Fifteen Lewis and Clark Bicentennial National Signature Events have been planned commemorating highlights of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. The first event (January 2003) was at President Jefferson's home Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. The second event (October 2003) was in cities separated by the Ohio River, Louisville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Indiana. We were at both places and now we came to the St. Louis, Missouri area for events number three, four and five. Each event is 200 years to the day after the actual event took place and the final event will be back in St. Louis in September 2006. Since the Corps of Discovery traveled slowly we'll arrive at future events before they take place.

Two hundred years ago Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark along with the Corps of Discovery built a fort near Wood River, Illinois (across the Mississippi River from St. Louis) for their winter quarters. While Capt. Clark drilled the men and prepared them for the trip, Capt. Lewis spent most of the winter in St. Louis purchasing supplies and taking care of legal matters. They had no idea what obstacles laid ahead of them but thought they could find a navigable route to the Pacific Ocean and return in about fifteen months. Man, were they in for a surprise.

We plan to closely follow the same route those brave men took but we'll have an easier trip in the comfort of our motorhome. Lewis and Clark had maps that showed the route to North Dakota, but from there it was speculation on what laid ahead. We have detailed printed maps, a GPS mapping system and the internet to look up information. They fought terrible weather and ran out of food often. We can sleep in our own bed and shop at Wal*Mart. People today who have never traveled to the Dakotas, Montana, down the Columbia River or viewed the Pacific Ocean, still know what it looks like and how bad the environment can be because they have seen it all on television and in printed and pictured books. With every bend and mountain view, Lewis and Clark encountered landscapes, animals and plants never seen before by white men.

Capt. Lewis had a letter of credit from President Jefferson that gave him unlimited buying power. He had a budget but overspent that budget by a large amount. We also have unlimited buying power in the form of a credit card and with fuel prices at an all time high we will surely overspend our budget too.

Our journey and travelogues will not be a history lesson. If you want to study the men and their journey there are many excellent books written by studied and educated men and women. Our travelogues will tell what we see along the trail including many side trips. Let the journey begin.

We began in East St. Louis, Illinois where we stayed a week at Casino Queen RV Park, across the Mississippi River from the Arch, and we were joined by Don and Gloria Martin who will travel with us to the Pacific. (Norm and Gloria are brother and sister.) The afternoon we arrived it rained and the rain did not let up for three days so our plans changed. There were scheduled events in St. Louis, at Wood River, IL and in St. Charles, Missouri. Opening night there was a free program "Eve of Discovery" with the U.S. Army Old Guard, the U.S. Army Band, the U.S. Army Drill Team, a concert by the Oak Ridge Boys and a closing of fireworks. The program was canceled due to rain. The second day was opening events at Wood River where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter and actually launched their boats for the journey. It was canceled due to rain. The third day events continued at Wood River and most were canceled due to flooded grounds (five inches of rain) and tents that appeared to float in water. Canceled were the National Fiddle Contest, the Colonial Fife and Drum Corp, the Old Guard Drill Team and many other events and shows. Heck, the projectionist couldn't even get the film on Sacagawea to work. But we were real troupers like the Corp of Discovery's men and we finally prevailed.

The Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1803-1804 at Camp River Dubois near present-day Wood River, Illinois. Today a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and a reconstructed fort occupies the site. In the center we attended a meeting of President Jefferson and Capt. Lewis and were privy to hear a conservation between the two men before the journey began. Jefferson also filled us in on politics of that era. The talks were both entertaining and informative. The Nine Young Men from Kentucky were in the fort working at their trades and were anxious to talk to visitors about their skills and their journey. Outside the fort a fur trader told us how he made his canoe and the exchange of furs for guns and food. The grounds were muddy and many events canceled but we had a great time and spent the day there.

St. Charles, up the Missouri River, was the first stop for the expedition. Capt. Clark led the Corps there and was later joined by Capt. Lewis who had stayed in St. Louis taking care of business. St. Charles had about 450 residents, mostly Canadian French. Of course today St. Charles is much larger and they went all out for the Lewis and Clark event. Many of the town's people were in period dress and we began the day at a church service on the waterfront preached by a parson.

We arrived at 8:30 a.m. and stayed until 6:30 p.m. and still did not have enough time to see everything. The Raising of the Colors was a colorful and interesting event with twelve fife and drum corps, cannon shots and Capt. Lewis on horse leading the event. This was the largest concentration of fife and drums corps ever assembled.

For lunch we ate beans and cornbread, sweet corn on the cob cooked in shucks and kettle corn. Only period food was allowed to be sold so there were no hamburgers, hot dogs, Cokes or Pepsi. We watched a wooden bucket maker, a man constructing a dug out canoe, a bow and arrow maker, jewelry makers, a couple making pine needle baskets and many other trades. A story teller explained the Lewis and Clark journey in an interesting way, soldiers camping in tents explained their way of life, Indians patrolled the shore and the Corps of Discovery boat landed at a dock. There was so much to see and do it is hard to explain, but we sure enjoyed ourselves.

For supper we walked to historic Main Street and ate outside at R.T. Weilers - great food and service - good prices. Down the street we happened on the Ludwigsburg (Germany) Brass Quintet and listened to a 45 minute concert in the park. Before leaving town we ate ice cream and rested our feet. St. Charles is an interesting old river town with friendly people. We hope to return when we can stay longer.


Near the campground we boarded the MetroLink and had an enjoyable ride to Forest Park and the Missouri History Museum. They have changing exhibits and during our visit they had - the 1904 St. Louis World Fair Exhibit, Many Voices, Indian Artifacts Exhibit, the Lewis and Clark Orientation Gallery and the National Bicentennial Lewis and Clark Exhibit. Wow, what a great exhibit. Since the year 2000 we have visited many Lewis and Clark sites and interpretive centers but this was the best by far. Every visitor was given a player and headsets with about ninety sound bites explaining the exhibits. We saw many of the original items carried by the Corps of Discovery, animals and plants discovered during their journey and even some original journals. Imagine looking at plants that Capt. Lewis collected, that no other white man had every seen, and these were the original plants used to name them. All together Lewis and Clark collected about 200 plants and 170 birds and animals not know to man. Pictures were not allowed so I did not make any. The exhibit will be in St. Louis until September 6, 2004, then will move to Philadelphia, Denver, Portland, Oregon and finally to Washington D.C. in May 2006. We highly recommend you see the exhibit if you have a chance.

Of course, in St. Louis we had to see the Gateway Arch that was constructed in 1963-1965. The Arch is 630 feet high and 630 feet wide between the legs at ground level. Trams take visitors to viewing windows at the top be we skipped the ride. Below ground we toured the Museum of Western Expansion with a unique collection of American Indian Peace Medals that was presented to Indians by most of the first fifteen presidents of the United States. The museum also had an interesting display of Lewis and Clark artifacts and pictures of the present-day trail.

A distant cousin of Norm, Sally Kent and her husband Allan visited us and took us to lunch and a drive up the beautiful Great River Road by the Mississippi. We had a nice day with them and I apologize for not getting a picture of them.

Our next travels will take us to Jefferson City and St. Joseph, Missouri. Check back in a couple of weeks to follow our journey.