Bighorn Battlefield

We're staying in a campground in Hardin, Montana (once again surrounded by corn/wheat/sugar beet fields!) as a base to visit the Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Battlefields are usually very poignant places and this one- despite huge crowds- is no exception. I love the plains/prairie; some people see it as just a great empty space, but I think it's just beautiful with the grasses and wildflowers covering everything as far as you can see. At the battlefield, across the plains you can see the mountains in the distance (I think it's the Bighorn Mountains). It's a very lonely place, too, especially when you think of what happened here.

As most people know, this was the site of a fierce battle between the US 7th Cavalry (led by Lt Colonel George A. Custer) and the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians (led by Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull). It was an overwhelming victory for the native Americans, though they ultimately lost the war. One Park Ranger explained, that to him, both sides in this conflict were true patriots who loved their country and their way of life.

Until the 1990s this was called the Custer Battlefield Monument. The name was changed to Little Bighorn Battlefield after President Bush senior instructed that the monument also reflect the losses of the Native Americans. Until that time, the monument focused entirely on the sacrifice of the US Army; memorials and markers covered the battlefield where US soldiers fell; there was no recognition at all of the fallen Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. While the first President Bush ordered the creation of a memorial to the Native war dead, it wasn't until the second President Bush that funds were appropriated to actually build the monument.

Above is a photo of the memorial to the 7th cavalry on Last Stand Hill as well as the newer memorial to the Indians erected nearby.

Cody, Wyoming

After a week in Yellowstone, we spent the night in Cody, Wyoming. Cody is one of the most popular gateway towns to Yellowstone. It was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody, the ultimate entrepreneur, about 100 years ago or so, and has been a tourist haven ever since. There's lot of Old West-y things to do in Cody, but we were only there for a day, so opted to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center instead. Despite the name, the Center is actually a world-class museum that takes at least a couple of days to enjoy. It is actually five museums in one; the Buffalo Bill museum, of course, with all kinds of memorabilia about his life and adventures, a Firearms Museum, a Natural History Museum, a Museum of the Plains Indian and the Whitney Museum of Western Art. The latter two (Western Art and Plains Indian) were really extraordinary; if anyone is ever in Cody, they should make a point of visiting this museum!

While not a particular fan of Buffalo Bill, visiting Cody and the museum really hammered home what a super-rock-star Buffalo Bill was during his lifetime. He created the pop vision of the American West that the rest of America and the world embraced and that still lingers a bit today.

PS. Grace was really enthralled by the Western Art Museum, and one particular bronze really caught her fancy: a statue of two deer intertwined titled "Shadow", she took a picture of it (above)

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton again lived up to its expectations. We stayed here 3 days last Summer and wanted to come back and spend a little more time here this year. This park is Irene's favorite national park; she loves the Teton mountain range and thinks there is nothing else like it. We stayed a week in the Colter Bay tent cabins where we were joined mid-week by Irene's sister Betsy and her family.

Even though it is peak season, this park is much more laid-back than its sister park, Yellowstone up the road. It really feels like wilderness.

Wilderness definitely bit back this season, though: while we were here two hikers were lost in separate groups and a fisherman drowned. With all the amenities and conveniences today, it's easy to forget this is still wilderness until you get these very sad reminders.

While at the park we saw quite a bit of wildlife, including several moose, which we never seem to see in any other park but this one! Also some bald eagle, elks and various smaller wildlife. (Not to mention some cuttthroat trout Gracie caught while learning to flyfish. She put them all back).

Dubois,Wyoming

We really lucked out on this pitstop. Dubois is one of the gateway towns to Yellowstone/Grand Teton. It is one of the smaller ones- only 1,000 people live here- and it has a small town feel; not a tourist mecca like Jackson Hole or Cody. We booked three nights at a KOA here sight unseen. We started to have tiny doubts when, five miles out of Dubois, we were still surrounded by really dry, badland-y hill country. (Not the best place to tent camp in mid-Summer!). But, the KOA is green and tree-lined, and right on the Wind River! Mike and the girls can fish right from the campsite. KOAs can be hit-or-miss; the kids really like them because of the pools and playgrounds, but usually the sites are small, close together and not tent-friendly. This campground lived up to its advertising, though. Better than average KOA, with really nice owners and workers, great sites along he river and nice activities for the kids: in addition to a great indoor pool, the girls went on a little horseride (free) the first night and on our second night, attended a chuckwagon cookout with cowboy music.

Dubois is a really neat little town, with a two block downtown with wooden sidewalks, plenty of restaurants and little Western shops. Despite, the Old West theme (done with less kitsch than usual), Dubois is actually authentic cowboy country, surrounded by hills and ranches.

There are plenty of things to do here: trail rides, fishing, a town museum and the National Bighorn Sheep Center.

Weather is great, too. Hot and sunny during the day, cool at night. I think the elevation is about 6500 feet.

Thermopolis, Wyoming

We spent two nights in Thermopolis, on the Bighorn River in Wyoming. Thermopolis has one of the largest mineral hotsprings in the United States; these mineral baths are free to the public thanks to the Wind River Indians. The land where the hot springs are located were originally owned by the Shoshone & Arapaho Indians of the area. About 100 years ago, the tribes sold the land to the US government, but conditioned the sale on the requirement that the hot springs always be free and available to all the people. Above is a picture of the girls in front of one of the mineral fountains (the rocky-looking material is the mineral build up over the years). Mike soaked in the therapeutic baths each day while we were there and we also took the girls to a privately operated splash pool that had water slides and multiple pools, vapor caves, steam rooms, etc.

We also visited the Wyoming Dinosaur Center where we saw tons of dinosaur bones and visited a dig site out in the hills.

Local notables have included Butch Cassidy & the Hole in the Wall Gang (the town museum has the original bar from the saloon where they hung out). Also, Sacajawea is supposedly buried nearby on the Wind River Indian reservation next to the town.

A high point for us, though, was the A&W Root beer restaurant and bowling alley in town. In addition to greta root beer floats and burgers (that you order via telephone at your table0, they also have 3 statues of the A&W family out front. Photo above.

But the big news of our stay here is that Mike caught the biggest trout of his life right in the Bighorn River. He caught it using worms, and is very excited about this.

Thanks to Steven Flax for recommending we visit Thermopolis.

Fort Collins, Colorado & Douglas, Wyoming

After a terrific week in Rocky Mountain National Park, we're taking our time meandering up to Grand Teton & Yellowstone. On our trip last Summer, we tried to see as much as possible; while we fit in a lot of sights, the pace was a little breakneck; this Summer is a bit slower.

Fort Collins is a college town East of the Rockies. I'm not very good at geography, but I think it is on the high plains (same as Douglas). Because of the altitude, and the fact that it is close to the mountains, the weather can be a little dramatic. In both towns, we saw afternoon thunderstorms that were short but fierce, and it can be very windy and a little hot. Nice and cool at night and in the morning, though.

We stopped in Douglas for one night last year; we thought there might be a little more to it than a quick drive-through would show, so we stayed two nights this Summer. Douglas was voted one of the best small towns in America, but it still feels cowboy-like. It was along the Oregon and a couple of other pioneer trails, so there is a lot of history around that. It also had a POW camp during World War II. We didn't check out the museum, but apparently it has memorabilia related to Butch Cassidy and Sundance as well as props from Dances With Wolves.

There are a lot of jobs in energy around here: wind, gas and oil. There is not enough housing to accomodate the energy workers; quite a few seem to be living in trailers thrown up around the area. (Including some in the campground where we stayed).

Above is a picture of a playground in state park outside Douglas. (Isn't the bottom of a redrock canyon a nice place for a swingset?) The real draw to the park is a natural stone bridge and a stone wall with names etched on it of people who passed there through the decades. We saw names going back to the 1920s, but I believe there were even older names, going back to pioneer days.

A little bit of kitsch: Douglas is also the birthplace of the Jackalope, first sighted in the 1890s and then patented in the 1930s. There are statues all around town.

More on Rocky Mountain: The People

One of the best things about camping is that you meet the nicest people! Grace & Lucy met two little girls from Boulder, Colorado, (Delaney & Teagan) who they quickly became firm friends with. Here's a photo of the girls together.

While hiking early on in our trip, Grace lost her camera (she left it on a rock after taking some pictures of some ducks). We filled out a lost and found form at the ranger station, where we were told to keep checking in each day; it might be returned. We seriously doubted that, but on our last day in the park, our camera was brought in! The men who found it left their photo on the camera (see above). What a great way to end our camping trip; thank you, fellows.

When talking abut the nice people of the park, we can't forget the people who work there; the volunteers and the park rangers. Grace and Lucy became junior rangers and attended a ranger program at least once a day while we were there. The rangers give talks and guided walks, and their enthusiasm really shines through. They also work really hard on their various presentations; our campsite was next to the campground amphitheatre; the rangers always arrived an hour to an hour-and-a-half early to prepare for their nightly presentations.