than one right after the other. It was blazing hot (96 degrees) and as you can see in the photo, there were no trees in that area.

We chose to walk the grounds near the visitor center, through the national cemetery, and then got in our car and drove the Battlefield Road, reading the exhibit markers. On Last Stand Hill, a uniformed soldier stood holding the American flag in front of the 7th Cavalry Memorial. The remains of 220 soldiers, scouts, and civilians are buried around the base of the memorial, but Gen. Custer’s remains are buried at West Point. Across from the Cavalry Memorial is the Indian Memorial which was dedicated on the anniversary date in 2003. The battlefield is dotted with white markers that were erected in 1890 by the Army indicating the spots where Custer’s men fell. In 1999 the National Park Service began erecting red granite markers at various sites of Cheyenne and Lakota casualties.

On our way back to the campground, we took a couple back roads instead of the highway and spotted several horse trailers near some grandstands. We pulled into the parking lot across the street and discovered that it was the first day of Crow Fair & Rodeo. Not many people were in the stands, but we stood underneath in some shade and watched the calf roping for a spell. Even saw one of the riders fall off his horse coming out of the gate!

The day before when we arrived we were told that a few people had set up booths in historic downtown Hardin selling Indian tacos, and they weren’t to be missed. We found two (evidently more would be setting up the next day), and stopped to chat with Georgy and Bill. As it turns out, Georgy is a three time mild chili champion, and this was her first year to set up a booth. And we discovered that her husband, Bill, was once again portraying Chief Sitting Bull in the reenactment to be held a few days later. Indian tacos are basically a taco served open face on Indian fry bread (kind of like a really thick, fried tortilla). Russ had never eaten one so we each got our own, and they was some mighty fine eatin'. We chatted as we ate, and Bill happened to mention about the empty prison behind the IGA down the street. Seems this state-of-the-art prison has been sitting empty for the last two years after having been built with bond money. Word is that politics has kept it empty and no prisoner has ever set foot in it. Russ jokingly said to Bill that perhaps someone should call Pres. Obama since he’s looking for somewhere to put the Gitmo detainees. As it turns out, they already have! And they’ve been turned down. Bill said every news agency from around the world has descended on Hardin talking to the locals about the situation. In fact while we were there a crew from Holland was in town and had been interviewing them earlier in the day. You can read one of the many articles in the following link for all the details: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/26/montana.gitmo.west/. Quite an amazing story, and here are a couple photos.

Also in the area is the Big Horn County Historical Museum (http://www.bighorncountymuseum.org/), and since it was free, we decided to check it out. The museum complex consists of twenty historic structures, two exhibit buildings, and one main building housing the visitor center, gift shop, and a rotating exhibit on 22 acres. The original 1911 farmhouse and 1916 barn along with the land were donated in 1979, and the other historic buildings were moved to the museum from various locations within the county. There is a 1937 gas station, farm equipment of all varieties and sizes, train depot, 1917 church, slaughterhouse, 1918 post office, and 1922 schoolhouse just to name a few. If you look closely at the picture of the old truck, you’ll notice that the rubber has entirely worn off one of the front wheels while there’s still a little tread on the other front tire and rear ones. It was an interesting place full of history and had it not been so blasted hot, we probably would have stayed a little longer.

We stayed at the Hardin KOA, and though not a large campground, we had a very nice site at the back with a wheat field behind and a large shade tree that didn’t interfere with our satellite reception. After a couple nights here, it was time to move on the Great Falls, MT.