"This Place Talks to You...

...You don't have to strain to hear it."

Begin by watching this 7-min video to get a better sense of Custer's Last Stand and the Battle of Little Bighorn, as well as the quote above. C'monnn, you'll survive.

The battleground is a spiritual place. Mark decided against taking this spiritual journey, knowing better not to repeat the "boring Fort Ross journey." (his words).

Visitors are greeted by Custer National Cemetery when they arrive.

Then you follow a trail that meanders through fields where soldiers from both sides fought. Simple white marble headstones mark the locations where 200+ American soldiers fell.

Red speckled granite stones mark where some (but certainly not all) Cheyenne warriors died. Stones and coins have been placed on their tops. Jews also follow this tradition of placing stones on graves. [As for money? Egg: "Call me Dad."]

This chokecherry bush, a native plant prized by the Cheyenne and Lakota Sioux, has been covered with prayer ties.

Click here to learn more about this American Indian custom.

A 5-mile trail loops the park, so there is plenty of space to wander and think.

Horses, owned by nearby ranchers, graze freely on the battlefield.

All this time to think, pray, wander, and wonder. And hey, where's my travel buddy?? I left him at the Custer Battlefield Trading Post, which had wifi and also a non-stop repeat recording of Lakota healing music. Click on the photo below for a sample.

We didn't talk for the first hour we got back into the car. I knew all too well what he was thinking; I didn't have to strain to hear it.

PS from Mark: So Judy decides that Mark might want to listen to a few of the remaining bits of the audio tour that she didn't have time to listen to. Hard to say which was more unpleasant -- the Lakota healing music or the Battle of Little Big Horn audio tour.