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Frozen Custer:
Opens: 8:00am
Closes: 4:30pm
Arrived: 4:31pm
Claim to Fame:
Custer got his sorry white ass whipped by some disgruntled natives.
More on this tomorrow, when we return.
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Custer's Last Straw |
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Top 5 Worst Sleeps of the Trip:
5. Lums Pond, Day 36
$20.00 for a patch of grass?
I don't think so.
4. John Pennekamp, Day 79
The reef is 3 miles off shore, and yes, it costs extra to get there.
3. Houchin Ferry, Day 99
Kev was ill, it was cold, the main campground was closed.
2. Meramec SP, Day 58
Rained like a bitch, woke up floating.
And Number 1 is still....
Winter Island, Day 11
Trust us, just stay away. For the love of God, stay away.
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Under The Bridge Downtown, I Could Not Get Enough (Sleep, That Is)
Jan 12, Later...
4:31 - Arrived at Little Bighorn Battlefield, which promptly closes at 4:30.
4:32 - While still parked in front of steel barred entrance gates, we discussed briefly whether or not
it was worth it to return in the morning.
4:35 - Opened map to find campgrounds in the area. There were none.
4:38 - Turned around, drove back to the gift shop (still open) and asked them for (a) information about
Little Bighorn and (b) nearby campgrounds. They had very little of either. The nearest town was Hardin (12mi), and
we might find something there.
4:55 - Left gift shop, snapped a few sunset pictures.
5:00 - On the road to Hardin. Getting dark.
5:12 - Noticed a sign for the nearby KOA, only one mile north of Hardin. Decide it's worth a shot.
5:16 - Arrive at deserted KOA. Drive around looking for attendant, but on finding none, decide to set
up camp anyway.
5:33 - Just as we're about to unpack, a guy runs up and says we can't camp here. Something about him
not being insured from September thru March. Oops.
5:35 - Back on the road. Look at the map again. Notice an unnamed tent symbol that we hadn't seen
before, about 28 miles north of here. The only other option was 60 miles away, so we went for it.
6:20 - Arrived at the turnoff. No signs yet. As far as we can tell though, it's down a little grey
road on a short 5 mile stretch.
6:30 - At the other end of the 5 mile stretch. No campground. We turn around.
6:40 - At the start again. We did see a road halfway this time, but it didn't say anything about camping.
6:46 - Found that road in the middle. It seems to be no more than a boat launch and a couple of dirt roads
under the interstate. There's also an outhouse (government issue, not just a wood shack with a hole), which
gives us the impression that perhaps we can camp here, but we're not certain.
6:52 - After a quick headlight scan of the area, revealing no cars, drug deals or derelicts, we opt to
set up camp. We pull in next to the outhouse and take out the tent.
7:11 - Cooked some Campbell's soup on the propane stove. Ate it in the car. Tried to keep the lights
off as much as possible to avoid drawing attention to ourselves.
7:38 - Not much else to do, so we crawl into bed with our books.
8:00 - We hear a noise. Another car comes down the road and drives under the bridge. Two people, small car, probably just
locals looking for a romantic getaway. Just like us. We remain alert. After all, it is Saturday night
8:06 - After doing his preliminary check of the grounds, the car parks under the bridge. Doesn't leave
for three hours.
8:24 - Try to get some sleep. Realize truly how much noise a truck can make when it's going 85 on the
interstate above you.
9:30 - We hear another car pull in. We peek out the tent window to see a large truck looking around.
Satisfied at finding nothing (not even us), he drives away.
9:36 - Try to get back to sleep.
11:00 - The car that we had forgotten about finally leaves. Spins his tires in the gravel to ensure our
awakening.
12:30 - Finally succeed in going to sleep. A light sleep, but sleep nonetheless.
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campground not worth a dang... |
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 Tonight's Weather:
Spooky
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