BBB Day 5

Today we were able to begin the day at Sacrament meeting in Casper, Wyoming. We had totally forgotten that it was almost the 24th. It was pretty cool to sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" in a place that is along the Pioneer trail!!
Our main objective today was to visit  Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We saw some beautiful scenery on our way:

We said goodbye to Wyoming and hello to Montana.

The monument is inside the Crow Indian Reservation.When we arrived at the monument we went to a dramatic retelling of the battle. The ranger was fantastic! I only got a couple of short snippets but you'll get the idea:

After the presentation we drove to the end of the road and followed the events of the battle in chronological order. We had a brochure that we read and also read the signs at each stop along the way. It was very interesting and educational. We both enjoyed it very much. 

Off to the right is a National Cemetery in honor of those lost in other wars. It is across the road from the rest of the monument.

"Last Stand Hill"

The site of the river is known as Retreat Crossing. The soldiers were losing badly, and retreated to the higher ground in the foreground. 7,000 Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho were encamped below along the Little Bighorn River. Led by Sitting Bull.

Notice the winding path of head stones, marking where 2 companies of men were killed attempting to join Custer on Last Stand Hill:

In 1876, Custer and his command are quickly buried in shallow graves near where they fell. Custer's remains are now at the military academy at West Point. This memorial stands in the center of a mass grave where the bodies of Custer's command now lie. The shaft bears their names, as well as those of scouts and civilians who died in battle.

It wasn't until 1991 that George H. W. Bush signed into law this memorial to honor the Indians who fought in this war and to change the name of the National Monument from Custer Battlefield to Little Bighorn Battlefield.

This is the monument as you come up the hill:

This is the entrance:

This is one portion of the inside of the circle:

In 1999 the National Park Service began erecting red granite markers at known Cheyenne and Lakota warrior casualty sites throughout the  battlefield. 

My last stop, of course, was the gift shop:

We ended the day in a Comfort Inn in Billings, Montana. Lovely, lovely day!!