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Welcome to my weekly update for June 12, 2022!
Two weeks in a row–I’m on a roll!
Last week, our adventures took a historical turn. We visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which you might know better as the site of Custer’s Last Stand. I thought the park service did a great job of honoring the dead from both sides while acknowledging that the Native Americans in the battle were fighting to preserve their way of life against white settler encroachment and broken treaties. I liked that the Crow nation has a presence in the visitor’s center and that the Crow people offer narrated bus tours of the battlefield. We missed the bus tour (a ranger talk ran long) but I hope to visit again in a couple of weeks and catch it then.
We also went to Pompey’s Pillar, a sandstone outcropping famous because William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, carved his name into the rock on his way back home in 1806. It was pretty cool to see his signature preserved in the rock, even if it is behind glass for protection now (sandstone erodes pretty easily).
Slideshow:
All images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2022
- This stone marks the location where Lieutenant George Custer died in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His body was removed and buried at West Point Cemetery in New York.
- The picture is probably too small to read. It says “Mato Heton / Bear with Horns / A Minnikojou Lakota Warrior Fell Here on June 25, 1876 While Defending the Lakota Way of Life” There aren’t as many markers for Native Americans as there should be simply because the nearby villagers immediately removed their bodies and took care of them in accordance with their own customs. Historians simply aren’t sure who died and where. They’ve done the best they can with scant archeological evidence and oral history.
- William Clark’s signature carved into Pompey’s Pillar
- Pompey’s Pillar. The clouds and blue sky were really showing off the day of our visit.
- Prairie dogs! So cute!
Posted:
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I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger 🌟 🌟 🌟
Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle & Dante #2) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, read by Lin-Manuel Miranda 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Currently Reading:
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, read by a cast
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, edited by Paul Hawken
Up Next:
Something fun! I’ve picked up a lot of serious books lately and I usually like fluffier reading in the summer months. Any recommendations?
What did your week look like?
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
54 Comments
I glad to learn they acknowledge all sides.
I recently loved Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, though I’m not sure if romcom is what you after.
Wishing you a great reading week
I’m not sure what genre I’m looking for either, but romcom could work! Thanks for the suggestion!
Draw Down was a book my book club read one year. I really enjoyed it – I felt hopeful for few minutes that we might not destroy our beautiful planet. A book I am recommending these days is Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. Have you read it? I finished it last week and it pretty much gobsmacked me.
I have not but it sounds like the quirky kind of science book I enjoy. I’ve added it to my TBR. Thanks for the rec!
You get to visit some great historical places. Love the pics you continue to share with us. Loved the first Aristotle and Dante book and I still need to pick this one up. Glad you enjoyed it. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is also on my list. Enjoy your reading and have a great week!
Thank you!
These photos and the stories behind them are so cool! I’m glad that the Little Bighorn tours are showing the Native side as well as what we learned in history books. It’s so very important to preserve all of history.
I hear you on the serious reading stuff. I’ve had Invisible Man on my TBR for a while, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Maybe a rom-com or cozy mystery would be a good pick for something lighter?
Shelleyrae recommended a rom-com that sounded interesting so I downloaded it. Now if I could just finish Invisible Man!
I read multiple books at once, so I would probably not be a good influence here… 😉
Great photos! I feel like I traveled there with you. Come see my week >a href=”https://inside-dog.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-june-13.html”>here. Happy reading!
Thanks!
We will be visiting in Montana tomorrow and for the next week, so I thank you for sharing these photos of interesting historical sites. It’s hard to imagine that Clark’s signature is still there after all this time. The Lewis and Clark expedition was the trip-to-the-moon of its time.
I’ve really been looking forward to reading Leif Enger’s Virgil Wander, but maybe I will reconsider it. I should take a look at your review and see what you thought.
I remember reading Invisible Man many years ago! Enjoy!
Thanks!
I hope you weren’t planning to go anywhere that’s flooded so your vacation goes as planned.
Virgil Wander was beautifully written, as I expect from Enger, but there wasn’t a lot going on with the plot and there was a lot of symbolism that frankly went over my head. Had I been in the mood for a more introspective read, I would probably have rated it higher but it wasn’t what I really expected or wanted.
Another great visit. Yes so good they honour both sides and as you say the Crow were just defending themselves – like Ukraine really.
Thanks for sharing your latest adventure … I love going to historical sites and so glad that there’s a more balanced approach these days. It sure wasn’t when I first visited Little Bighorn when I was a kid.
The NPS brochure says that the battlefield was not presented very well until sometime in the mid-90s, when the government finally decided to address the inequities and misrepresentation. That’s over 100 years after the battle! I guess we should be thankful for progress, but it’s hard not to wish these kinds of things changed faster.
Very good analogy, Kathryn. I agree.
I have had a lot of people recommend Salt and Sea to me, so I will probably read that soon. I’m loving your road trip! We had originally planned to travel through that area this summer, but we decided to put it off for a year and go down to California instead this year. Have a great week!
With all the flooding in Montana this week, I think you made the right call, however inadvertently. Have a great trip to California!
Love the photos! How cool that his signature is preserved.
I thought so!
your books have such unusual covers.
We were very impressed with our (pre-pandemic) visit to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument… and appreciated the balanced presentation. You’re going to have some interesting adventures this summer!
I had a hard time getting into Invisible Man when I attempted to start it last year. Maybe your review will push me to give it a second chance. Have a good week.
I am struggling with Invisible Man. I don’t think I’ll be a source of motivation, unfortunately.
That’s neat that you had the chance to experience that history. I’ve never really had the chance to visit historical sites like that, except Philadelphia. I really enjoyed seeing the Liberty Bell.
I’ve never visited Philadelphia but I’d like to someday!
Hi there Jen! Thanks for taking us along on your trip and for sharing such great photos and info.
Ooooe I loved loved loved Salt to the Sea!!!! I can imagine it must be a good audio recording. I still have a review somewhere, but I know that it’s not on my current site. Yet. I will do it over the upcoming holidays!!
Hope you will have a wonderful week ahead and some time for reading and blogging.
Lots of Love,
Elza Reads
I just finished Salt to the Sea yesterday and it was so good! I really liked the audiobook. I think I’ve read all of Ruta Sepetys’s books now except for her most recent one. Which reminds me that I need to add that one to my birthday wishlist.
It’s so great to get to see different historical things in your travels. No to prairie dogs – they are rodents. Thanks for sharing your photos!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I’m glad you liked them!
I love visiting historical sites like that. Thank you for sharing it! Your books look good too! Have a great week!https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2022/06/12/weekly-wrap-up-71-june-12th-2022/
Thanks!
Its so cool to experience history like that! And that pic of the pillar looks like a postcard!
My husband actually took that one. He has a good eye for things like that!
I am reading a thriller, but Aristotle and Dante are up next! And, Salt to Sea is really good (of course) and I liked that it was about an event I hadn’t heard of before.
I was shocked when I listened to the author’s notes and she started mentioning all those sunken ships I’d never heard of (including the one in the book). I know they were German ships in WWII, but the passengers were mostly civilians. Shouldn’t we be as familiar with these disasters as we are with Titanic and Lusitania?
Thanks for sharing the photo of W. Clark’s signature. Coincidentally, we visited the Lewis and Clark National Park near Astoria last week. I’ve added Undaunted Courage (Ambrose) to my reading list.
So, you didn’t love Virgil Wander? I tried it, but could get interested. I do want to read Aristotle and Dante, though!
Have a good week!
We visited that Lewis & Clark site when we were in Astoria too! Fort Clatsop? I wanted to go across to Cape Disappointment too but we didn’t make it.
Virgil Wander was just okay for me. I loved the first Aristotle and Dante! I didn’t love the second one quite as much but it was still good.
Been there!
That signature is so cool! It sounds like and amazing and educational trip. I loved Salt to the Sea, so I hope you like it too.
Salt to the Sea was so good! Ruta Sepetys is an auto-read for me.
Sounds like the perfect vacation! I love to visit history.
It is fun to visit places that we only previously knew from history books.
I love reading your pointers on your trips. It feels I visited them along with you. You mislead me with the dogs one. Have a good week ahead.
Hmmm… I didn’t intend to mislead anyone with anything. Maybe you just aren’t familiar with our prairie dogs? I know there are probably lots of animals I’m unfamiliar with in your country. Here’s a short article about them, just in case. I’m glad you like my little trip reports!
Oh I love historical outings! We have started taking our son to museums which he really enjoys but only if we rush round!
The books look interesting.
Have a great week next week.
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/06/12/sunday-post-35/
Good for you for taking your son to museums!
I love museums myself so it’s not too much hard work 🙂 Its nice when he then asks to go.
Sounds like two good stops this week. Glad you go to enjoy them.
We definitely had a good time.
Such amazing history! I’m glad you’re able to share this with us as you guys travel to different places. The slideshows are always a treat.
I’m curious about that climate change book as well. Hope you have a nice weekend!
I’m glad you like my slideshows!