Frizbo Fifty: Wyoming, Fetterman Battlefield

Yellowstone Road Trip -- Day 6: Sometimes you find a second wind driving through the night and I managed to drive 400 miles to Sheridan, Wyoming the previous evening. Today, I have another long drive to ride the Black Hills, but after 30 miles, I am drawn to the sign "Fetterman Battlefield Monument" and exit Interstate 90 to explore. Just a few miles off the Interstate is a lonely but handsome memorial for a small group of US Calvary that were ambushed and wiped out by the Red Cloud's Sioux.

Fetterman Memorial

"There were no survivors."

Recently politically-correct signage has been added to point out that "there were no survivors" is not accurate as the Native Americans survived. I agree that the monument is one-sided in its view point, but if we want to be even-handed, let's add a monument for the Sioux, slightly taller, that reads, "We kicked their asses. There were no survivors!"

For bikers looking for a break from interstate driving, I recommend parking at Fort Phil Kearney (there is a small entrance fee) and then riding to the monument. I rode the interpretive trail on my mountain bike and then rode the access road down to the fort. I don't know if the interpretive trail is bike-legal. The local cattle certainly didn't think so as they scattered at the sight of me and my bike.

Cattle running off, lowing and making quite a fuss. The local rancher is probably wondering what's got into the herd.

You can still see the wagon wheels ruts of the Bozeman Trail

A dead end road, the only other visitor was a guy "walking" his dog by driving his pickup along the shoulder while his dog ran along side in the grass.