Billings by Design: Little Big Horn by Chance

Billings, Montana

Monday, July 17, 2023 – Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Written 3/28/26

Colorado to Montana to Idaho to Utah.

Traveling from Boulder, Colorado approx. 7 ½ hour drive.

Part of a longer road trip that included: Boulder, Colorado, Billings, Montana, Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Salt Lake City/Provo, Utah

Setting the Stage

Montana is one of the last few states in the continental U.S. that I hadn’t visited. I had no connections to the state and even though I looked from time to time, I couldn’t figure out which city in the state might make the best experience.  It was discussed when we visited the Dakota states, but it didn’t fall into place during that road trip. Instead, it was pushed to the back of the list again and again. Then one day, Montana came up in conversation with one of the directors at the company I worked at during 2023. He mentioned that our university was soon to be affiliated with one in Montana. Billings, Montana. My eyes gleamed. I said that Montana was one of the states left on my list of US states to still see. He offered to arrange a tour of the new campus, and I accepted. Finally! A destination with a purpose.

As I went about creating a vacation schedule, reality hit. My department was restructured and I was unemployed. With the awkward fall out, I didn’t follow up on the campus tour. But I did still visit Billings.

One Day in Billings

We rolled into Billings around 7:30PM on Monday. We had leftover pizza with us from a stop that we made in Casper, Wyoming on our drive up. Not knowing much about the city or hotel, we didn’t want to leave it to chance that a restaurant nearby would be open on our timetable. Besides, having leftover pizza to snack on is always a good thing in my book!

I chose The Northern Hotel for our two nights in town. As a hotel listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was where dignitaries stayed during the early 1900s. The building has also been a central meeting place in the city for over 100 years (with a few exceptions, such as a fire in the 1940s). With this type of history, the hotel was right up my alley. I love to utilize hotels to gain additional cultural/historical knowledge of the area that I am visiting. During our stay there was free valet parking but there was also self-parking across the street. The valet parking really enhanced our stay the first night. We drove up to the front of the building, grabbed our bags and went directly to the check-in desk.  We were up in our room and taking photos of it by 8:15PM.

Photo 1: Our hotel room for the two nights

Photo 2: Lobby of The Northern Hotel

Photo 3: A good view of the fireplace in the lobby of The Northern Hotel

Since my tour of the college campus was no longer happening, my partner suggested we use our time to visit Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. It was approximately an hour drive from where we were (each way) on I-90. This was the same road we drove to get to Billings, so we must’ve passed the Little Big Horn area. It sounded like an interesting experience, so I agreed happily. He also picked out a breakfast place for the morning, which was walking distance from the hotel, so really, we had a pretty solid plan laid out.

Breakfast First

Our morning started with a quick 2 block walk to Stella’s Kitchen & Bakery, as we walked through the entertainment area of downtown, there was some artwork along the sidewalk that caught my eye. ((traffic signal box art) There were less people and traffic than I am accustomed to for a business day. I really like it. Once inside Stella’s we were seated at a table near a window. We quickly looked at the menu and noticed huckleberries being offered. I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a huckleberry, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my meal. We both did. We ordered coffee with two Denver omelets with pancakes topped with huckleberries.

I looked around inside the eatery, it was somewhat busy, busier than the street outside alluded to, but I didn’t get the impression that everyone there was having a business meeting. Instead, it seemed like casual meetings. Our meal arrived shortly after we ordered and we dug in. The huckleberries were very flavorful, kind of tart but a stronger flavor than blueberries. I couldn’t finish everything, I wish I could have, it was all delicious!

After breakfast we took our time walking back to the hotel, took a closer look at the artwork, took photos of the buildings outside, read some of the signs posted. It was such a pleasant day. Although it was approaching afternoon it was sunny, and like 75 degrees. (I’ve since learned that the artwork is, traffic signal box art – from looking at google.com it seems many cities are decorating this way).

Photo 1: Inside Stella's Kitchen & Bakery

Photo 2: Entrance to Stella's Kitchen & Bakery

Photo 3: Traffic signal box art as displayed on First Avenue North

Off to Little Big Horn

 My partner took the wheel for this leg of our journey, so I was able to watch the scenery for a little bit. I didn’t know what to expect, but I can tell you I did not expect what I saw or what I felt. The museum is interesting and gives you an idea of what happened and why, but it pales in comparison to taking the bus tour.

The tour is managed by Crow Country Tourism, and the guide provided the history in story format from the tribe perspective. While he spoke, he pointed out each area to really provide a memorable experience of what was happening at the time and why. He not only relayed history, but the possible or likely motivations for what transpired. What really drives home the massivity of the situation was seeing marked areas for each body that fell (on both sides) throughout the fields as far as you can see. While I don’t remember the name of our guide, he was pursuing a degree utilizing the information he knew about the battle and area. Also of note, during the tour there was a fence with a sign that said we were entering the Crow reservation.

I think our tour was approximately 90 minutes. We got on and off the bus a couple of times as the guide relayed different stories at the different stops. It was a good break to be able to stretch legs, yet not too long before you were bored. It also helped that the temperature didn’t creep up too high.

After we were dropped off from the tour, we also explored the area in the car on our own. It gave us the opportunity to stop at different points and take photos or revisit knowledge points along the road that we didn’t get to see during the tour. Even though you can explore on your own, I still think the tour is absolutely worth every penny.

Photo 1: Military grave markers at Little Big Horn

Photo 2: Grave markers in the field where the battles took place

Photo 3: A sign to keep you on your toes during your visit, beware of snakes!

Back to Billings We Go

Four hours after our arrival, we headed back to Billings. But before we turned in for the night, we drove around the city a little bit and went over to Billings airport. While there we saw a sign that mentioned a scenic overlook of the valley. I’m not sure if this was Swords Park or RimRock or if they are the same place but we spent about an hour looking out at the view, taking photos and walking around a little. I’d have liked to stay and watch the sunset, but the restaurant we were planning for dinner closed at 8:00PM so we wanted to get there with some time to spare so we weren’t rushed.

Dinner was close to the hotel, so we dropped off the car and walked around the corner to The Burger Dive. I had read that this was “THE” place to get burgers in Billings, so was eager to see what all the excitement was about. Although they offered a burger with huckleberry chili, we both passed on that and tried the Jim Beam and Coke burger instead. It was a cute place with lots of personality, somewhat decorated like a 50’s malt shop but not exactly. The servings were large, and we both still had food on our plates when the bill arrived. Utterly stuffed, we walked back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the night.

Last Bits of Billings

I hadn’t forgotten about the University tour; it was in the back of my mind. Even though I no longer worked for its sister school, I had friends that were still affiliated and thought maybe they’d like to see photos of the campus. So, after we checked out of our hotel on Wednesday morning, I drove over to see the campus anyway, it might not be a tour, but I could take some photos maybe. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a campus. It was an office building. This made me feel a little better knowing that I didn’t miss out, though I still would have liked to make the professional connections. C’est la vie!

Photo 1: Inside The Burger Dive

Photo 2: A view from near Billings Logan International Airport

Photo 3: The University I had planned to tour

On a positive note, we saw another area of Billings, it was much more residential than the hotel area. We also stopped for coffee at a drive-thru called Classy & Sassy Coffee. The girls at the window were funny and very friendly. The different types of coffee drinks were impressive, I didn’t know what to order, so we kept it simple. Two Classy n Sassy coffees and asked the cashier to prepare it as she would drink it. So, she and her co-worker collaborated and prepared our drinks. A pleasant experience to end our visit on.

Things I learned from planning this trip: Sometimes good memories are made from unexpected circumstances. We probably wouldn't have gone to Little Big Horn if I spent time at the University.

Things I learned from attending this trip: Billings was an amazing little city, but seems super isolated from populated areas.

Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Go back for more! Visit the area at a slower place, spend time by that fireplace at the hotel.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity. Brainstorming blog titles too!