BLACK HILLS, LITTLE BIG HORN AND RED LODGE

Early Thursday morning we left the Badlands and headed north toward our next stop in Red Lodge, Montana. Along the way, we passed through the Black Hillls of South Dakota. northeastern Wyoming and parts of Montana. The Black Hills are lovely rounded mountains that appear black from a distance, but actually are covered with evergreens as you approach them. We spotted a few interesting deer and antelope along the side of the road and noticed quite a bit of oil drilling, too. As we left the Black Hills, we could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. Most of the peaks were covered with snow, even though it was close to 90 degrees where we were. When we got to Billings, Montana around dinner time, the temperature was still 85 degrees (a real heat wave for that part of the country).
One interesting coincidence is that we happened to be driving through Little Bighorn on the 134th anniversary of Custer's Last Stand. We saw dozens of re-enacters on horseback dressed in period costume as we passed through. Apparently the battle occurred on June 25 and 26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory. The battle involved the combined forces of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne against the 7th Calvary Regiment of the US Army. The battle was the most famous action of the Great Sioux War and was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, led by Sitting Bull. The US Calvary was annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers. The landscape here hasn't changed much in 134 years, and seeing the re-enacters made it seem like the battle could have happened yesterday. Very cool to see.
Before we left home, we decided that we wanted to enter Yellowstone through the Beartooth Highway, so we had planned to spend the night in Red Lodge, Montana which is where the Beartooth Highway begins. The drive between Billings and Red Lodge was largely ranches and lovely mountain scenery. We were climbing in altitude and the temperature dropped like a rock. By the time we reached Red Lodge it was only about 40 degrees.
Red Lodge is a charming western city located about 70 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone. The area originally was inhabited by the Crow Indians, but after rich coal deposits and gold were discovered there around 1870, the area was settled by miners.Until the 1930s, mining defined the town. In 1890, the two mile square town had twenty saloons and, as the library records show, riotous and violent living was characteristic of the town. Clearly, this was just the place for us to visit! Today, the town is primarily a ski and vacation destination. The main drag is quaint with red white and blue bunting hanging on every building. We camped in a great campground right on the banks of the Rock Creek which roars so loudly that it is hard to hear anything else. The owner of the campground warned us to be on the lookout for a mother moose and her calf who had been seen around the campground over the previous few days. We didn't see the moose, but we sure did see a big brown bear racing through the campground the next morning! We were just about to eat breakfast outdoors when we saw a big brown bear running down the hill toward us! Needless to say, we scampered inside and watched the bear amble away from inside the RV. Alex was desperate to go outside and take pictures, but Mom nixed that idea!