Day 1990

 I woke up at 7:30, played games for a while and then got up about 8.  After pet stuff and breakfast we left for Custer's battlefield.  The trip was exactly 100 miles up Interstate 90.  They Wyoming speed limit was 75, Montana's was 80.  It was nice to drive the faster speed limits.

The battlefield monument is really nice.  Unfortunately the visitor center was shut thanks to that pedo Biden.  There were a lot if informational plaques that explained the battle very well.  There were also informational brochures.  

We walked up to the last stand hill.  It wasn't a very defensible position, especially when surrounded by 1,000+ Indians.  There was a 4 mile road over to the Reno and Benteen battle sites.  There were plaques all along the way that described how the battle developed.  There were also headstones all along the way marking where soldiers, and a few Indians, had fallen.  Two of the Indians had been killed at ranges of at least 200 yds, one with a head shot.  Pretty good shooting.

Looking at the terrain and reading the plaques really gave a sense of how the battle went.  Custer was screwed from the moment he decided to attack.  He actually split his forces into 4, maybe 5 groups.  That made it worse.  There was a point early in the battle where he might have been able to withdraw, but apparently he didn't realize how screwed he was.  Past that point he and his men were doomed.

One thing for sure.  The soldiers were great horsemen.  Some of the ground they covered, both before and during the battle, was pretty challenging.

It also seems that there were actually three "last stands".  One was in a gully where 25 men from one company were slaughtered in a draw.  Another was at a hill a few 1000 yds from the last stand.  A company of men was overrun with many killed either on the hill or as they tried to get to Custer's position.

After several hours at the battlefield we stopped at the Indian run trading post for lunch.  It was pretty good.  Then it was back to Buffalo at 80 all the way.  That speed sure covers miles fast.

When we got home we went across the street to a mini-golf place.  Unfortunately it was closed.  there was a restaurant next door with a nice deck.  It was sunny and warm, so we sat there and ordered an appetizer for dinner.

Then it was back to the trailer.  We fed the cats and watched TV for the rest of the evening.