Maurie and Evan came around to our motel on their Triumphs just after 8:00am and we left Sheridan and headed North on Interstate 90. About an hour up the road we entered the Crow Indian Reservation and then branched off onto Highway 212 and rode into the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
We spent over 2 hours at the site. there was a museum, movie and Park Ranger lecture at the Visitors Centre followed by a tour on a bus over the battlefield with an excellent narration by a young Crow College student named Angela Bear Claw.
This battle was one of the last armed efforts by the Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life. Here in the valley of the Big Horn River on two hot days in June 1876, more than 260 US Army soldiers met their deaths at the hands of several thousand Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. This is where George Custer had his 'Last Stand'. The tour was very informative and interesting - and quite moving to actually walk where many men lost their lives and learn about the clash of cultures that led to the event.
After we left the National Monument we rode for another hour to the largest city in Montana - Billings . The city was founded by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1882 and is named after the railroad company's president.
My Harley is due for it's 16,000km service, so I called into the local dealership to arrange this. The earliest they can do it is 9:00am the next morning - so we had a look around the shop and then rode a short distance to check in to our motel. We met up for dinner later that evening at a great diner a short distance from where we are staying.
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