On The Road From Billings, MT to Buffalo, WY

OK, I know my next post was going to be from Mt. Rushmore, but we made some stops along the way and we are heading in that direction.

Our drive yesterday from Billings, Mt to Buffalo, WY was certainly not a boring one. The first thing we noticed as we left Billings was that we were getting back into hilly country - not mountains, mind you, just big rolling hills. It was strange because we have had no problem with the engine overheating going up the mountains, but some of these hills were so long a climb that the engine was getting a little warm. Not to the danger zone though, thank goodness.

One of my biggest gripes has been that Dean would not stop anywhere when we were traveling between stops, but yesterday I convinced him that it was OK because I wanted to see Little Big Horn battlefield. I had also been told that there was plenty of RV parking - HAH! When we arrived around 10:15 am, all the RV parking was full. The ranger told us to go ahead and do the 10 mile drive through the battlefield and till we got back there would probably be some spots. I'm so glad he suggested that because if we had just stopped at the visitor center, we would have missed so much.

I'm not a big history buff, but when it is forced on me, I find it very interesting. Of course I've heard about Custer's Last Stand, but never really gave it much thought - until yesterday!

I'm not going into a history lesson here, but I can see how foolish the US Army was back then, thinking that they could defeat the Indians when they were outnumbered by at least 10 to 1.

The drive through the battlefield runs along a ridge with many plaques along the way telling the events that happened there. It is a nice drive and would have been even more so if they had parking at these pull outs for RV's. Most didn't. One highlight was the wild horses. They roam freely throughout the park and instead of bison jams, we experienced horse jams. Yep, they stood their ground, right in the middle of the narrow two lane road. Come to find out that they were protecting a foal who was laying along side the road. We thought at first that it was hurt or worse, but after a few minutes of waiting, the foal got up and started running, as did the others that were blocking the road.

One more note on Little Big Horn National Monument - they have a nice museum that has a lot of artifacts that have been retrieved from the battlefield. If you are a history buff then this is a not to be missed place if you are in Montana.

As we approached Sheridan, WY I noticed smoke in the sky, coming from the Big Horn Mountain ridge. Well, the closer we got, the more obvious it was that there was a wildfire happening. When I first saw it, it appeared small, but as we traveled south and got closer it seemed to grow bigger and bigger. It is so dry in this area that wildfires this time of year seem to be the norm. We never did see flames, as we were to far away - thank goodness - but the sun shining through the smoke made it look almost like flames. Fortunately for us, Buffalo is about 25 - 30 miles southeast of the wildfire. We could see the smoke last evening while out driving around the area, but it was way off in the distance.

We are camped at Deer Park in Buffalo, WY until tomorrow when we will continue on eastward to Rapid City, SD and Hart Ranch. We are staying there for a week and it will be good to sit in one place again.

I'm posting some pictures from the Little Big Horn, the countryside and the fire so be sure to check them out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos

Oh yes, we arrived in Buffalo just in time for the county fair/rodeo and the big parade this morning. Yes, we are going so I may have more pictures later...