Billings Wednesday/Thursday

Wednesday morning was mostly sunny. We decided to ride to Pryor to Chief Plenty Coups Park at Pryor, Montana, then to the Little Bighorn Battlefield near Crow Agency. We took the frontage road from the host hotel to South Billings Road and headed south. This was all rolling plains and later open range. About half way to Pryor we stopped at a historical marker which told of a battle between the Crow and Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in 1864. Something that struck me as unusual was that the women and children watched the battle from a nearby hillside. The Crow were hopelessly outnumbered but were saved by herds of buffalo and elk!! The herds kicked up dust in the distance, which the Lakota and Cheyenne thought were reinforcements coming for the Crow, and they fled.

The Crow Chief Plenty Coups was compared to George Washington because he led his people through difficult times and helped them transition to new ways. He built a house on his land, but also maintained ways of the Crow. He visited Washington, D.C. and designed his house after what he saw at Mt Vernon. Chief Many Coups died in 1932 and is buried on the park grounds. This was a very interesting place to visit and somewhere that many hours could be spent. It gives a new perspective on the struggles of the Indians in the 1800’s.

While riding toward prior, I pointed out to Mikayla that we were riding trhough an Indian reservation and the people we saws outside a ranch house were Indians. She informed me they were not Indians, but Native Americans. We had a short discussion about why they were called Indians and how times have changed since I grew up.

One of the ladies at the museum mentioned that we would see a quarter horse ranch if we would be traveling east. Mikayla wasn’t sure what a quarter horse is until I explained to her that it’s one quarter horse and three quarters cow - or is it the other way around?? The lady then set us both straight!!

We actually spent more time at the museum than I’d expected but it was actually a pretty short visit for all there is to see. We headed east toward Hardin, where we topped off with fuel and grabbed a Subway before riding south to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Even though it was the middle of the week, there was a good crowd.

I’ve seen several movies about the Battle of the Little Bighorn and read several stories about it. None do justice to the actual location. It is hard to imagine the events on that June day in 1876, but a tour of the battlefield puts things in perspective.

The cemetery near the visitors’ center is a National Cemetery. I had always thought it was where the soldiers who died in the Battle of the Little Bighorn were buried. Most of those soldiers were buried in a mass grave at the base of the monument on Last Stand Hill. U.S. military veterans are eligible to be buried in the National Cemetery. This is another place a person could easily spend an entire day at and still not see everything. We got back on the Gold Wing about 4 PM and headed back toward Billings as there was a meal planned at Beartooth Harley Davidson at 6 PM.

The BBQ was a bit of a disappointment as we all got a hot dog on a bun, a small bag of chips and a bottle of water. We browsed around the Harley store but didn’t buy anything. Mikayla rode a motorcycle simulator and I decided she would not be driving my Gold Wing any time in the immediate future.

We checked in at the hospitality room for a few minutes and then rode to downtown Billings in search of a place to eat. We found a Perkins across the street from the local baseball park and decided to have something there. I got coffee, and for the first time since we left home, they brought the WHOLE pot!!

The 50/50 drawing back at the hospitality room was to be at 10 PM and I wanted to be back for that. We finished up and went to the register to pay our bill and saw that it was POURING RAIN and the wind was blowing the doors open. Our helmets were on the motorcycle, so I ran out and grabbed them, getting plenty wet in the process!

After an hour’s wait, the wind had gone down and it was raining lightly. I got the rain suits out of the saddlebag and brought them in, where Mikayla got her first lesson on putting on a rain suit. Once we were both suited up, we made our way to the parking lot. Although wet, the trip back to the hotel was uneventful. Needless to say, we missed the 50/50 drawing. A check of the winning number at breakfast Thursday morning found that I did not have the winning number.

The motorcycle parade through downtown Billings Thursday afternoon kept us in town that morning. I stopped at WalMart for bottled water to put in the cooler for the ride home, then we went to the host hotel where the motorcycles were starting to line up. At 1 PM, we pulled out of the parking lot, following a Billings Police Department police car. All the intersections were blocked as we rode through downtown Billings to the Metra fairgrounds in the east part of Billings. There were TV cameras along the way, so I’m sure we got some press time.

After a quick lunch, we headed back toward the hotel. The day before we had seen a fun center with a go kart track and I challenged Mikayla to see if she could beat me. I told her I’d already beaten her dad and her uncle, and now it was her turn!

We located the track and went inside to get our tokens. The first session was just a learning experience for Mikayla. After some “expert” tips, we had another session and she did a lot better, really making me work to get around her. At the end, she did beat me across the line. I’m getting a rematch, though, as when we get to Estes Park next week, we’ll have a go at it on their tracks to see who gets bragging rights.

Thursday evening’s banquet was well attended. I heard the figure of 880 being thrown around. Colors were presented by the Billings Police Department. International President Mulford read the names of the members who transferred to Heaven I in the last year. Meritorious Service awards were presented and the buffet style meal was served. At the conclusion of the program, we started to filter back outside to find a light rain just beginning. We moved the Gold Wing to the front of the hotel, under the awning, to keep from getting wet. Talked with a few Blue Knights, then when it stopped raining, headed back to our hotel to get packed and ready to head to Rawlins on Friday morning.