Perhaps the greatest adventure in the history of this country is the expedition to the Pacific coast by the Corps of Discovery, headed up by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. With a party of about 35 (including one woman and one dog), they covered 8000 miles (4000 miles each way) over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 10 days. How did this incredible voyage ever come to be?

Jefferson's Imperative

President Thomas Jefferson ordered that an exploration be launched to find a practical passage from the fifteen states to the then contested Oregon Territory. Perhaps a little less trespassing was involved now, at least from France's point of view, since the land mass of the United States had just rather unexpectedly doubled in size, thanks to the Louisiana Purchase. (I doubt, however, that the nearly 50 different tribes of Indian residents they encountered along way had much say in the matter.) By the way, travel was by horse, foot, keel boat and canoe, depending on the circumstances and terrain.

Clearly, Jefferson had utilitarian motives in mind, like the development of transport and commerce. Nonetheless, he also desired that a complete scientific and sociological survey be taken as well. In short, the Commander in Chief wanted to know everything about this newest addition to the country. To this end, he commanded Lewis & Clark to not only seek a river route westward, but to also keep meticulous journals along the entire path. They complied more or less faithfully (apart from a few odd gaps in Lewis' journal). In fact, author Donald Jackson claims that Lewis & Clark were the "writingest" explorers of their time.

Is That All?

President Jefferson specifically charged the Corps of Discovery with the following tasks (not to mention just getting to Oregon in the first place):

• observe and collect plant, animal and mineral specimens,
• record weather data,
• study native cultures,
• establish diplomatic relations with the Indians,
• make careful and detailed maps,
• and keep daily journal entries

Jefferson must have been quite a person, and it's no wonder Lewis & Clark admired him so. It must have been a real treat to have a president who was literate, valued knowledge and had an insatiable curiosity about the world. We always seem to end up with ones who claim "trees cause more pollution than automobiles do" — and worse. Anyway...

Fantastic Voyage/Fantastic Vacations

The Corps of Discovery left St. Louis on May 14, 1804, returning there September 30, 1806. Their exploits read like a thrilling novel, and in fact have many of the same elements; there's action, suspense and surprise all along the way. (Come on now... Sakakawea recognizing her long lost Shoshone brother at Great Falls sounds like a Dickens creation!) Even with the passing of two hundred years, you can easily relive some of the excitement by visiting the many Lewis & Clark sites open to the public.

Now, I have to confess I haven't explored much of the Lewis & Clark trail so far. (I've spent most of my vacations over the past five years on the Oregon Trail, or making forays into the National Grasslands). So, I only describe a handful of sites in these pages, ranging across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and eastern Montana. But as the approach of the bicentennial looms ever nearer, I'm hoping to make longer excursions into the West of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Stop back later and maybe my list will have grown!

The trail today and many of its landmarks are managed cooperatively by a number of different agencies, such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service, state parks and so forth. Because of this, there are many, many free brochures and maps available to help you get around and interpret what you see. For example, the picture at the left shows several beautiful items I've picked up at interstate rest stops. Click the [footnote] to find out who's responsible for these delightful publications.

In the meanwhile, check out the eight spots I have visited. If you'd like to jump to a particular one immediately, click that item on the mini-menu near the top of each page. Or, if you prefer to follow the trail like the Corps of Discovery, simply click the big blue arrows at the bottom of each page; right arrows move you to the west, while left arrows take you back one notch to the previous location on the trail. And don't forget, there's a Lewis & Clark connection at the Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, described elsewhere.

Before turning you loose, here are some links to related resources that apply to the Lewis & Clark Trail in general. You might want to spend some time with them first, just to get an overall feel for what's out there.

• Federal
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • U.S. Forest Service
  
  
• State
  • Lewis & Clark in Montana
  • South Dakota Department of Tourism
  
  
• Other Interesting Sites
  • Gary Moulton: Journals of Lewis & Clark
  • Ken Burns' The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
  • Corps of Discovery Welcome Center
  • Jefferson's West
  • LewisAndClarkTrail.com
  • Lewis & Clark on the Information Superhighway
  • Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
  • National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial