Two George's

The drive from Billings, MT through southeastern Montana right by Little Bighorn, the site of the George Custer's Last Stand. In the context of American history it was the the Native American's winning the battle against the manifest destiny mindset of the United States government, but as we all know, the Native American's ultimately lost "the war" and their way of life is now confined to reservations across the United States.

The headstones where Custer's men perished while battling the Lakota. (Yeah, they died trying the grab this piece of real estate!)

The Monument in honor of Custer and the 7th Cavalry as created by the United States Government

In 1991, the first President Bush signed a bill allowing the Native Americans to have their own monument be built here at the Little Bighorn. This is what they chose to create.

The site also is the location of a National Military Cemetery. These headstones mark the location of many of the young men, and their families, from the region who perished as a member of our military.

George Mickleson is the second George of this post. He was the Governor of the state of South Dakota from 1987 until his death in a plane crash in 1993. He was a driving force behind turning an abandoned railway in the Black Hills into a 109 biking trail that has its northern terminus in Deadwood and Edgemont in the South. I rented a bike in the middle in the town of Hill City and biked 34 miles round trip. As you can see from the photos, the surface is crushed gravel. There are many wooden bridges that have been restored, but the highlight is biking through the tunnels that the trains used to travel through. It's spooky to be in this dark, damp tunnel and then moments later blinded by the sunlight.

The Black Hills of western South Dakota

Geologic History of the Black Hills

The George Mickleson Bike Trail