The best thing about leaving Yellowstone is that the drive is still amazing. No matter what direction you head, there is a great view along the way. We left through the East Entrance into Cody, WY to head across Wyoming and back into Montana. It was about a 3.5 hour drive to get to the Little Big Horn Battlefield, the site of “Custer’s Last Stand”. We went to the Visitor Center first where they have a little exhibit about the battle, as well as some artifacts/uniforms from the military at that time as well as Indian artifacts. They also show a great movie that details the battle.
We went outside to “Last Stand Hill” where this is the site of the last and final stand of Custer and many of his men. There is a memorial there, as well as a cemetery that notes where the men “fell” in battle. You can also see the crest of the hill from which Crazy Horse and the other unified Indians attacked from. There are also markers around to memorialize the horses, the men were ordered in a last ditch effort to kill their horses and hide behind them as a final defense.
Across from the Memorial to Custer and the US military that died, there is a Native American Memorial. You enter the half circle and there is a iron formed memorial. Around the inside of the memorial there are quotes and pictures from survivors of the battle, as well as from Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.
We walked back down to the visitor center for a Ranger presentation that last almost an hour. This Ranger has by far been the most enthusiastic Ranger we have met anyway, at least he was about this topic. He acted out various scenes, and called people out in the audience that had their cell phones on. It was captivating. He detailed how we got to the battle, the battle itself, and what happened to the major figures of the battle.
After his presentation we walked around a little more and visited the proper cemetery that they have also on the site.
We then headed back into Wyoming and after about 4 hours of driving we got to Devil’s Tower. Devil’s Tower is the first National Monument. It was a lot cooler than we expected and it was interesting to see how it was formed and then eventually was visible due to erosion. We took the small loop trail around the base of the Tower (it was a mile or so) and got some different views of the tower.
You could also see some people climbing it! Which at this point is was almost 8pm so we hope they were on their way down and not up! The top of Devil’s Tower is about 1 acre total. Devil’s Tower is a sacred site to many Native Americans and as you walk around you can see some prayer flags tied to trees and other spots along the way.
On your way out of Devil’s Tower there are a TON of prairie dogs. We stopped and watched them for awhile. They ran right up to the car (probably looking for food) and we took a bunch of pictures. They are so adorable.
We stayed at the KOA right there at the bottom of the entrance to Devil’s Tower. We set up camp and made a fire. This might of been one of the coolest back drops that have had camping so far!! Tomorrow we have a lot of historical sites planned as we head into South Dakota!
Dietz Summer Road Trip 