Orderly retreat

We knew weather could be an issue the further north and west we traveled, and the current front has driven us south a bit.  Since we don't really have fixed destination goals, it's really just an opportunity to see other new stuff, but the looming grey clouds on the horizon, threat of negative wind chill, and howling winds are constant reminders of what the pioneers must have faced as they passed this way on wagons.
As we were driving through the Laramie Mts yesterday evening, just ahead of the first flurries, we pondered the poor souls that had entered the pass via mule-drawn wagon in the 1860s on a pleasant Fall day, yet in the three or four days it might take them to traverse what we did in 45 minutes, they ran the very real risk of being snowed-in without food or fuel for days.
Our retreat actually began back in Miles City, where Les Church at Les' Auto Repair (write that down in case you're ever in eastern MT) did a complete rear brake job by 10:40 a.m.  Didn't even need a late check-out!  His mechanic was giddy to receive Sophia's pheasant and sharp tail grouse as additional compensation.
We made our way southwest towards Little Bighorn Battlefield Natl Monument and arrived mid-afternoon, coincidentally about the same time the battle occurred, so the shadows, etc were relevant, although the 35 mph wind in November was probably much different from the June afternoon of the battle.
RAVE - The terrain and relatively small scale of the engagement makes it possible to visualize the events very clearly, from the location of the Indian village to the final assault at the last stand.  You can easily see where the cavalry might have considered themselves at an advantage from the heights, but the sheer numbers of warriors would prove their demise ... Custer knew he was outnumbered and paid the price.  How anyone survived is testament to their training and use of the remaining hilltops for defensive positions...

View to the NW; Last Stand to top right, national cemetery, visitors' center to left.

 View to the west towards the Little Bighorn River valley.  There would have been hundreds of tipis on the plain, for nearly 7,000 inhabitants - Oglala, Hunkpapa, Cheyenne, Arapaho...

 Weir's efforts to assist Custer would have stalled about here, approximately 1.5 miles southeast of the Last Stand.  Custer's troop was annihilated by this point and it was nip and tuck whether Weir could make it back to the hillside where the remaining forces were dug in.

 View from the Last Stand into the river valley.  Custer's marker in black.

Our retreat landed us in Sheridan, WY for the evening, a wonderful small city chock full of mountain, cowboy, and pioneer history and charm.  RAVE - Sanford's Pub & Grub downtown had wonderful steaks with exceptional onion-rings, tasty beer, and really quick service so we could skip just across the street to see Wreck-it Ralph at the Centennial theater.  We're having really great luck with restored old movie theaters as well ... not exactly stadium seating, but sound and picture have been fine, and the atmosphere unbeatable.  Wish we could catch North by Northwest somewhere!

The retreat continued through central WY yesterday ahead of the storm.  The Bighorn Mts were a center of Army/Indian conflict from the 1860s to 80s.  In fact, the US Govt agreed to abandon forts along the Bozeman trail for a while, so Red Cloud and Crazy Horse happily torched them.  That means most of the historical sites are reproductions, but Fort Phil Kearney near Story, WY had a number of heated engagements, including the Wagon Box fight where 32 troopers and wagoneers held off hundreds of warriors from a fortified position and the Fetterman massacre - he couldn't retreat back to the fort only a few miles away.  Maybe the highlight of the site for me was when Kali pointed a flock of sharp tails just outside the net wire fence!

Now we're hunkered down in Laramie, waiting to see when the heavy snow will pass.  Only an inch or so here, but up to 16" north and west and temps expected below zero tonight!  So we'll take in Laramie's museums etc, do some laundry, regroup, and then continue towards the NW!

One of the games we play along the road is trying to select a suitable mascot for the upcoming town based upon its name ... some seem fitting, while others are just mascots.  Personal fav is still the Winters (TX) Blizzards and Buffalo (OK) Bison is obviously appropriate.  Beach (ND) were not the Balls or Sharks, but the Buccaneers, which ain't bad.  Sturgis (SD) wasn't the Harleys or Hoggs as we expected, but the Scoopers, which has local significance - they were the thieves that stole gold dust from coat pockets.  Still works in a headline though ... "Scoopers Steal Big Win Friday Night".  Also liked the Newell (SD) Irrigators!  Had to pick up a Kaycee (WY) Buckaroos shirt...if you want to join the conversation from the road, send me a text and I'll add you to my Mascots group, but you must have witty and fitting suggestions!  Hey, it ain't car bingo, but it is interactive and fun.  Plus, there's some really great mascots out there!

RAGE - have to admit it's easy to ignore the election when you haven't been through a blue county in a week, and oh yes - it's pretty easy to tell out here.  But with all the windshield time, there's been enough time to consider how little I'm going to let the next four years influence my happiness or success.  I'm enough of a student of world history to know that we've taken a long stride down the path of the Roman and British empires, certainly not in a direction I'd have chosen.  So instead, I choose to maintain my optimism, seek means to protect my family from the increasing tentacles of big government, and remain eternally grateful I call Helena, Texas home!  Like the line from Josey Wales, we shall "endeavor to persevere" though as a friend pointed out on Wednesday, seems like I might be one of the type they try to put on a reservation in a decade or so...

Wondering if it's gonna hit 0 in Karnes County this weekend?