On the Road Again
We have been home from our Utah travels for precisely twenty-four hours, which is apparently more than enough time to run a single load of laundry before hurling ourselves back into the breach.
Where to next? Our path takes us straight through the Bighorn Mountains as we head to the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Little Bighorn set on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana along the Wyoming border. Because when I think of a light, relaxing weekend to recover from a two-week family road trip, my mind immediately goes to a three-day historical event with an estimated attendance of 10,000 people.
Our destination is the ground of the most consequential Native victories in the Plains Wars. These victories would prove to have resounding effects on many North American Native populations. Though it was the Lakota (Sioux), Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho who had triumphantly won both the battles of Rosebud and Little Bighorn, these successes actually worked against all Native populations fighting for their homeland. After these battles, the U.S. government consolidated its efforts to relocate Native peoples to reservations and quell any resistance.
Am I profoundly, bone-deep exhausted? Absolutely. However, this event is simply not to be missed.
The Motivation
The opportunity to hear the history firsthand from the tribal leaders involved offers a depth of emotion that pure research could never convey. I already have deep regrets about missing the ceremonies at the Battle of the Rosebud—the skirmish that actually lit the fuse for the much more notorious battle at Little Bighorn—and my historical guilt is eating me alive.
Ready or not, the truck is getting cleaned and repacked.
If my sense of historical obligation wasn’t enough to drag me off the couch, there is also the rumor of 500 horses participating in the reenactment this year. As an ex-ranchhand who loved a good stampede, that five times the usual herd of equine chaos is something that nips at my desire to witness a true horse charge close enough to feel the sheer thunder of two thousand hooves hitting the earth, but sit far enough away to avoid becoming a permanent part of the Montana topsoil. Thus the decision to march me, Hugo and my lymphedema back out into the summer heat of the lower elevations.
The Logistics
It’s a breezy 400-mile journey. To break up the miles, this naturally mandates a stop in one of my favorite Wyoming metropolises: Thermopolis.
Why Thermopolis? Because no road trip through the Bighorn Basin is complete without doing two things:
- The Dinosaur Center: A world class paleontology exhibit housed in what looks like a tractor shed, epitomizing the whole “never judge a book by its cover” concept.
- The Hot Springs: Taking advantage of Chief Washakie’s mandate that these mineral-rich waters are to be forever freely available to all humanity. I can emerge relaxed, refreshed, and smelling faintly of sulfur for the remainder of the drive.
The Timeline
We leave in exactly four days.
This gives me just enough time to blindly throw hiking boots and trail mix into a bag and hope for the best.
The Bottom Line
Though this rapid-fire turnaround between trips is objectively rushed, I am 100% excited to hit the road again. Getting a true, deep-dive into the Indigenous point of view regarding this intensely pivotal event in the history of the Curious West is an opportunity I wouldn’t miss.
Assuming I survive the heat, the driving, and the 500-horse charge, I will report back from the Bighorns.
Further Reading & Sources:
- https://www.nps.gov/libi/planyourvisit/150th-anniversary.htm
- https://southeastmontana.com/battle-little-bighorn-150
- https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/150th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn/
- http://www.littlebighornreenactment.com/
- https://billings365.com/little-bighorn-battle-reenactment
- https://southeastmontana.com/event/51442
- https://www.facebook.com/100064511599929/photos/battle-of-the-little-bighorn-150th-anniversary-show-26-28-june-2026-show-starts-/1372455134914860/