We end road trip month with a few pics from Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Located just off of I-90 in Montana, the monument pays respect to 1876  battle between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, & Arapaho tribes and the US army - 700 men led by George Custer. The natives, some 1500-2000 strong,  led by by Crazy Horse & Chief Gall overwhelmingly defeated the US army at this site - the monument & visitors center walk you through this almost unbelievable battle.

   We hope you've enjoyed our pics from the road this month! Be sure to look back over the route and our 25 posts to start planning your American West adventure. Got questions? Let us know in the comment section. With road trip month out of the way we'll be back  next week posting our aquatic adventures from the Pacific Northwest!
   ~Paul , Amber, Micah, Dad, Sis, Susan     ETC

Links:
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Map of our entire route!

   Another stop along the way home to Seattle is Devils Tower. Our country's first declared National Monument, Devils Tower sits in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. It has a small visitors center, a 1.2 mile trail around the base, and it's even possible to climb the thing! It's odd - sitting out here with nothing else like it. I remember coming here when I was younger (thinking it was odd sitting out here with nothing else like it!). Just one more post from the road tomorrow as we wrap-up a successful road trip month!
   ~Paul, Micah    ETC

   We had the very unique opportunity to view Crazy Horse Memorial, the world's largest mountain carving, up close and personal. It's the other giant rock sculpture in South Dakota, way bigger than Mt. Rushmore but nowhere near finished. From afar we were thinking…hurry up already, get this thing done! Up close we were thinking…wow. 
   As far as a completion date all they could give me was, "Wednesday. It will be done on a Wednesday." Until that forever away Wednesday it's definitely worth a visit!
   ~Paul, Sis, Dad, Susan   ETC

   For some reason, as a kid growing up near Mt. Rushmore, I never understood how cool it really is. My friend, a history teacher, says people don't really start to get the importance of history until they're adults. It's been mostly true for me. 
   As I type this post back in Seattle, the epic bickering in the other Washington has just shutdown the government - the first time in 17 years. That's pretty historic in its own right. These photos were taken 2 summers ago and show the amazing beauty of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. 
   Hopefully the government shutdown is short-lived and won't mess up this amazing site or our country too much. I feel bad for all of the workers and anyone just entering South Dakota with Mount Rushmore travel plans. I mean, who carves things into mountains anymore? OK, I can think of one landmark really close…tomorrow's post from Crazy Horse!!!

   ~Paul, Dad, Sis, Susan   ETC

P.S. Congress: you suck.