Cabin interior filled with antiques that may or may not have belonged to the original inhabitants. Either way, it was a hard life!

Lifesize, abstract rendition of the town's mascot.

Family reunion! L-R: Phil, Joy, Lloyd (Althea's fiance'), Brenna Elyse and Althea.

Althea's oldest daughter Ariel is a cook at this restaurant (excellent food I might add) but escaped the photo session ;-)

12:35 pm Friday September 7, 2007

On the way to Buffalo, WY from White Sulphur Springs, we spent two nights in the historic area of Garryowen, Montana so we could visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield. We also attempted to visit the museum but it was closed so the carpets could be shampooed. Just our luck that the toilets backed up the day before we arrived!

We have read about it; we have seen it portrayed in movies; we have heard the Army’s side of the story and the Native American’s gave their account; but nothing—nothing tells the tale like seeing the battlefield in person! I was not prepared for the feelings of sorrow I experienced as we drove the five-miles of road listening to the audio tape explaining each stop along the way. What a terrible waste of human life and animals. As the brochure so profoundly states: “The Indians won the battle but ultimately lost the war.”

In the final count, the 7th Cavalry lost five companies (C, E, F, I, and L) under Custer, about 210 men. Of the other companies of the regiment under Reno and Banteen, 53 men were killed. It is believed the Indians lost no more than 100 killed. The entire episode lasted no more than a day and a half (it is believed that the fighting on Last Stand Hill lasted about an hour and a half total) before the Indians withdrew upon learning of the approach of the columns under Terry and Gibbon.

Custer National Cemetery and the Little Bighorn Battlefield Visitor's Center and Museum below Last Stand Hill (inside the fence at the bottom of the picture). A Ranger informed us that the military cemetery actually doesn't have anything to do with Custer's Last Stand although Major Marcus A. Reno is buried near the base of the flagpole.

I borrowed this photo from the brochure because somehow, Phil didn't get this shot with our camera. These markers are surrounded by a fence.

In 1890, the Army erected 249 marble headstone markers across the battlefield to show where Custer's men had fallen. In 1999 the National Park Service began erecting red granite markers at known Cheyenne and Lakota warrior casualty sites.

In 1881 the remains of those who fell in battle were buried in a mass grave around the base of this memorial shaft bearing the names of the soldiers, scouts and civilians killed in the battle.

Approximate site where Custer fell and his remains were originally buried. In 1877, his widow, Elizabeth had him reinterred at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

The marker for the common gravesite of the horses.

Information sign telling the story of the horses that died.

click on image to enlarge for ease of reading.

More marble markers scattered across the hillside behind Custers Last Stand hill.

Horses grazing on battlefield hills, much of which is on private land today.

The Indians were camped at the bottom of this hill in the trees along the river.

A monument to the non-combatants that died.

This information sign is located five miles from Custer's Last Stand.

A Cheyenne warrior was found in this spot ...

Beside these three ...

Marble markers around every corner.

9:20 pm Wednesday September 5, 2007

Our last afternoon in White Sulphur Springs was spent at the rodeo grounds attending the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Labor Day Rodeo. For those of you who have never attended a real, small town rodeo you don’t know what you’re missing! What fun it is! From the entrance fee ($12 each-but it was for a good cause) to the Souvenir Program ($3.00 then they gave them away in the stands about half way through the events ~~~~) to the concession stand ($2.50 for each hotdog but we had to eat, right?) Phil’s wallet was considerably lighter but we decided it was worth every nickel when all was said and done. Our new camera, a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 with a 10X optical zoom did a fantastic job at stopping the action for us!

Check out all the pink shirts on the cowboys. They are participating in the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign in the fight against breast cancer. In 2006 the PRCA rodeo, affiliates and other Western industry presented a check for $1 Million dollars to Tough Enough to Wear Pink founder and breast cancer survivor, Terry Wheatley.

It was nearly 90 degrees in the shade but we were so transfixed with the nonstop action, we hardly noticed until I stood up to stretch during a technical problem with the PA system and my shorts were totally wet and stuck to my body! Yuk!! I went through some embarrassing contortions to straighten out my clothing but since I didn’t know a soul in the entire audience I decided “oh well” and went back to watching the triumphs and the “aw shucks” as the cowboys and cowgirls gave us their all. Can you imagine how much it must hurt to fall off a horse (or a bull or a bucking bronco) at a dead run?

Later that night we saw the one local cowboy from WSS who participated in the bull riding at the restaurant where we ate dinner. He was pouring down painkiller from a tall, brown bottle—I hope someone was with him to drive him home!

Our hard-working announcer's box. These guys never run our of encouragement for the cowboys and they played great rock and roll music too!