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Sundance, WY
Dave finally found a buffalo he thought he could ride
I decided on the more sensible ride
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes a major battle fought in 1876, between Lakota & Cheyenne Indians, against the United States Army. The tribes fought to preserve their traditional way of life as nomadic buffalo hunters. The US Army was carrying out instructions to return the Lakota Sioux & Cheyenne peoples back to their reservations.
We visited on the 140th Anniversary. Lots of activities and re-enactments going on
Good thing we are in the jeep
The Medicine Wheel is an ancient stone circle that lies on the northwest ridge of Medicine Mountain. Its age and exact purpose are a mystery, but its 28 spokes and the cairns inside the circle line up with important stars and constellations in the night sky. It is a place of great religious significance to many people, and the enclosing fence is adorned with a wide variety of objects left there as prayers and offerings from those who hike the 1.5 mile trail to see it.
Bighorn Lake
Wild horses have a very well defined social organization comprised largely of groups averaging 5 to 6 animals. Each member has a defined social rank. Most groups consists of a dominant stallion, a lead mare, and a variety of secondary mares and young offspring. Most of the group mimics the behavior of the lead mare while the stallion protects the herd.
Two Eagles
Notice the circles of stones. These circles vary in size from twelve to twenty feet in diameter. They were used to weight the lower edges of lodge skins, to prevent the structure from being blown over by a hard wind, and when the camp was moved they were simply rolled off the leather. An inner ring shows evidence of an insulated liner. Their southeast oriented doorways may indicate that the tipi was put up during the winter camp. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in cooking fires shows that the tipi rings at Two Eagles date to the last 1,000 years or so.
End of the line - where hunters herded buffalo off the cliff
Copman's Tomb
The water of Shell Falls, dropping 75 feet at a rate of 3,600 gallons per second.
Large granite rocks and boulders provide deep pools for Rainbow and Brook trout
Looks like another waterfall
