Custer, Little Bighorn battlefield visit.

[1961MJS]

It sounds like your family enjoys standing buildings and guided tours or living history.  With that in mind I recommend:

1. Ft. Laramie WY, National Park Indian Wars post with plenty of restored buildings

2. Ft. Robinson NE, NE state park, IW Fort with original buildings.  Army's remount depot between WWI and WWII. 

3. Ft. Hartsuff NE, smaller IW post with great buildings, Pitspitr could tell you more about tour info.

Hey, we stayed at Fort Robinson in 2000 on the way to Medicine Mountain Scout Ranch.  Camped, the building are for rent, but are pretty high even then.  I loved the whole Western style bacon and egg breakfast.  THICK bacon, Scrambled eggs fried HARD, and buckwheat pancakes that I needed the knife to cut.  Filling would be an understatement.  Nice area.  Crazy Horse was killed there.  Devil's tower was impressive.  Mount Rushmore (the Heads) was NOT what I was used to in a National Park.  It was like a National Park in a Walmart parking lot.  Parking Garage, 10,000 Sq Foot snack bar, and walkway to the heads, then a 10,000 Sq Foot Gift Shop.  Not like the 1970's with a log cabin gift shop with indoor plumbing at each end, one for women, and one for men.

Later

[smoke]

This may not be what you're looking for but the guy who runs this is a good guy and knows what he is about.  I've worked with him a couple of time at at Cavalry Competitions.

http://www.uscavalryschool.com/

SQQ

That is cool!!!

Ft. Hartsuff, but then I'm prejudiced

That might just work out.  I think we will be heading home on I80.

FYI when walking around at the Custer Battlefield site, one should be mindful of rattlesnakes (the no-legged variety) especially in the grassy areas. Wearing closed toe shoes or maybe boots should be given favorable consideration. One should be particularly watchful in that regard, if accompanied by children or pets.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip thru there in '98. In retrospect I wish I'd taken one of the tours.  Just wanted some time for reflection but definitely will next time. One can never see everything in a single adventure.  Hope you have a really Great trip.

That would suck.....we are taking the dogs.

[smoke]

It sounds like your family enjoys standing buildings and guided tours or living history.  With that in mind I recommend:

1. Ft. Laramie WY, National Park Indian Wars post with plenty of restored buildings

2. Ft. Robinson NE, NE state park, IW Fort with original buildings.  Army's remount depot between WWI and WWII. 

3. Ft. Hartsuff NE, smaller IW post with great buildings, Pitspitr could tell you more about tour info.

Thanks for the info!  Those all look like I am looking for.  I am pretty sure we can hit 2 out of 3.  Maybe all 3 depending on the timing.
It looks like we can stay over in Ft. Robinson?  Eat breakfast?

How far west are you going? Ft. Vancouver in Washington State is worth a few hours. It's a bit early in the westward expansion period but shows how Hudson's Bay Company trading posts operated.  When the living history folks are present, it is very informative.

CC Griff

Not that far but I would love to see a place like that.

Hey, we stayed at Fort Robinson in 2000
"snip"
Later

Thanks for the info on staying over.  I had no idea.

[Pitspitr]

Thanks for the info!  Those all look like I am looking for.  I am pretty sure we can hit 2 out of 3.  Maybe all 3 depending on the timing.
It looks like we can stay over in Ft. Robinson?  Eat breakfast?

Yes, you'll need a Nebraska Park entry permit( you can buy them online or at the park) and it's good at all Nebraska State Parks.

[Pitspitr]

Can you guys recommend some books/reading materials about the battle?  I am especially looking for recommendations that will give me some good familiarity with how things played out on the ground.  In other words when we get there, I hope I will have a good feel for the ground and flow of the battle.  I will have the wife and 2 daughters in tow and want to be able to explain it well to them.

This gives some good info. I have 2 old friends who were on the dig.


Black Elk Speaks is a good reference from the Indian perspective.

[Trailrider]

The Rosebud Battlefield is about 30 miles Southeast of LBH by road. Not sure was is there now, as I haven't been there since about 1988. Most of the battlefield is a Montana State Park, with some on private land.  There are several great books on the subject: "Battle of the Rosebud: Prelude to Little Big Horn" by Neil Mangum is available on Amazon.  It locates the various points on the battlefield better than Vaughn's 'With Crook at the Rosebud", but the latter is a great narrative of the battle.  Google the Battle of the Rosebud and you will see numerous  references.  Crook claimed he won the battle because his forces held the battlefield.  Strategically, it was a bad defeat, as he withdrew to his base at Camp Cloud Peak (where Sheridan, WY, now stands).  One can question if this lead directly to the LBH battle, which happened a week later. The whole concept of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876, trapping the Indians between three columns, Crook's the main column, Terry's, with Custer as his strike force commander, and Gibbon's column, which joined with Terry, was lack of communications between the columns.  Crook and Terry had no idea where each other were, nor what action they might be encountering. Couriers could not get through from Crook to Terry or visa versa, there were just too many Indians around.  Radios or aerial recon would have been the thing, but of course they didn't exist then.
Have fun out there! 

[1961MJS]

Hi

SOOoooo, you were going Labor Day, which is past I looked at the calendar and all that.  You got pix?

Later

[smoke]

Naw....we haven't gone yet.   We put the trip off until spring.  My daughter wants to audition for music programs for college so we decided to not take a few weeks out of her practicing before the auditions.  I think we are headed out in May.

[1961MJS]

Good for her, not so much for the rest of us.

Mike