Lemhi Pass

Today was amazing.  I know I sound like a broken record, but it will be hard to describe just how beautiful today was and how many historically significant places we visited.  We left bright and early this morning and our first stop was Beaverhead Rock State Monument.

Sacajawea recognized this landmark and told the captains that her people, the Shoshonis, would be camped not far beyond.

Our next stop was Camp Fortunate.  Camp Fortunate is the site of my favorite story I tell to my students each year.  As the captains were meeting with the Shoshoni to try to get horses from them, Sacajawea recognizes the chief as her brother Cameahwait who she had not seen since she was kidnapped as a child.  That relationship sealed the help the Shoshonis would give the Corps of Discovery.  The  exact location is now under the Clark Canyon Reservoir.

The exact location would be directly behind this marker under the water.  

As we left Camp Fortunate we headed across the Continental Divide at Lehmi Pass.  I have been looking forward to this drive for months and it did not disappoint!  We were on a 2 lane gravel road for 12 miles through ranches before we started our 24 mile drive on a one lane gravel road up and over the pass.  The scenery is spectacular and we drove for miles seeing the same sights Lewis and Clark would have seen.  The gravel road is built on the horse path the Shoshoni Indians used to cross the pass many years ago.  The weather was amazing.  We didn't see a cloud in the sky all day long and we don't have blue skys in Indiana like they do in the west.

Here we are at the entrance to Lemhi Pass.  Take time to ask Terry how he got to the sign before the camera took the picture - good thing it doesn't show how hard he was breathing!

This is the view from the top of Lemhi Pass at the Continental Divide.

I read before we left that early July was the best time to see the wild flowers in bloom through the pass.  The flowers were everywhere!  It was beautiful to see all the hillsides covered in all colors of flowers.

The flowers were beautiful and that's what the sky has looked like all day long!

At the end of Lemhi Pass as you come out of the mountains, there is a natural hot springs called Sharkey's Hot Springs.  It's two small pools that are fed by the hot springs.  It was definitely hotter than a hot tub would be but felt wonderful.  We were sitting in a natural hot springs on the base of a mountain with a beautiful blue sky above us, wild flowers all around us and no other humans in sight - Bonus!

We are in Salmon, Idaho tonight and the Sacajawea Interpretive Center is located here.  That was our last stop this afternoon.  We have been so blessed when visiting the Interpretive Centers and today was no exception.  A local author and historian, Mike Crosby, was doing a talk this afternoon at the center and we stayed to listen to him.  He was so knowledgable about the Corps of Discovery and especially the contact with the Shoshoni - a great storyteller too!  The ladies working at the Center made us feel so welcome and it is a lovely place.  I have several new stories to tell next year!

Now we're back in our hotel getting ready for tomorrow's white water rafting on the Salmon River.  Our hotel is right on the river and we have our patio door open listening to the water rush by.  Here's my view as I'm writing tonight!

I could get used to this!  I'm sure we'll leave the door open and listen to this all night!

Gates of the Mountains

We left this morning and headed to the Gates of the Mountains.  This portion of the Missouri River is much the same as it was when Lewis and Clark were here.  Simply put, it's spectacular!  The canyon walls are beautiful and Lewis gave it the name Gates of the Mountains because of these canyons.  We took a two hour boat trip with a wonderful guide up this part of the river.

The narrow opening is the beginning of the canyon and is why Lewis gave it this name.

We got off the boat to explore a little at Colter's Landing and this picture is back up the canyon.

We saw this bald eagle going both ways on the canyon.  We also saw her nest which has two fledglings out on the limbs getting ready for their first flights.  

Here are the babies not quite ready for flight.

Our boat trip was wonderful and the first time we were actually able to be out on the Missouri River.  Our second stop of the day was at Three Forks.  This is where the Missouri River begins as the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers join to form the Missouri.

This is where the Jefferson and Madison come together.  There is no elevation in the park that allows you to photograph the 3 rivers at the same time.  If you floated in an inner tube from here you would reach the Gulf of Mexico in about 2 1/2 months!

We had another beautiful day.  We both understand why Montana is called Big Sky Country.  You can see forever and everything you are seeing is simply beautiful.  Tomorrow we cross the continental divide and have many places to stop along the way.  I think tomorrow will be one of our most beautiful drives as we definitely aren't going on the interstate but plan to cross Lemhi Pass and hope most of the roads are paved!

Great Falls, Montana

We started this morning at the Great Falls.  Oh, my!  We have seen the destruction of the Missouri flood downriver last month, but the beauty of the river over the Great Falls is breathtaking!  We had an absolutely beautiful day as well.  I don't think the sky could possibly have been more blue this morning.

We are in front of Ryan Dam and the Great Falls.  From the journal of Lewis it appears he was standing in approximately the same place when he discovered the falls.

This picture shows just the falls without the dam.

I learned today that William Clark used a sextant and rod to measure the height of the falls and figured they were 97' 3/4".  The actual height is 96'.  He was only off by 1' 3/4" - pretty good!

When we left Great Falls we headed a little further north to Morony Dam, the furthest dam on this portion of the river.  We tried to find Sacajawea Springs but couldn't find the trail.  Apparently, moderate trails in Montana are a little different than ones in Indiana!

When we left Morony Dam we headed to Fort Benton.  There is about 250 miles of the Missouri that has changed little since the time of Lewis and Clark.  The views are so lovely and often you can look in every direction and not see any sign of man.  It is wide open territory.

This is a small portion of that section of the river.

Terry and I decided we wanted to avoid the interstate when all possible and get off the beaten track when getting from point A to point B.  Today was a great example.  We went the back way when heading to Fort Benton.  Surprisingly enough, this road was actually on both of our GPS units!

It was really just a path between farm fields on either side but our GPS  knew it was there!

Each year in my classroom I have my kids do two different problem solving activities about decisions Lewis and Clark had to make along their journey.  One of the activities is when they come to where the Marias and Missouri Rivers come together.  Lewis and Clark had to figure out which way was really the Missouri.  The Native Americans had given them information as to which way was correct but they spent 10 days exploring to be able to make the correct decision.  Next year when I do this activity with my students I will have a picture of the exact spot to add to the information.

This is where the Marias and MIssouri Rivers meet.

Tomorrow we leave Great Falls and head toward Bozeman, Montana.  Missouri River Headwaters State Park will be the focus of tomorrow's activities.

Great Falls, MT - the beginning of our second trip

It's still hard to imagine you can have breakfast in Indianapolis and leave at 8:30, have lunch in Salt Lake City and be in Montana by 12:30.  I wish I could see the faces of Lewis and Clark if they could have traveled with me today.  Our flights were great, everything was on time and we have already been to the Interpretive Center in Great Falls.  The focus of this Interpretive Center is the portage around the Great Falls.

This diorama shows how they had to move the canoes around the falls.

These really were amazing men.  They moved 6 canoes eighteen miles this way - much tougher than most of us are!

We also got to see 3 of the 4 falls today.  One of the falls they had to go around, Colter Falls, is submerged by Rainbow Falls and Dam today.  We will spend tomorrow going to the Great Falls at Ryan Dam.

This is Black Eagle Falls and Dam which is the furthest west.

This is Rainbow Dam and Falls which is the next falls heading east from Black Eagle.

Once again, we are so blessed on this trip.  We have been told that the falls are the fullest they have been in 20 years.  I know this is bad for the people downstream, but the sight here is beautiful.

Crooked Falls

We hiked down to the river from the Interpretive Center after dinner.

What a wonderful first day for this part of our trip.  We have all day in Great Falls tomorrow.  More to come!

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.