TBeyer | 16 Feb 2017 3:34 p.m. PST |
Our family is heading out to Glacier and Yellowstone this summer and reading this topic: TMP link I realized we will be passing close to the battlefield. Assuming I can talk my wife and daughter into stopping by, any advice/recommendations/reviews for me? For example hotels, restaurants, any other parks or sights nearby we should check out? Any advice on the various tours? I will have to seek out some of those books before we leave too, some good recommendations there. Thanks! |
TBeyer | 16 Feb 2017 3:37 p.m. PST |
Oops – that should be Bighorn. And I found this topic, very helpful: TMP link |
MajorB | 16 Feb 2017 3:39 p.m. PST |
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coryfromMissoula | 16 Feb 2017 3:47 p.m. PST |
Best if you can stay in Billings or Sheridan. Much depends on your route and time of year – there is a lot of highway in Montana and even with 80 mph you will inevitably lose time to construction. email me at noid12000 at yahoo dot com and I can add quite a bit more, we do Yellowstone once or twice a year and I drive up to Glacier a few times a year. (rarely go through though, the traffic is "touristy"). |
Dan Beattie | 16 Feb 2017 3:53 p.m. PST |
Don't attack "hostiles" until sure of their numbers. |
nevinsrip | 16 Feb 2017 4:04 p.m. PST |
It's really not that big. There's a small museum/gift shop that had a diorama of the battle set up, when I was there. There the graveyard and marker and pretty much the rest is open plains. One things to stress….wear good boots. There are snake warnings along the trail. |
Ceterman | 16 Feb 2017 4:09 p.m. PST |
Take me along?… Best advice I got! Have fun, I'd love to make it out there myself one day! |
Nashville | 16 Feb 2017 4:55 p.m. PST |
be careful for the tanks link
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mghFond | 16 Feb 2017 5:17 p.m. PST |
I think it is an excellent battlefield to see. I've walked it on a hot July day. Also the rangers give first rate talks on the equipment, life style, both sides POV. Small museum yes but good. Seeing the little white tombstones where the troopers fell during the battle was eerie and sad. We did not see a single rattler, not to say there weren't some we didn't notice I suppose. We went out on the 4th of July Weekend and honestly there was very little traffic, we were surprised. Also we drove thru Bear Tooth Pass (I think it was) in southern Montana and it is the most incredible drive. We were stopped not once but twice by herds of buffalo on the road who looked at us but wouldn't budge. We sat and watched them. Very cool. Then we pulled off the side of the road once when we saw a huge brown bear eating berries from some bushes to within like 20 feet and he ignored us. So again we watched. No, we did not get out of the vehicle and kept the windows up. He wandered off after 15 minutes. Then we got up high on the mountaintops and stopped to throw snowballs at each other in our shorts and shirtsleeves. One of my all time favorite trips. |
jurgenation | 16 Feb 2017 6:24 p.m. PST |
Staying in Sheridan is good advice ..might be a Motel in Miles City.,which is nearby |
Saber6 | 16 Feb 2017 7:03 p.m. PST |
Sheridan is a great place, I'm here Billings and Sheridan are an hour away from LBH (opposite directions) but on the Interstate. Miles City "smaller" |
Piquet Rules | 16 Feb 2017 7:35 p.m. PST |
We always stay in Sheridan. Of course, if you stay in Sheridan, there are other places nearby as well (Fetterman's, Wagon Box). |
Piquet Rules | 16 Feb 2017 7:36 p.m. PST |
I forgot – there's also the Rosebud battlefield, also near Sheridan. Fantastic in that it is unmarked and unsullied. Only visit it if you have good maps to orient yourself. |
Allen57 | 16 Feb 2017 8:39 p.m. PST |
We came from east and visited Deadwood, Devils tower, and the Little Bighorn on our way to Yosemite. All are worth a stop. |
Saber6 | 16 Feb 2017 8:39 p.m. PST |
Yosemite? Heck of a detour |
War In 15MM | 16 Feb 2017 9:05 p.m. PST |
Take the Crow bus tour of the battlefield. Very well done. Our bus driver was the great, great (really not sure of the number of greats) granddaughter of White Man Runs Him. The ranger park lectures are excellent too. |
amoryms | 16 Feb 2017 9:36 p.m. PST |
In response to Nashville, the Gatling guns would have helped!! What self respecting tanker abandons their tank? |
Dn Jackson | 16 Feb 2017 9:50 p.m. PST |
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Stephen Miller | 16 Feb 2017 10:21 p.m. PST |
Also take a visit to the Ft Phil Kearny Historic site and museum just a few miles south of Sheridan. FPK was one of the few forts that acatually had a full stockade around it for its two short eventful years of its life. |
piper909 | 16 Feb 2017 10:54 p.m. PST |
I've wanted to visit this battlefield myself and all this advice is great stuff! I'm taking notes for future reference. |
Allen57 | 17 Feb 2017 7:54 a.m. PST |
Yosemite? OOPs! I meant Yellowstone. Its the "Y". It always confuses me. |
Early morning writer | 17 Feb 2017 8:48 a.m. PST |
Yellowstone on the list, possibly this year. Love the input regarding Sheridan and its proximity to so many sites. Also, the Crow bus tour advice. Rosebud – yes, a great battle site to visit (not having been there but because of the nature of the battle). Sometimes you just can't understand elements of a battle without seeing the terrain. Why couldn't they hear a terrific part of Antietam? The rather huge vertical terrain in between, relatively. Doesn't stand out on many battle maps but you can't miss it when you are on the ground. And with Old West & Indian Wars one of my three prime periods, this tour is a must do. But Yellowstone and Grand Tetons for us. Glacier is a separate trip someday. Also, Mount Rushmore – wife really wants to see it. Hell of a drive, though, from California to Rushmore and back. |
jurgenation | 17 Feb 2017 12:16 p.m. PST |
Don't forget the Winchester Musuem in Cody, |
TBeyer | 18 Feb 2017 8:02 a.m. PST |
Thanks everyone for the great replies! War in 15mm, we were thinking about the Crow bus tour, thanks for the recommendation. MghFond, we did a similar trip a couple years ago, the scenery is amazing and tons of wildlife. On that trip I realized how close we were to the Litte Bighorn battlefield but didn't have time to stop. This time we are allowing more time for the trip out and back for some side trips – like Devils Tower, some smaller parks like Bighorn, etc. One issue will be restaurants – my wife and daughter are city girls and expect a choice of Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek, Mediterranean, Indian, etc. while I love western-style cooking – but they survived trips to Yellowstone, Canadian Rockies, Grand Tetons, and a couple trips to the Black Hills so I think they will survive. |
Grelber | 18 Feb 2017 9:02 a.m. PST |
There are a number of mysteries surrounding the battle--numbers of dead don't add up, for example. These intrigued my wife (got to keep them happy, you know). Last time I was there, Sheridan had a Chinese restaurant, but that was a while back. Also, walk over to the cemetery--a few of the names you'll see right off will be familiar if you've read about the battle--people who survived the battle and came back for burial. Grelber |
Haitiansoldier | 23 Feb 2017 3:26 p.m. PST |
I'll be visiting Little Bighorn this summer as well. I have been wanting to go there for 8 years, so I am pretty excited. I would recommend talking the Crow bus tour and also stay on the trail, because there are rattlesnakes there. |