Day 1 — May 16: Our first stop was to pay homage to William Clark at his gravesite at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, where a magnificent obelisk and Clark bust is located. We proceeded on to Camp DuBois, the departure point, but discovered it was illusive. In 1804 Camp River Dubois sat on the edge of the United States, and beyond it, across the Mississippi, was a wilderness, largely uncharted by American explorers. We were excited to find a Lewis & Clark site replete with a vintage fort with replicated cabins, but as it turned out, this was not on the actual Wood River site, so once again we proceeded on to another Lewis & Clark site at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Here we went to the top of a 150-foot viewing tower with amazing views, yet this was still not their departure spot. The third stop was found in the middle of a housing development, with yet another fort replica, this site felt like the actual Wood River departure point. We experienced a rush of emotions to be at the very site where the Corps of Discovery had set out on their legendary expedition. Day 2 - May 17: We awoke at 7:30, had muffins and coffee and soon were on Highway 94 tracking the Missouri River. Lewis & Clark Trail accompanied us along the trail, highways and rivers all the way to Astoria, Oregon. We arrived at Hermann, Missouri, a picturesque 1842 German village where Lewis and Clark made references to the Gasconade and Missouri River confluence. We visited Clark Hill in Osage, Missouri sited high above the Missouri and Osage Rivers near Jefferson City. On June 1-3, 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark camped at the base of what is now known as Clark’s Hill. Clark ascended the hill and his journal mentions two Indian mounds he passed, offering a view of the Osage and Missouri Rivers confluence. Along the flooded Missouri River, we overnighted at Lewis & Clark Park near Joseph, Missouri. Park benches were half-way submerged on the riverbank and we turned out the lights a bit apprehensive should the rains commence. Indeed the rains did come, pouring to the point we decided to move the RV a few feet to higher ground.
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Day 3 – May 18: We awoke to a beautiful clear morning on the river bank with no other vehicles in sight. What a dream come true to sleep along the mighty Missouri, the fourth longest river in the world. By early morning, we stopped in Council Bluffs, Iowa where Lewis & Clark had their first Indian Council. We found a replica of the huge keelboat that the Corps of Discovery used to navigate the Missouri River, laden with supplies, guns, ammunition and presents for the Indians. We walked a steep path to an overlook high on a bluff to a monument describing the expedition’s council with the Indians. We next arrived at Sioux City, Iowa where the 100-foot-tall obelisk and grave of Sergeant Charles Floyd is located. Sgt. Floyd was the only member of the Corps to die on the expedition. In Yankton, South Dakota we found another great spot to spend the evening after driving all day through heavy rain. Day 4 — May 19: After breakfast we headed North on Highway 81 toward Pierre, South Dakota. We were now driving in the middle of a vast Sioux Reservation in search of monuments for Sacagawea and the great Sioux warrior, Sitting Bull. This location high on a hill overlooking the Missouri was magnificent, with a panoramic view of the river below. The land is untouched and breathtakingly beautiful for hundreds of miles in all directions. We were taken by the spiritual essence of being here and thankful for everything that came together to make it possible. We arrived in Bismarck, North Dakota late and overnighted at the Ft. Mandan Visitor’s Center.
THIS PAGE: MANDAN LODGE, NORTH DAKOTA. OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT: INTERIOR OF FORT MANDAN RIGHT: BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE
OQ / WINTER 2019-20