Looking for accommodation in June 2010

[sun4us]

I, from South Africa, wanted to join this year's LBH days, but the problem is: there is no accommodation available! I did contact lodges, b & b etc: all fully booked. What I'm looking for is a nice b & b type of accommodation, no hotel or motel. Another option would be a stay with Crow people, but they didn't respond...

May I ask some questions:
Any proposals regarding accommodation?
How far is Denver from LBH, how long would it take me to get there by car?
How far ist Billings from LBH,..?
How far is Pine Ridge Reservation from LBH,...?
How far is Rapid City from LBH,...?
Last question: I believe the reenactment takes place on three different days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Which day is the most important one? Why three reenactments, I mean Custer can get killed only once? How many riders participate in the events, is it really worthwhile to watch the battle?

[Dark Cloud]

You're going to have to hit the map sooner or later, and that would answer your distance questions. However, you're 'closer' in time on the Interstate than on some lesser roads in the West, bear in mind. I generally stay in Sheridan (I'm olde) seventy miles and an hour away. It's a great, invigorating drive if distant, but if I don't or can't sleep the previous night I'm somewhat less charming, so it's worth it to me and mandatory for anyone I might talk to during to the day.

I live just northwest of Denver in Boulder, and I pretty much allocate eight leisurely hours to the field. There can be highway construction to slow it all down during the Festival of the Winnebagos (called 'Summer') and tempting straight shots that couldn't possibly hide a state trooper (um, yes they can and do; insight to Custer's dillema), so plan accordingly.

I think I can be correct in saying that NA's, regardless of whose side they fought on, are not entirely comfortable or on board with the Custer celebrations and vacillate between periodic willingness to cash in and an inherent discomfort level, for which no surprise can be sanely held.

Having slept well, I'll leave thrill estimations of the competing re-enactments of the Battle of the 101st Regiment of Aged Yet Correctly Stitched Lard Butts Vs. Warriors From the Society of Bouncing Man Boobs to those who cherish such sights. Sleep makes all the difference.

[bubbabod]

Sun, I don't know of any B&B's, but something that might fit the bill is the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wy. Granted, it's about an hour and a half drive south of the LBH, it's a great place. It's about 30 miles south of Sheridan, which DarkCloud mentioned.
The Occidental is a hotel dating back to the late 1800's, fully restored on Clear Creek. It's stepping back in time to Western days. Plus a lot of local history with Ft. Phil Kearney being 15 miles north, the site of the Wagon Box Fight a few miles northwest of the fort. The Little Big Horn is an easy drive to the north, again, about an hour and a half. If you do a search for B&B's in the Sheridan and Buffalo area, you might come up with something else.

[Diane Merkel]

Sun4Us,

Click the link below to see accommodations in Hardin. There are a couple of B&Bs listed.

www.hardin-montana.com/index.php?action=category&category=Lodging+and+Camping

You might also try the 7th Ranch. They are principally an RV park now, but they used to rent space in their bunk house and may still.

www.historicwest.com/

LBH Weekend is the busiest time of the year for Hardin, so I'm not surprised you couldn't find anything there. Some people book a year in advance. You may have to give up your idea of a B&B and stay in a motel if you can find a room.

As DC said, Sheridan is nice. Billings is about the same distance but to the north rather than south. I don't know about B&Bs in either city because I've always stayed at motels/hotels. If your preference for B&Bs is to have quaint surroundings, you will have plenty of that no matter where you stay!

I don't recall how far it is to Rapid City and/or Pine Ridge. As DC said, use MapQuest or some other service to figure the time. You can make it to Rapid City in a day and then to Pine Ridge in another day, but you'll want to stop at a lot of places in between.

As far as the Reenactment goes, I haven't attended it in at least five years or so. I would guess Saturday is the busiest, and they have dozens of people representing both sides. I think it's fun to see, but you won't come away with any new insights.

I hope this helps, and I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Diane

[bc]

Not sure I can help you much. Us commoners/poor people tend towards the motels. The hotel in Buffalo may be nice. When I travel, I'm on the go and the motel room is nothing more than a bed and shower. Never had time to sit around and linger in mornings and evenings which makes a B & B more hospitable and especially at the exaggerated prices they charge. Unless there is a b & b in Hardin or Crow Agency, your better bet may be to keep checking the motels in Hardin. Can't all be booked. I did the daily 2 1/2 hour round trip drive from Billings at the last lbha conference and that didn't leave much time to do a whole lot.

If you have never been to the battlefield and have a special interest, there is not enough time in a day to look it over and study it. Figure a couple days and maybe more if you want to linger around a B & B for part of a day. Bring your walking shoes, hat, and sunscreen (us men can't handle sunscreen though) as the sun will burn you quick there.

I'm not sure if there is a better day or not, but usually there is much more going on there on June 25 which is a Friday this year. The Saturday one may have better attendance because of the weekend since most people work for a living but there are a lot of travelers that stop there. There are some miscellaneous NA ceremonies around the battlefield for commemoration purposes at various NA gravesites on June 25 although I observed a ceremony with NA firing squad and chanters at the Reno Benteen battle site on the 24th last year.

The reenactors who pay to participate usually go through a week or two of riding and preparation and drilling. Seating is limited and just as well do more than one. The Saturday one is probably more polished with more practice. Contact Shawn and join in. Sounds like you could afford it.

The Crow nation has a big rodeo and to do going on each year that I believe is around that weekend. A lot of RV's and tents set up around the Crow Nation offices adjacent to the rodeo grounds and battlefield. 7th Ranch is a good option. The Realbirds allow the reenactors to camp on their property along the lbh at medicine tail coulee. For a price, maybe you can too if you email Shawn about it.

If you are flying in to Denver and want to do a tour of the west, maybe rent a small RV. At least with an rv, you can park in the Walmart parking lots if nothing else is available. Drive up by Fort Laramie, Fort Fetterman and sites in Wyoming, up to the LBH, over to FAL in North Dakota, then south through the Black Hills and any number of reservations in South Dakota and then return the rv at Denver. Or do it in a rental car (get a big one that is comfortable and will carry your luggage) and use motels. I drive all over the country without any advance motel reservations. When I hit a town, usually no problem finding a vacancy except for some special event weekends. The earlier in the evening the better for finding a room unless you want to pay extra for the presidential or honeymoon suite which is there last room left.

When you come from South Africa, how about stopping in at Nigeria and picking up all the millions I've won in Nigerian lotteries. They keep sending me emails telling me I've won but the check never shows up and I can't afford their handling fees and upfront taxes.

bc

[sun4us]

Folks please excuse my late reply, I had been away for some days. No way that I would stop in Nigeria, it's too dark there ;-) and because I'm from South Africa, well originally Germany, I can handle any amount of sun. My plans are now more or less solid: flight to Denver, connection flight to Rapid City. Is it worthwhile to spend a day or two there, if the answer is yes, what should I do with my time, any recommendations regarding a nice little hotel/guesthouse? By the way, I gonna rent a car for the entire period. After RC I will be spending some days at Pine Ridge Reservation, a Lakota gentleman will show me all important sites in that area. From there I gonna move to the LBH area where I want to stay until my unfortunately short trip is over. A flight from Billings will take me to Denver, then I'm gone direction South Africa via Germany. Many people from your country come to beautiful South Africa, if you have some time to spend you can have a look at my website www.kapstadt.de/schindlers-africa.

[Diane Merkel]

You could use Rapid City as the base to explore all of the Black Hills area, see the Badlands, and make the mandatory stop at Wall Drug. There's plenty to do and see for a couple of days.