Home - the end of journey one

We arrived home late Saturday night after dropping Don, Crystal and the boys off earlier in the afternoon.  Trip one was everything I hoped it would be.  The United States has such geographic variety and it was awesome to watch the landscape change as we journeyed about 3,000 miles.  Now I need to put the many photographs of the Lewis and Clark trip I took together into a format that will benefit my students in the years to come.  It was a wonderful experience to see this portion of their trip and we look forward to the second trip for the conclusion of the Lewis and Clark trail in just two and a half weeks.

What a fun way to travel!  I'm sure Lewis and Clark would have been amazed!

Wall Drug and the Badlands

As we headed east across South Dakota today we will stop at Wall Drugs and then the Badlands.  We will be covering most of the state from west to east today and will be staying in Sioux Falls tonight.  Wall Drug signs can be seen literally all over the world but they are EVERYWHERE in South Dakota.  It is a unique place and actually is a drug store as well but you almost have to stop just to satisfy your curiosity.

 

 Here's the front of Wall Drug Store but this doesn't begin to tell the story.

Caleb on the Wall Drug jackalope.

We also spent part of the morning driving and hiking through the Badlands in South Dakota.  I can't imagine what early explorers thought when they were coming across the plains only to come upon this sight.  It's like no where else in the United States.

The landforms remind me of giant sand castles.

Even in a place this barren a cactus was blooming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are on the top of the landforms in this picture. 

Bismarck, North Dakota

Today was mostly a travel day. We stopped at the Corn Palace first thing in the morning and spent a little time enjoying the murals created from corn. It really is beautiful and very creative.

The front of the Corn Palace

Then it was on the road heading north through South Dakota toward Bismarck, North Dakota. We were not on the interstate most of the day so we got to really see the countryside. We knew we would not have time to get to the interpretive center today so that will be first thing in the morning. We did get to our campground a little earlier so the boys had plenty of time to swim and bike.

The best part of today was getting to visit with Matthew Voorhees and his family who live in Bismarck. Matt is Terry's nephew and they came to our campsite to spend the evening with us. We haven't seen them in several years. Terry talked Matt into cooking for us and we had a wonderful grilled chicken dinner. Josiah said it was the best chicken ever! We sat around the campfire until almost dark and thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Matt, Kim and their kids.

 Here's a picture of all of us after our wonderful dinner.

Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore

We had an amazing day! We spent the morning in Custer State Park and it was simply beautiful. We saw buffalo, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs and burros. The burros even let the boys pet and feed them. We could not have scripted a more beautiful day. The sky was a perfect blue and in the 70s. Then we did several of the drives through the park. We were on Needles highway but Terry decided one tunnel was just too narrow, so we headed the other way to Mount Rushmore. Our route definitely challenged Terry's driving - hairpin turns and three narrow tunnels. The views of Mount Rushmore were spectacular and Terry did a wonderful job with the driving. I'm sure he thought it was a blast!

They really are massive creatures.

Josiah and Andrew have a new friend - so much for wild animals!

Even Terry got in on the action.

At least we fit!

We were able to hook up with friends of Don and Crystal's from their Rapid City days for dinner and enjoyed a time for friends to get caught up - dinner was great too!

We headed to Mount Rushmore after dinner to watch the ceremony and lighting of the monument at night. Terry and I have been to Mount Rushmore several times but never at night. It's a moving, patriotic ceremony and the mountain is beautiful with the lights on the monument at night. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Mount Rushmore

Fort Mandan

We visited Fort Mandan first thing Tuesday morning.  The interpretive center focused on the Mandan Native Americans and the winter Lewis and Clark spent with them.  It is the smallest of the interpretive centers so far. This is a civilization that at the time of Lewis and Clark's journey had more Native Americans in their tribe than the number of people in St. Louis.  Unfortunately, just a few years after Lewis and Clark stayed there a steamship came to Fort Clark and someone on the ship had small pox.  The Mandan became infected and it wiped out 90 percent of the tribe.

Tuck with Seaman

We didn't get to actually go in the fort.  It is surrounded by the Missouri River flooding but we were able to get close enough to take a few pictures.  The visitor's center down by the fort is closed as well.  The river flooding is pretty amazing but very sad for the people who have been displaced.  I was disappointed to not get to actually get to be in Fort Mandan but my disappointment pales in comparison to the suffering of the people along the river.

Fort Mandan - the water should not be in the foreground - that's the flooding from the Missouri - note the sandbags around the front of the fort.

Papa and his boys on the sand bags in front of the interpretive center for Fort Mandan.

This was my last Lewis and Clark site on this trip.  We will be heading back home now and will be going a different way back so we can continue to see different things.

We had a long day of driving after Fort Mandan.  We were on our way to Hill City, South Dakota.  Don and Crystal lived in Rapid City for several years so we will be helping the boys remember places from almost 8 years ago.

Interpretive center in Nebraska City and Sergeant Floyd Memorial

We were up and on the road bright and early this morning. We were all a little tired because there was a "concert" in our campground last night. Let's just say I don't think they will be getting recording contracts any time soon!

Our first stop of the day was the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitor's Center in Nebraska City. It is a beautiful museum that focuses on the scientific aspect of their trip. There is one of every animal Lewis and Clark named on their expedition in the museum. They had a full size replica of the keel boat as well as a Native American earth lodge. The museum has men who come once a month to act as re-en actors and we were lucky enough to pick the right day! They were tanning hides (freaked Tuck out), firing weapons, a blacksmith was working and they were making a dugout canoe. Just like yesterday, they really helped make the stop memorable.

The whole group in front of the keel boat

Tuck was convinced he was next!

It's going to be a while before this is ready to float!

Our trip to the Interpretive Center was interesting as well.  The Missouri River is flooding even here already and the worst is still to come.  The highway from the interstate to the Center was down to one lane because the water is already covering the other lane.  They anticipate the road will be closed in a couple of days.  The area around has been evacuated.  Gas stations at the interstate have removed the pumps and every business has dirt mounds 8 - 10 feet high around the businesses to try to protect them from the projected height of the river as the floods move further south.  We were told they anticipate some of the area to stay flooded for months.  Part of Interstate 29 is already closed and we had to detour around this portion.  We will come back this same way the end of next week and, unfortunately, it will probably be worse.  I've never seen flooding like this before.

Here's what the highway looked like on our way back to the interstate.

Every building at the interstate had mounds of dirt with sand bags to prepare for the flood.

When we left the Center, we headed for Sergeant Floyd's Memorial in Sioux City, Iowa.  Sergeant Floyd was the only member of the Lewis and Clark expedition who died on the trip.  The memorial is a 100 foot obelisk with a beautiful view of the river.

Sergeant Floyd's Monument

We are camping tonight in Mitchell, SD.  Tomorrow morning we will visit the Corn Palace.  It has nothing to do with Lewis and Clark, but when in Mitchell you just have to stop.  Then we are headed for Fort Mandan - the furthest point on our trip this time.

Fort Osage

We had amazing storms last night during the night.  Once again, I'm glad I wasn't tent camping!  We were dry, safe and could enjoy the light show.  This morning we left and headed for Fort Osage.  William Clark chose the location for the fort and came back in 1808 to see to the building of it.  It was to serve as an outpost for the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase and to protect the United States Factory Trade House that was established there.  

Fort Osage

Andrew and Josiah liked the dugout canoe but don't want to make one of their own.

While walking around Fort Osage we were blessed to meet Mike Duane who works at the fort.  He was wonderful and made our day!  He was so knowledgeable about the Native Americans and the items they would come to purchase at the Fort, but the best part about Mike is he loves what he's doing and he was so willing to share that passion with my family.  He answered every one of Josiah's questions, made us feel welcome and gave us a wonderful experience today on our journey.

Here's Mike  - the best Fort Osage host!

He even showed the boys how to start a fire on the table with a magnifying glass - that could come back to haunt mom at a later date!

Mike also helped the boys dress the part of a settler in the early 1800s.  My guess is we will use this picture against them some day!

We even had a special demonstration of how to fire a musket (and he actually fired the musket for the boys.)

Mike may not know about the Fish Philosophy (that we practice at Creekside) but he definitely "made our day!"

We are staying in St. Joseph, Missouri tonight and will head to Mitchell, SD tomorrow!

Camp River Dubois

We're finally on our way! Last night we stayed in Terre Haute to make sure we knew how to get the RV set up and it was a blast. Terry's already an RV pro. We left this morning and went to Camp River Dubois on our way to pick up the kids. This is the place where Lewis and Clark spent the winter preparing for their trip. The museum was really nice. They have a full size replica of the keelboat showing how they packed all their supplies. I also discovered what many of the men did after the adventure was over - great stories to tell my students next school year!

This is the replica of the keelboat.

We also stopped at the Confluence Tower which was right up the road from the museum. It is a 150 foot tower that allows you to see the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This is where Lewis and Clark would have started their journey.

We were on the tower below where we could see the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

After we finished these two places we went to pick up Don, Crystal and the boys. We actually got everything packed in the RV and have room to spare. Tomorrow we are off to Fort Osage.

Okay, so we aren't exactly traveling the way Lewis and Clark did!

But, he sure looks like a happy camper doesn't he!

Boat House in St. Charles, MO

On Sunday, May 1, while returning from the St. Louis area, I stopped to see the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center in St. Charles, MO.  This was the first official site visit for my trip.  There are  full scale replicas of the boats  used by Lewis and Clark including the keelboat, red pirogue, white pirogue and dugout canoes.   The museum is located on the upper level and has highlights of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

I loved the artifacts in the museum.  There were a couple of journals of L & C, as well as one of their military uniforms and tools they used to map and navigate.

These are a couple of the actual journals of Lewis and Clark on display in the museum.

 Lewis and Clark took military uniforms to wear when meeting Native Americans so they would look more official when representing our government.  This is an example of the uniform worn.

The surveyor's chain in the picture is the type used by Lewis and Clark to measure distances.  Each chain is 66 feet long and it took 80 chains to equal a mile.  I had never seen one of these before and can't imagine how difficult it would have been to measure distances this way. 

This was a great first stop and a wonderful way to get us more excited for our trip!