Our first stop was in Traverse City. We saw this little guy swimming in the harbor . Eric and Michelle on the deck of the Cook’s House. We enjoyed a 5-star dinner and a good glass of scotch! After leaving Traverse City, we did several days of “dry camping” on our way.
We spent the morning in the badlands on the way to Rapid City
We found parking along the road to do some exploring.
“We stopped at the site of the “Battle of the Tongue River” near Story, Wyoming. On this site, the military, under General Patrick Conner, using a three pronged attack, attempted to kill every male native over twelve years of age. Two of the three columns suffered severely from the natives, running out of rations and losing many of their horses. The commander’s column managed to destroy one Arapaho village and established a fort on the Powder River, later known as Fort Reno. We found this neat little park on a long dirt road, called the “Kleenburn” recreation area. Sometimes we drive these roads to see what they lead to. In this case we found a nice picnic area around this lake which was the original site of a coal deposit. The 2009 reclamation project returned the area to a better condition that it was originally! Yes, the lake was loaded with bass and trout!In the afternoon, we drove to the site of Fort Phil Kearny. This fort was built as a guise/distraction for the natives. While they were watching this fort being built, the railroad was being laid nearby that would lead to their ultimate removal. The fort was much larger than we anticipated and we walked the entire perimeter. The fort cemetery is the white rectangle on the hill in the background. The livery stables were in the forested depression to the right of this photo. The hill behind the cemetery was the signal hill, where lookouts and signals were sent, via flags, about the surrounding conditions. These pronghorns were grazing in the fields directly across the dirt road from the fort. I kinda scared them when I started walking in their direction.This is the trail leading to the Peno Valley. Captain Fetterman led his 80 men into an ambush set by the Ogala Sioux under Red Cloud. Fetterman had previously bragged that he could “kill a dozen of the savages himself” and with 80 men he could take on the whole Sioux/Cheyenne nation. He lasted just minutes once the trap was sprung. Among the warriors were a young Crazy Horse, Dull Knife and Black Shield. Not one of the soldiers survived.The monument to Captain Fetterman and his troopers.We then continued on to the site of the “Wagon Box” fight where Red Cloud’s warriors attacked woodcutters dispatched from nearby Fort Phil Kearny. Luckily the woodcutters had pre-placed fourteen wagon boxes in a ring for defensive purposes when they overnighted outside the protection of the fort. The cutters, unlike the doomed Fetterman group, with the aid of their new, improved breech loading Springfield rifles were able to eventually ward off the natives.This is a monument to John (Portugee) Phillips who rode 236 miles through raging blizzards, through snow four to five feet deep, to Laramie to summon re-enforcements for Fort Phil Kearny. For safety, he travelled only under cover of nightfall and made the trip in four days. In the folklore of the western frontier, his ride was considered equal to that of Paul Revere.
Travelling with the Schinglers 
Looks like a wonderful trip!
LikeLike
Looks like you had a great trip!
LikeLike