8/16/08 - Custer National Forest, near Red Lodge, Montana

We got up and left the trailer in the RV park until we could go see Little Bighorn Battlefield. This is where Custer and his 220 or so troops met their demise at the hand of about 1,500 -2,000 Indian warriors. There were about 20,000 Indians from several tribes camping in the vicinity to hunt buffalo. Among them were Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. At the battlefield there are white crosses marking the places where the cavalry fell. They are buried in a mass grave at the site. All were burned beyond recognition when the Indians left after the battle. Custer’s body was removed and buried at West Point. A few other officers that they could identify were also buried in other places. We listened to a Ranger talk about the battle and then walked around the battlefield. They even have a mass grave for all the soldiers’ horses. There is a big circular monument for the Indians who were killed. Their markers in the fields are red. We went through the museum that housed artifacts of the battle. There were some of Custer’s personal effects there also. We hooked up the trailer and drove through Billings where we stopped off and had lunch at Montana Brewing. We stayed the night in Custer National Forest just south of Red Lodge, Montana. We made a campfire from dead wood in the area. There is an old Indian saying -- “white man make big fire, sit way back – Indian make small fire, sit close in.”