Friday, August 31, 2018

Similar to yesterday, today was a drive to campground day.  We drove from Akaska, SD to Minot, ND, 255 miles north and west. We left SD at 9:30am, bright, sunny and 76 degrees, with a nice SW wind at 10 mph.  As we drove north we began noticing oncoming cars and trucks tipping 2 or 3 fingers off the steering wheel at us, so sure enough, I began doing the same to say "hello" to oncoming traffic in SD and ND. I do believe everyone is "neighborly" in these remote stretches and we've seen some locals slow down to investigate, probably to help out. There were long stretches where we were the only truck/trailer on the road; very little traffic and quite barren, although we do see many grain trailer trucks between these small towns. Today we drove by Strasburg, ND, birthplace of Lawrence Welk.  

The actual NPS L&C Trail followed the Missouri River to our east but as I mentioned in a previous post, it is more remote and difficult to drive with a travel trailer.  We arrived at Roughrider Campground at 3:00pm to sunny skies and comfortable temps in the low 80s.  Wilma did laundry and I went to the town of Minot, ND to get my RAM 1500 oil/filter changed.

Tomorrow we plan to drive south to visit the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and replica outdoor Fort Mandan exhibit. And if we can, we may drive west to visit the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.  Fort Mandan is where the Corps spent their second winter (5 December 1804 to April 1805) and experienced the coldest temperatures (-46F degrees) and highest winds any of the men ever experienced. Knife River Village is where L&C hired Toussaint Charbonneau (French Canadian Explorer and Trader) as interpreter through his wife, his teen-aged, pregnant Sacagawea). 

It is simply amazing to me that communications were

as good as they were for the Captains.  Many soldiers spoke the sign language of the Indian tribes, but when speaking in council or on on land/rivers, the Captains would speak to Charbonneau (or other Soldiers who spoke speaking French, Omaha or English). The Corps of Discovery spent 5 months in Fort Mandan, longer than any other campground or fort on the trip.  See below the way they communicated while in Fort Mandan, ND.

So, to the Trail...

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Wilma's birthday!  Sorry we couldn't post yesterday from Akaska, SD but the site was "self-registration" and very isolated, with no wifi. (see picture below)

Wilma's Birthday
How blessed am I to celebrate my wife's birthday, alone, in Akaska, SD with nowhere to go within 30+ miles to celebrate...just she and I. What a wonderful wife,  nurturing and influential mother of five children, sincere, serving neighbor and friend as well as MY best friend and fellow follower of Jesus. I actually thought of celebrating her birthday by hiring a guide and fishing together for walleye in Lake Oaha "nearby", but..... We plan to go out for dinner this weekend in Minot (My-not), ND. 

Chamberlain, SD Visitors Center

From our Mitchell, SD camp we drove to Chamberlain, SD to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Keel Boat and Dignity. When Wilma, Renee and I drove Cheryl from Grand Rapids, MI to Shoreline, WA in August 2012 we stopped there, but it was late and closed. 

Dignity (Native American Woman) 26 mph winds
and 32 mph gusts when picture was taken.  The statue
won an American Architectural and Engineering Award.

We left Mitchell at 9:30 with 19mph winds; at 8:00am, temps were 58 degrees and sunny with 13 mph winds.  Hmmm, we noticed the large number of wind farms on the plains and sure enough, on SD Rt 90 West at 10:30 winds were a steady 26mph with 32 mph gusts. The winds were exceptional.  We viewed the small number of L&C exhibits and outside viewed the "Dignity" statue. After wards, driving west I noticed the strong winds affect my miles-per-gallon estimates from 11 to 8.  This tank of fuel I got 8.7 miles-per-gallon for 69 miles uphill and windy.  There were whitecaps on the Missouri River as we drove along.  We also noted hundreds of acres of sunflowers growing, some with the leaves off and ready to be harvested.  As we drove, we noted the Great Plains, with rolling hills and plains for miles and miles and flat, clumps of green trees spotted here and there.  Granary silos everywhere. 

D&S Campground, Akaska, SD

We arrived at our very remote D&S Campground in Akaska, SD, at 3:15pm, 86 degrees, hot and humid but a very nice steady breeze; 

Lake Oaha, SD Swan Creek Recreation Area.
19 bird species

After dinner, we headed out northwest about 10 miles "for a ride to the Missouri."  Well, the Missouri River was dammed down river in Pierre, SD so the "Mighty Mo" on this stretch is now Lake Oaha, SD. The place is a campers and fisherman's paradise (Lake Oaha, Swan Creek Recreation Area in Selby, SD. The lake is beautiful blue-green water great for for walleye, crappie, northern pike, white bass and catfish. We drove and parked and walked the shores and fields and 19 separate bird species with three lifers: Western Meadowlark, Orchard Oriole and Eurasian Collared Dove.


After a beautiful sunset, temps cooled down and we enjoyed a great night's sleep. Wilma got Birthday Greeting calls from the kids, grand kids, sisters and brothers and in-laws... very nice. Tomorrow we are planning to drive north through Bismark, ND and camp in Minot, ND Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Left Onawa, IA out to Sioux City, IA at 8:45am, 55 degrees, sunny, blue skies and flat as a pancake land. We intend to visit the Sergeant Charles Floyd Monument and Overlook and the L&C Visitors and Interpretive Center, both sites in Sioux City, IA. We also wanted to do a "drive by" Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA and then drive up to our Mitchell KOA campground in Mitchell, SD. 

How are we doin'?

We're doing well, enjoying the country and the history and the people. But, we do find ourselves asking very simple questions to each other like, "what state are we in?" or "was that yesterday?" or "what did we do yesterday?" It does appear that tonight we had the perfect campsite; clear sky, cool temps in low 70s, no humidity, shady campsite on level ground ... but for the next few hours we smelled smoke ("oh, we're just burning some old stumps out back") and at 8:30pm quite a few bulls next to the campground started a'holler'in and moo'in and a'gruntin', quite a racket.

Weather:

Again, no humidity, sunny, blue skies and comfortable temperatures:  at 11:30 am, 68 degrees, at 1:45 pm, 74 degrees. Tonight, a beautiful sunset and temps in high 60s tonight. 

Sergeant Charles Floyd Monument and Overlook in Sioux City, IA

He was born in Kentucky, recruited at Camp River Dubois in MO and 21 years old when he died; highly regarded by both Captains and members of the Expedition.  He was one of the 3 Sergeants.  His daily journal of only 99 days was discovered in the records of the State of Wisconsin archives in 1893 and his journal was published in 1894.  He was re interred twice, once in 1857 and again from near the Missouri River to the present monument in 1900, due to the changing river conditions.  Floyd's was the only fatality of the 44+ men of the Corps of Discovery, probably due to acute appendicitis and sepsis. 

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, IA

An excellent museum focusing on Iowa's contribution to the Lewis and Clark Expedition as well as the Sioux Indians. The painted murals and dioramas were very well done and exhibitions of the Corp's daily life and Sioux Indian experiences were presented very well. 

Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA

We planned a slight detour north to do a "drive by" Dordt College campus.  Friends Dan Steenstra and Dawn and Mark Van Denend were graduates. 

The Great Plains

Wilma noticed the dark, rich soil and large steer farms and corn fields on our drive west on Rt 90. The South Dakota speed limit was 80 mph.  We arrived at Mitchell KOA 3:30pm and leveled the camper, set up power, the crapper and water in 20 minutes.

Keel boat pictures

Yesterday, we stopped at the L&C State Park in Owana, IA and got to step on board a working replica of the keel boat.  Quite an experience to visualize and actually stand on the boat and think what it might have been like.

 

Tomorrow, Wilma's birthday, we're planning to head west and north towards Chamberlain, SD then due north towards our campground in Akaska, SD. We've got quite a few sites to see in and around Bismark, ND including the North Dakota L&C Interpretive Center in Washburn, ND (Ft Mandan), Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in Stanton, ND, the Three Tribes Museum in New Town, ND and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site in Williston, ND.

One of our dilemmas coming up soon is whether we want to go the southern Billings, MT Bozeman, MT route along the Yellowstone River or the actual L&C northern route following the upper Missouri River to the Great Falls. 

We Proceed on....

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Onawa, IA - Left St. Joseph @ 9:00am, and got into IA at 10:15; drove to Nebraska City, NE to visit Missouri River Basin L&C Interpretive/Visitors center.  An excellent museum and good history video with an outside keel boat replica. Inside the museum, there were complete scale models of the keel boat and both red and white pirogues.  From there we drove to Council Bluffs, IA to see the Council Bluffs Monument and Scenic Overlook where L&C had their first "council" with the Otoe and Missouri Indians. Afterwards, we  drove to Onewa, IA to the On-Ur-Wa RV Park campsite (17 miles south of Sioux City, IA). Tomorrow, we plan to Plan to head up to Sioux City to see Sergeant Floyd's monument, up to Sioux Falls, then off to Chamberlain, ND where we plan to camp.  

WEATHER: Wow, there couldn't be more of a change from Monday to Tuesday! St. Joseph this morning was 81 degrees @ 9:00am and very windy, again (14+mph). When we arrived at Onawa, IA, @ 3:15pm, it was 64 degrees and still very windy (17+mph) and rainy on and off. Weather reports say 48 degrees tonight.

At dinnertime, we headed across the Missouri River into Nebraska to the Green Lantern restaurant in Decatur, NE. Before that we stopped at the Lewis and Clark State Park, in Owana, IA, a beautiful campground with a full-sized replica of their keel boat, which was filmed for the National Geographic IMAX movie. I hope to have some great pictures of the keel boat from today's visit on tomorrow's post.

COMMENT: We need to tell you that we say, "we're following the Lewis and Clark Trail" but we really aren't fully able or willing to do that.  We could follow their water route, since it was 95% on water, but with dams and the changing river structure and flow, this is difficult. The L&C trail is 3,700 miles long, administered by the US National Park Service (NPS) and as much as possible, it follows along their actual route.  But really following the trail by car/trailer would take more time than we can allow since most of the route follows Missouri River trails and back roads, very challenging even for our small 21 foot travel trailer. We cannot possibly stop at all the markers and stops along the way (e.g. we drove by the confluence of the Missouri and Platte Rivers where L&C camped). A  NPS guide we met at the top of the St. Louis, MO Arch, from Summit, NJ, said,"it's just like Washington slept here in NJ.  L&C Markers are everywhere." 

Most of our stops are mentioned in Steven Ambrose writings, the excellent NPS website and the 4 books we used to research the trip. A final note on St. Joseph, MO:  as I mentioned below, we would have enjoyed seeing Karl Bodmer's 1830 paintings of what Lewis and Clark saw shortly after they traveled up the Missouri to Bismark, ND (Ft. Mandan), but we couldn't.  St. Joseph is also known for: Jesse James was killed here in April 1882; Walter Cronkite was born here and the Pony Express began here in 1860-1870 (existed only 18 months, from MO to Sacramento, CA in 10 days by pony/horse).     

CORRECTION: In yesterday's post, I mistakenly said that (George Caleb Bingham) was the artist painting L&C scenes.  It was actually Karl Bodmer who after speaking to William Clark, traveled up the Missouri as far north as Ft. Mandan in 1830 with Prince Maximilian of Germany. They turned back and headed south due to the threat of Blackfeet Indian attacks. Ironically, many of Karl Bodmer's paintings are on display in St. Joseph, MO, where we camped yesterday. Hmmm.

 

Monday, August 27, 2018

St. Joseph, MO - left our Campsite in Eureka, MO at 9:30am and 88 degrees. We headed northwest to Kansas City, MO to camp at St. Joseph, MO.  Today is our oldest granddaughter's 8th birthday (Emma Texer, Zeeland, MI). She and her younger sister, Kayla, went to 2nd grade and Kindergarten. Cheryl started teaching her 6th year of 3rd grade today at Shoreline Christian School in Shoreline, WA and Zeke in Rutland, VT goes to pre-school next week and Adelaide (Oak Park, IL) and Josie (Zeeland, MI) start pre-school in September. Life moves on.

Our days/weeks are getting somewhat routine where we travel, visit L&C sites, learn and then set up at a convenient  campground where we plan the next few day's travel and visits. Driving west and north west on MO Rt 70 we stopped at Daniel Boone Burial and Monument in Marthasville, MO. He lived here with his son and family for the last 20 years of his life. After he died, he was buried in an unmarked grave and years later, friends and family from Frankfort, KY claimed to haves dug him up and reburied him there.  BOTH sites now claim the burial site.  

The entire trip was VERY windy (18-22 mph steady wind) and HHH 92-95 the entire trip. We drove by Arrow Rock, MO where George Caleb Bingham lived while painting scenes from the West, shortly after Lewis and Clark. Drove around Kansas City, MO, now through the "Great Plains" with rolling hills full of soy and corn fields.  We observed since leaving St. Louis that there are many towns and streets named after BooneXXXsomething and LewisXXXsomething or ClarkXXXsomething.  Arrived at AOK Campground in St. Joseph, MO at 3:00pm and set up in 20 minutes. 

Tomorrow we plan to visit Omaha, NE and Council Bluffs, IA to do some "drive by" visits to Lewis and Clark sites on the Missouri: Missouri River Basin and Western Historic Trails. We plan to camp outside of Sioux City, IA to to visit Sergeant Floyd's Monument, the only fatality of the Corps.

Grave Plaque reads, "Daniel Boone, born in Philadelphia
County (Later Berks County) October 22, 1734, (Modern
September 2, 1734), Died in St. Charles County, MO
September 26, 1820, and WIFE Rebecca Bryan, Born
January 9, 1739, Died March 18, 1813, Removed to
Frankfort, KY, 1845"

Sunday, August 26, 2018

St. Louis-attended 10:30 church at Twin Oaks Presbyterian, Twin Oaks, MO.  one of the older members who greeted us remembered Stan and Betsy Tyvoll since Betsy was Worship Coordinator there years ago. The Scripture was from Numbers 35:6-25 and the sermon was on "cities of refuge" with Christ being our refuge and strength. The Preaching Pastor looked just like our step-brother-in-law, John Dyksen. The weather was terribly warm; at 1:30pm it was 95 degrees and hazy, hot and humid. It will be good to turn northwest towards Kansas City, MO tomorrow.

Saturday, August 26, 2018

Week 2 SUMMARY- We've driven 2,210 miles over 10 major US rivers and 4 major US mountain ranges over 13 States... and have seen 41 bird species.

"William Clark received his commission as Lieutenant
from George Washington in 1791. He was appointed
Brigadier General by Thomas Jefferson in 1807 and
reappointed as such by James Madison in 1811. He was
made Governor of Missouri Territory by this President
in 1813 and recommissioned twice by him. Being again
appointed Governor James Monroe in 1820, who also
made him Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1822. His
great fame as an Explorer was won on the Expedition
of 1804-5-6" (Quote from 1 of 5 stone panels)

Bellefontaine Cemetery
Today, St. Louis was hot and humid and sunny; 86 degrees at 9:15 am.  We drove first to William Clark's Burial Site in St. Louis at Bellefontaine Cemetery (National Historic Landmark) of 1849. It was quite the grave site with many of his children interred around him. Bellefontaine Cemetery is very large with 314 acres and 14 miles of road! In addition to Clark's grave, we stopped at Civil War Major General Don Carlos Buell, Major General John Pope, Almira Hancock (picture). Also buried here is Aldolphus Busch (1839-1913- with Father-in-law Eberhard Anheuser, founded Anheuser Busch Beer), Stephen Watts Kearny (married William Clark's stepdaughter; born in Newark, NJ), James McDonnell (of McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft), Samuel Hawken (of Hawken Rocky Mountain Rifle). Ulysses Grant's favorite General, William Tecumseh Sherman is buried at Calvary Cemetery across the street from Bellefontaine.  

Grave site of Almira Hancock "the most beautiful woman in the
West" in 1850, met and married Major General Winfield Scott Hancock,
stationed with Robert E.Lee (and other Union and Confederate
Officers) at Jefferson Barracks. Best friends with then Captain
later Brigadier Lewis Armistead of the Confederacy, Winfield and Almira
were best friends with Armistead for 17 years. On July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, PA
led his Brigade of Pickett's Division against Hancock's II Corps at
Cemetery Ridge... Armistead killed and Hancock gravely wounded.
Please note the other "most beautiful woman" in the picture. 

Camp River (Ft Dubois)
From there we drove to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, IL (the National Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail Site #1) where we toured their museum and an accurate replica of the 1803-1804 Camp River Dubois. This is the place that Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery began their trip up the Missouri River (picture) on May 14, 1804... Ground Zero for L&C! They left Pittsburgh too late in the year to launch up the Missouri, so they built a Camp/Fort across the Mississippi River and lived there for 5 months; planning, gathering more supplies, packing gear, drilling and training and gathering more men for the trip. Note that St. Louis and the Louisiana Purchase was still governed by the Spanish until the French sold it to the US and transferred it on December 20, 1803, so Lewis and Clark needed special "passports" to enter St. Louis while at Camp Dubois. When they returned in 1806, St. Louis and the Louisiana Territory was part of the USA. The average age of the Corps was in the early 20s; a Private got $10/mo, now $20/per month as member and Captains got $40/mo, now $80/mo. as Officers as well as 320 acres of land in the new territory. The actual Camp River Dubois is located 3-4 miles east of this site under the Mississippi due to river movement.

The museum's movie was good history but the exhibits were great; specifically the replica of the keel boat and how supplies were stored and packed. We also took a tour in 93 degree heat of replica of the Fort laid out on Lewis's plans. The guide noted that William Clark's maps were so good they were used for 20-25 years after he returned to St. Louis.  Also, from Ft. Mandan (Bismark, ND), Lewis and Clark sent the keel boat down river to St. Louis in April 1805 with 8-12 men as

well as live and stuffed animals, plants, minerals,bones, Indian artifacts, journals and records. The keel boat was probably sold for wood in St. Louis. Of the red and white pirogues, only the white pirogue made it to St. Louis when the Corps returned in 1806.

Jefferson Barracks
From IL we drove back to St. Louis to Jefferson Barracks Military Post and Cemetery (1826-1946) in Lemay, MO; VERY famous American Officers (including Civil War Union and Confederate) were stationed there including Jefferson Davis, Robert E.Lee, Ulysses S.Grant, William T.Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Henry Dodge, Albert S.Johnson, Joseph E.Johnson, Winfield S.Hancock, Henry Halleck, Nathaniel Boone, James Longstreet, Jeb Stewart, Don Carlos Buell, John Pershing, Dwight Eisenhower ,... 426 acres used for Basic Infantry Training, a Hospital, a Cemetery, Arsenal/Armory and was the 3rd largest city in MO during WWII. We visited the WWI and WWII sites. At the WWII site a 92 year old WWII veteran of the Battle of the Bulge greeted us and talked for awhile... William Pilger. Jefferson Barracks was a major military post for the Mexican American War (1846-1848) and each war thereafter until decommissioned in 1946. Cemetery started 1827  is 331 acres with 188,000+ interred, including 1,000 Confederate soldiers.  We had dinner at a great St.Louis BBQ restaurant and headed back to the campground. 

Description says, "Original Jefferson Barracks Display Stone, ca 1827.
Placed near the flagstaff on the parade ground, this stone stood at
the center of the original base. Its crossed muskets represent the
infantry. The olive branches in one claw of the eagle indicate that the
marker was set in place during a time of peace." 

NOTE: Apologies to all our blog readers... I'm still struggling to wrap text around the pictures.

Friday, August 24, 2018

After a rainy evening and morning, we left at 10:30am intending to make the best of a rainy and windy day afternoon in St. Louis. Before we left, we got a call from Betsy Tyvoll (friends from NJ) who lived in St. Louis with husband Stan 20+years ago. Betsy gave us some "tips, tricks and places" advice... very gracious of her to call...

which we really appreciated. We walked to Gateway Arch National Park (at the Jefferson National Expansion Park, newly "restored" in 2018) and toured the  very good Visitor Center Museum (downstairs) and then took a tram ride to he top at 630 ft. Quite a monument!

We watched a good movie on St. Louis history (French 1764 fur trading post) and how the Arch was made.  We got pictures of the monument at the approximate location on the Mississippi Rover where Lewis and Clark, Lewis' dog Seaman and the Corp landed 1806 on their return journey. It was interesting to note how different the River was then; at their real 1806 landing site, St. Louis had a 30 ft limestone bluff at where the City landing met the Mississippi.  We then walked inside the Park to the Old Courthouse (1839-1862) and toured an incomplete Lewis and Clark Exhibit. It was in this Courthouse where the 1846 Dred Scott Decision was litigated and appealed to the US Supreme Court.  

We had lunch at Calico's Restaurant in downtown St Louis and intend tomorrow to visit the Jefferson Barracks, William Clark's grave site in Bellefontaine Cemetery, Camp Wood Dubois-Lewis and Clark State Historic Site Visitor's Center in IL (where Lewis and Clark and the Corps began their trip UP the Missouri River). If possible, a final visit to the town of St. Charles.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Arriving in St. Louis Missouri ends our tour of Meriwether Lewis' Eastern Legacy Trail which began in Philadelphia, PA to Harpers Ferry, WV, to Monticello, VA, to Pittsburgh, PA, to Falls of Ohio, Clarksville, IN/Louisville, KY and eventually down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi River to Camp Dubouis north of St. Louis, MO.

 We awoke to 58 degrees at 6:45 and left the campground to clear, sunny skies and took Rt 64 West almost the entire trip to St. Louis.  We saw many Monarch butterflies on their annual flyway; we saw soy and corn fields rather than the busy city and suburbs; we are both healthy and happy to do this together;  we were able to sleep through through the night night when we camped near night shift highway repair; we slept through low flying aircraft on the Louisville Airport flight-path; we slept through the roar of nearby railway freight and passenger trains. We lost an hour when time changed from EST to CST. We haven't seen many bird species other than those from the highway and short campground walks. Our wi-fi and cell-service is sketchy at our campgrounds. We were able to drive almost 2,000 miles from Lackawaxen at 65mph with trailer and truck working very well. We give thanks to our Lord for safety and the history of this great land.

Lewis and Clark left Clarksville together with 8-10 members of the Corps down the Ohio River to Ft. Massac, then on to the confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Ft. Defiance. (FT. Kaskaskia, IL). They then went up the Mississippi River and reached Camp River Dubois (Camp Wood) on December 12, 1803. 

We plan to visit St. Louis and St. Charles to see Westward Expansion Arch, Camp Wood, William Clark's grave site, etc. through weekend, then start the actual Trail, heading up the Missouri River to Kansas City, MO.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

The plaque reads, "History's Great Explorers, Lewis and Clark,
Acclaimed National Heroes, The Eastern Legacy, October 14, 1803,
Meriwether Lewis came from Washington D.C. and met William Clark at the
Falls of the Ohio, "When they shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition
began." (Undaunted Courage, Stephen E. Ambrose). Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark, while quartered at the George Rogers Clark homestead overlooking
the Falls of the Ohio, fulfilling a Presidential Order by Thomas Jefferson,
recruited, enlisted and trained the leadership of the military expedition to
explore the American West. October 26, 1803 the Corps departed from Clarksville
at the Falls of the Ohio on their journey to the Pacific Ocean to explore the
American West. November 5, 1806, Lewis and Clark returned to the Falls of the Ohio.  

Today consisted of two parts; drive, park and visit.  We "drove" almost 300 miles from Zanesville, OH through Columbus, OH, Cincinnatti, OH, and Louisville, KY over the Ohio River into Clarksville IN to our next campsite; we "parked" the trailer in record time (about 25 minutes to level the trailer, hookup electric, hookup sewer, hookup water, tidy up inside then "visited" the Falls of the Ohio

Below Lewis and Clark's feet the inscription, "When they
shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began."

The plaque reads, "Lewis and Clark Expedition 1803-1806
Near this site on October 26, 1803, Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark with the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery
together set off down the Ohio River on their epic journey
to explore the Louisiana Purchase and Packfic Northwest." 

in Clarksville, IN (60 miles round trip) where Lewis and Clark met for the first time. After William Clark received Meriwether Lewis' invitation to co-Captain the Corps, he stayed in Louisville, KY/Clarksville, IN with his famous brother, George Rogers Clark. 

NOTE: We stopped for gas at Zanesville, OH Livestock Co. in Muskingum, OH. We heard the loudest "mooo, mooo, mooooing from cattle being dropped off. The station was part of a beef cooperatives cattle auction. Wilma said, "it brought back childhood memories of Jager's Market in Sussex, NJ with the cows mooing and trucks loading and unloading cattle to sell. After Wilma texted her four sisters about this, sister Rena replied, "yeah, and remember the station wagon going to Jagers with the calf in the back making a mess all over!?"  Our trip was almost all highway and VERY windy the entire day.

It took Lewis 6 weeks in the keel boat and two pirogues to float down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to the Falls where he spent 2 weeks with Clark planning and preparing "what next" plans once they reached St. Louis. Floating down from the Falls to the mouth of the Ohio/Mississippi and pulling the boats up the Mississippi convinced the two Captains they needed more men for an actual total of about 30 soldiers, French voyageurs and York (Clark's slave). They didn't ask Sa ca ga weah and her husband Charboneau to join until they were in Fort Mandan (Bismark, ND).

We drove almost an hour into Clarksville, IN from Shepherdsville, KY to view the Falls of the Ohio State Park and Interpretative Center, which was a very good museum and quite a location. We always try to imagine what Lewis and Clark saw here when they met (pictures) and how intimidating the Falls was to water men.  On the way to the Museum, we drove right through the middle of Louisville, KY on Rt 65 No./So. seeing Churchill Downs and Cardinal Stadium. We learned about the history of the Falls; that there are more fossils discovered at the Falls than any other place on earth. (since the Falls was the floor of a tropical sea with coral barriers...layers of bones and shells settled, covered by carbon rich silt and mud and  under pressure turned to stone). At the Falls Lewis and Clark set off on their trip west (with 33 men + York and Seaman Lewis' Newfoundland dog. At the Falls John J. Audubon sketched great numbers of bird species 1808-1810. At the Falls William's brother, George Rogers Clark organized men for battle against the British and after a grueling walk, beat the British at Vincennes in 1779. Imagine Lewis and Clark setting off here down the Ohio River August 31,1803.  William Clark and his older brother, famous soldier George Rogers Clark lived nearby (plaque picture). 

We had a very full day with the drive and the tour of the Falls of the Ohio Museum and tracking down the location of the Clark house.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Wilma at the "Three Rivers" Point: Heinz Stadium is on the
Allegheny River to Wilma's right; to the left is the Ohio River
and to Wilma's left is the Monongahela River.

We visited Fort Pitt (the point where Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio) in Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA and walked the grounds of the 1754 French Fort Duquesne and in 1748 the English Fort Pitt. We toured their very good Museum. 

The Fort Pitt Blockhouse, (1764) is the only original building still standing on site. We tried to find the Historical Marker where Lewis left on the keel boat down the Ohio River (see boat and historical plaque pictures), but I gave Wil wrong directions. 

Fort Pitt model inside the Museum

We picked up the trailer from the campground and then drove through Wheeling, WV (where Corps member Patrick Gass is buried (Wellsburg, WV), to camp at Wolfies Campground, Zanesville, OH. 

Lewis left Pittsburgh, PA on August 31, 1803 in very low water and met William Clark in Louisville, KY/Clarksville, IN a few weeks later. They eventually floated almost 1,000 miles to the Mississippi River near Cairo, IL where the Corps poled up to St. Louis, MO.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to the Falls of the Ohio to view George Rogers Clark's home (where William lived waiting for Meriwether Lewis.

Blockhouse plaques read "Historic Landmark - Fort
Pitt Block House, constructed 1764; only surviving structure
of Fort Pitt. Pittsburgh's oldest architectural landmark." AND
"A National Historic Landmark, possessing national significance
in commemorating the history of the United States of America."

The plaque reads, "Flag Bastion. From this bastion of Fort Pitt
(built 1759-61) flew the Union Jack of Great Britain proclaiming
victory over the forces of New France and establishing ownership
of the Ohio Valley and the land west of the mountains."

This commemorative marker stands in the middle of the original Fort
Pitt and reads, "This marks the exact site of Fort Duquesne built by
the French in 1754. The Fort was destroyed by the French on the approach
of the English Army in 1758. "