In the Footsteps of Lewis & Clark
Montana and Idaho Journey
Day 1: Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Giant Springs, Decision Point, and Fort Benton
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Mary & Liz at Decision Point, Montana |
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Giant Springs in Great Falls, Montana |
Many of you may be planning a trip to the Great Northwest to follow in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark. Here's the first in several entries covering a Montana and Idaho itinerary which we followed in 2003.
We decided to take our trip with an excellent tour company called HistoryAmerica,
which, as the name indicates, runs tours with a history theme. I went on
a "Crazy Horse and Custer" trip with this outfit a few years back.
Not only do these tours go off the beaten path, but you go with a historian
in the field. The great thing about History America tours is that you get
to see and do things that would be difficult or impossible to do on your
own.
This time our historian guide was Gary Moulton of the University of Nebraska.
Gary is probably the leading living expert on Lewis & Clark. For the
past 25 years, he has been editing and publishing the definitive
edition of the Lewis & Clark Journals (13 volumes). Fortunately,
he recently came out with a one-volume
abridged version with just the good parts! :-) This makes for great
reading! The best part of all was that Gary is not only extremely knowledgable,
but a genuinely nice person, interested in others and very easy to talk
to and get along with. This in itself was an outstanding aspect of the trip.
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Lewis & Clark & Sacagawea statue by Bob Scriver, Fort Benton, Montana |
Our first day was spent in and around Great Falls, Montana. Lewis and Clark spent more time at the Great Falls of the Missouri than at any other location except for their winter quarters at Fort Mandan in North Dakota and Fort Clatsop in Oregon. This leaves behind a rich legacy of places to visit and enjoy. We arrived just in time to join up with the group, but if I had it to do over again I would come up a day early so we could spend time visiting the Charley Russell Museum. Everyone who took the time to do so said it was a highlight of their trip. Next time!
Today we started out at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, a very nice new facility built for the bicentennial of the Expedition, with a lot of interactive displays. We especially enjoyed the chance to try the "portage," in which the men had to tote their canoes and all their gear for miles around the falls of the Missouri River. I'm afraid the "Corps of Discovery" wouldn't have gotten too far with me as a member of the crew. I guess someone had to stay back in Philadelphia and run the store.
The Center was next to Giant
Springs, a beautiful huge freshwater springs. Another great aspect of
this trip was the chance to see a lot of natural wonders that are very unspoiled.
We had a picnic lunch at the Springs and proceeded on out of Great Falls
to the "Decision
Point," the junction of the Missouri and Marias Rivers. It was
here that Lewis and Clark had to decide which river to follow, a key moment
in the journey.
The rest of the day was spent in Fort Benton, a neat old town that appeared
to be in the process of trying for a rebirth. (Many old towns in Montana
were once mining towns, since abandoned by the mining companies and now
seeking a new purpose. There are some towns that are quite badly polluted
and this is a great concern for the preservation of the above-mentioned
unspoiled sites.) We saw two famous sculptures, one of a local dog named
Shep and one of L&C. We had dinner at the VFW hall, where we dined on
some of the best steak I've had in a long time (or since) and had entertainment
by Jack Gladstone, a Blackfoot Indian
descendant who sang witty and insightful songs. (Note: We now have three
of Jack's CDs: Buffalo Cafe, Buffalo Republic, and Tappin'
the Earth's Backbone and have found they really hold up to repeat listening.)
Stayed again tonight in Great Falls. By the way, we stayed at the Hampton Inn Great Falls, rather an ordinary place in appearance but with an outstandingly helpful staff.
Day 2: Great Falls of the Missouri, the Portage,
and the Gates of the Mountains
Mary at the Upper Portage Camp |
Liz at the Gates of the Mountains |
On our second day in Montana, we focused on learning about the great portage made by Lewis & Clark around the Great Falls of the Missouri. It's difficult to get a grasp on what the Expedition faced during this ordeal. I found that even after reading Undaunted Courage and seeing these sights in real life, I had a hard time understanding what Lewis and Clark and their men really experienced. Later, I read a wonderful description in James Alexander Thom's Sign-Talker of this portion of the journey that really brought it to life.
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The Great Falls of the Missouri |
We began the day at the Great
Falls of the Missouri, one of the most spectacular sites described in
the journals. Even today, the road down to the falls seemed remote. We had
to walk across a scary suspended footbridge to get to the overlook. The
falls are partially hidden today by Ryan
Dam (built 1915), but are still a truly magnificent sight. We also saw
a little bunny grazing nearby, always a good omen for us since we are bunny-lovers.
The scenery in the portage area is exceptionally beautiful. The mountainous
terrain and blue river are spectacular. We had to miss seeing the lower
portage camp because heavy rain had made the road impassable. For me, the
most touching scene of the morning was the site at the upper portage camp
where the Expedition rejoined the river and set out again after their ordeal.
The climax of our day was a boat ride through the Gates
of the Mountains on the Missouri, a magnificent canyon described by
Lewis. Today it opens on a beautiful lake created by dams. We saw some pelicans,
a great blue heron, mule deer, and Indian petroglyphs, as well as the site
of a 1949 disaster in which 13 firefighters were killed (the disaster described
in the Norman MacLean book Young
Men and Fire). This area really ranks up with the Grand Canyon
or anything else that nature has to offer.
We ended the day with a fajita supper at the Gates of the Mountains, where
we got to meet Stephenie Ambrose, the daughter of Stephen Ambrose and a
Lewis and Clark author in her own right (The
Lewis and Clark Companion). One of the fellows in our tour group
had made a study of the 1949 fire and had brought some very interesting
pictures and maps that he shared with the rest of the group. But the main
entertainment was watching a party of drunken young people run their motorboat
aground on the boat launch.
Tonight we stayed in Helena.
By the way, the National Park Service site referenced above for Ryan Dam contains excellent information about the Lewis & Clark Trail and how it has changed since the days of the explorers.
Lewis & Clark Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings
Day 3: Montana State Capitol, Montana Historical Society, and the Three Forks of the Missouri
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Montana State Capitol and statue of Francis Meagher |
Our third day in Montana. Today we spent the morning indoors for a change.
Our first stop was the Montana
State Capitol. Helena is a very small city (only 26,000), and the capitol
is not large, but it is very attractive. The grounds are enhanced by attractive
flower plantings. The entryway is more reminiscent of a county courthouse
than the Texas
Capitol, but the inner rotunda was quite beautiful, with a red and green
Italian paint job and stained glass windows. The depictions of Montana history
were completed by an Italian painter: his conception of a cowboy was hilarious.
Our purpose for being there was to see a famous Charles M. Russell painting
of L&C in the House chamber, Lewis
and Clark Meeting the Flatheads in Ross's Hole. Seeing the enormous
painting in real life was quite a different experience from seeing a small
reproduction. In addition to the breathtaking scale, it was easy to see
interesting symbolism in the painting's clouds and grasses that are not
visible in a small version.
We saw another well-known painting, Edgar Paxson's Lewis
and Clark at Three Forks, there just outside the chamber. This was the
favorite painting of Stephen Ambrose and appears on the front of Undaunted
Courage. It was also recently used in a Nike ad in which L&C,
Sacagawea, etc. were all wearing Nikes, with the slogan, "You'll Never
Know If You Don't Go." We all decided to adopt this as the motto for
our group.
Next, we we got to spend a little time at the very good museum of the Montana
Historical Society. I wish we could have spent more time here! The exhibits
about Montana life were very interesting, and the museum has a great collection
of Charley Russell paintings. We also saw the preserved body of Big Medicine,
a white buffalo who lived from 1933 to 1959. The exterior of the museum
has a gigantic sculpture of a cow skull that makes a great photo op.
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Three Forks |
We proceeded on to the Three
Forks, the point at which the Missouri River divides into three rivers,
the Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin (L&C were sucking up to
their bosses back home with these names). Once again, this was a big decision
point as they had to decide which river to follow into the Rocky Mountains.
It was also a time of great anxiety for the Expedition. They had hoped to
find Sacagawea's people, the Shoshones, at Three Forks. Upon these elusive
Indians depended the Corps' ability to buy horses to cross the Rocky Mountains.
When they failed to hook up with the Shoshones here, the captains privately
feared for the fate of the entire enterprise.
A big highlight for me was at our picnic lunch nearby. Another person visiting
the park happened to have brought along her Newfoundland dog which was exactly
like Lewis' dog Seaman,
who accompanied his master all the way to the Pacific and back. We persuaded
her to have lunch with us and after we ate Gary gave a talk about Seaman
with this cute, well-behaved dog as a model. We also had a good talk about
Sacagawea. It was in the Three Forks area that she was kidnapped from her
native people, the Shoshone, and taken to the Hidatsa where she eventually
met Lewis & Clark.
Overnight in Dillon. We had dinner at the University
of Montana (Western) where Gary gave a lecture about the journals.
Day 4: Clark's Lookout, Camp Fortunate, Lemhi Pass, and the Salmon River
Lemhi Pass |
Rafting on the Salmon River |
Our first stop out of Dillon today was Clark's Lookout, a cliff overlooking some beautiful country. On this spot, William Clark did some scouting during the period of the journey in which he was bringing the boats up a very difficult passage of the Missouri while Lewis and several others went ahead to try to make contact with the Shoshones. This spot was memorable for us because Mary lost her glasses, a fact she did not notice until our next stop. Our tour guides were rather unsympathetic, a common reaction from people who do not depend on glasses--for those of us who are practically blind it is a real crisis! Gary Moulton swung into action. Our hero insisted that we call back to the hotel in Dillon and ask if someone could go take a look for Mary's glasses. The great folks at the Best Western Paradise Inn actually sent somebody out there and found them to Mary's immense relief. They mailed them back to Austin for her and she was a "cool cat" for the rest of our Lewis and Clark trip in her prescription sunglasses. I would definitely stay at this hotel the next time I'm in Dillon!
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Mary at Camp Fortunate |
We proceeded on to Camp
Fortunate, a spectacularly beautiful site overlooking the river, a big
island, and countryside. This was the spot where Lewis met the Indians who
would help the Corps get the horses they needed to cross the mountains,
and where Sacagawea was reunited with her family. The Corps of Discovery
camped here during their stay with the Shoshones. Today the site is completely
changed due to the Clark Canyon Reservoir, and possesses an otherworldly
beauty that looks like a scene from "Lord of the Rings."
One of the most exciting parts of the trip came next. We traveled for miles
up a steep unpaved road, very scary and not to be attempted in a rent car
or anything other than a rugged four-wheel drive vehicle (with a confident
driver!). This is the area known as Lemhi
Pass, where the party crossed the continental divide. At the top we
got to stand astride the tiny stream that is the source of the mighty Missouri
River. It was amazing to get to explore this area a little and realized
that here on the border of Montana and Idaho was the dividing line of the
continent. When L&C walked across this pass they set the course for
manifest destiny. American (and world) history would never be the same.
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Mary and Liz bestriding the headwaters of the "mighty and heretofore deemed endless" Missouri |
It was here that Lewis and Clark realized that their dream of an easy passage
over the mountains was illusory. They had hoped to find the Rocky Mountains
analogous to the Appalachians, mountain ranges that each of them had crossed
many times. But instead of rolling hills and gentle rivers, they found towering
mountain ranges and whitewater rapids. They had thought the portage and
the trip up the Missouri to the Divide was bad, but the trek over the mountains
would test them in ways they had never imagined.
After a picnic lunch, we headed out for the other big event of the day,
a raft ride on the Salmon
River. Clark scouted the river in hopes of finding a water route through
the mountains but soon concluded that it was impossible. We saw some of
the most gorgeous scenery on the planet and went over some (small) rapids.
We were on the river for a couple of hours so we got a good chance to experience
it, and we got pretty wet! The river guide told us some interesting stories
about the river and its management or lack thereof by the federal government.
We stayed at the Stagecoach Inn, a quaint motel in Salmon, Idaho, with barrels
of flowers outside each door and the Salmon River running right outside!
Had trout and great potatoes at a nearby restaurant. I would like to return
here someday.
One note is that if anyone reading this is thinking of following our itinerary, this was way too much to have done in one day. If I were traveling on my own instead of with a tour, I would split Lemhi Pass and the Salmon River over two days and have more time to enjoy each.
Day 5: Tower Creek, Lost Trail Pass, Traveler's Rest, and Council Groves
Lots of driving today. Our first stop was at Tower Creek where we saw some great rock formations that Clark compared to pyramids. It was a mark of how comfortable (and maybe a little punchy) we all were by this point in the trip that Gary Moulton invited us to compare the formations to "kitties, doggies, and horsies." Gary has a great sense of humor as well as an encylopedic knowledge of all things L&C. For example, we learned from him that Lewis and Clark only ever disagreed about three things:
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Lewis developed a taste for dog meat on the trail, whereas Clark hated it
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Lewis liked salt on his food while Clark didn't care about it
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Lewis liked quiche and Clark didn't
We took a long and very scenic drive to Lost Trail Pass (not a Lewis & Clark name for the area). It was in this area that Clark and the Indian guide Old Toby tried but failed to find a way through the mountains using the Salmon River. For us, the most notable thing about our visit was that a serious forest fire was underway. (This was in Summer 2003.) We had to be escorted in by a "pilot car," which keeps visitors from wandering off into the fire area. We saw firefighters who looked dirty and extremely weary, and passed a fire camp with their tents. Park buildings wrapped in something that looked like aluminum foil to try to protect them if the blaze came that way. Through out the trip, we had seen haze from the huge fire at Glacier and several other forest fires, but this was the closest we got to an actual fire.
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Liz at Tower Creek |
After leaving Lost Trail Pass, we stopped at a delightful shop and picnic area where we had a great catered lunch. The desserts included a cake decorated with the Lewis & Clark Trail and huckleberry taffy. (Huckleberries taste great and are a big deal in Montana.) I wish I could remember exactly where this was so I could steer more business their way!
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Forest fire protection at a rest stop at Lost Trail Pass |
View of the mountain pass from Council Grove outside Missoula |
Another long drive took us to Traveler's
Rest, a traditional rest stop for centuries by the Indians. L&C
camped here both before their crossing of the mountains in 1805 and after
crossing back in 1806. Our visit was extremely hot but interesting. We learned
some about the historical archealogy that had discovered the site where
the party made musket balls and where their latrines were! It seems that
traces of mercury from "Rush's Thunderclappers," the expedition's
cure-all pills, were still present in the soil.
The final stop of the day was a beautiful overlook called Council
Grove where we got a great view of the mountains through which the party
passed. The property owner was raising llamas.
At the hotel at Missoula, we had a talk by Joe Mussulman, who runs the great
Discovering Lewis & Clark
website. He spoke to us about the music of the expedition. Frankly, we were
tired and really in no mood to hear about it, but there is much to discover
on the website about this and many other topics. We enjoyed a dinner on
our own at a local Mexican joint called El Cazador, which was pretty good
considering how far we were from Texas and Mexico! Missoula has a neat downtown
with thriving shops and restaurants. It was nice to get away on our own
for a few hours.
Day 6: Lolo Pass, Devoto Groves, the Lolo Trail, the Smoking Place, and Lolo Hot Springs
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Mary at Devoto Groves |
Today was really the climax of our trip to Montana. Heading out from Missoula
for the day, we drove for a long ways through beautiful scenery. We hadn't
seen many animals on the trip, but today we saw some deer and a baby moose!
At Lolo
Pass, we saw a very nice plaque honoring Stephen Ambrose, author of
Undaunted
Courage as well as many other great books. We also stopped at the
lovely Packer
Meadows and Devoto Groves, a beautiful and serene stand of old-growth
trees where the historian Bernard Devoto stayed while he edited his famous
edition of the Lewis
& Clark Journals. This area is one of the most remote and wild areas
remaining in the United States.
The big event of the day was a trip up into the mountains to see where Lewis
& Clark suffered their life-threatening ordeal in the crossing of the
Bitterroots. We turned down a dirt path and picked up a talkative Forest
Service ranger named Norm who had worked in the Lolo Trail area for 50 years.
We drove over extremely steep roads, climbing ever higher into the sky.
As on the day we visited Lemhi Pass, this was another time we were grateful
to have a steel-nerved driver operating a four-wheel drive vehicle! The
views of trees and mountains were amazing. Norm told us about a 1910
fire that had devastated the area. The horrible toll taken by this fire
shaped Forest Service policy on supressing wildfires for decades to come.
We learned from Norm that this particular area has been designated historic
and will never be subject to logging.
We devanned at a place called Saddle Camp, where we learned about more about
the Lolo Trail, which was
used for centuries by the Indians before L&C. Chief
Joseph and the Nez Perce fled over this trail in their final ordeal
in 1877. It was amazing to think about following in the footsteps of thousands
of native people.
We then took a hike through 2.5 miles of great wooded countryside. It was
a hot summer day, not snowy and cold as it was when Lewis and Clark passed
this way. The hike was difficult going for a slug like me, especially with
the altitude and heat, but I perservered. If nothing else, we gained a new
appreciation for L&C, who sometimes walked 35 miles a day!
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The Smoking Place |
The hike ended up at a stupendous overlook called the Smoking
Place, where Lewis smoked the peace pipe with the Indians. Dined on
subs and all the accoutrements. We were back on the road all too soon. I
wish we could have hung around all afternoon to soak up the view and our
accomplishment.
The way out was really hair-raising! The road down was very bad and rough,
not to mention extremely dusty. We heard a loud bang and sure enough one
of our rear tires was demolished. Another van suffered the same fate. Most
of us milled around in the shade, sharing bug spray, eating wild huckleberries,
and discussing the Donner Party while the History America studs changed
the tires. It was great when we finally got back to paved road!
The last stop of the very long day was Lolo
Hot Springs, where the Indians used to take the baths and where the
Expedition camped on both the outbound and homeward legs of the journey.
It looked like it might be fun to stay at the hotel on the spot today and
swim in the springs. We partook liberally of the well-stocked gift shop.
Back in Missoula, tired and covered with dust, we enjoyed a relaxing dinner
at a neat restaurant called the Hob Nob. I got a salmon burger and sweet
potato french fries. Highly recommended!
Day 7: Monture Creek and Camp Disappointment
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Mary and Liz at the buffalo jump at Camp Disappointment |
Our last day in Montana! Our first stop was Monture
Creek, known to L&C as Seaman's Creek after Lewis's dog. Gary talked
some about Seaman and evidence that the dog had gone on to live with Clark
and his family after Lewis' death just four years after the expedition.
Much of what we learned here today became the basis for the characterization
of Seaman in Ends.
Today we had the most driving of the entire trip. We got to see a lot of
little towns and the changes in the landscape from mountains and forest
to rolling hills and (seemingly) featureless plains. If you ever wondered
where Wheaties are born, wonder no more. Wheat fields as far as the eye
could see. We had a picnic lunch in Chouteau next to a General Mills elevator.
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Camp Disappointment |
The big event of the day was Camp
Disappointment, a remote site on the Blackfoot Indian reservation almost
to the Canadian border. Lewis named the site "Disappointment"
because he ventured there with a small party hoping to find that the Marias
River flowed in such a way as to expand the territory gained by the Louisiana
Purchase. He was unsuccessful. It was also here that the only fatal encounter
between the Corps of Discovery and the Indians took place. Lewis and his
men got into a scrap with some young Blackfoot men and killed two of them.
They were lucky to escape with their lives. It seems clear that Lewis made
a serious error in judgment in dividing the Corps into small groups. He
made his party vulnerable to attack, leading to an avoidable tragedy.
We made the long trek back to Great Falls. Reflecting upon the trip, I was
truly struck by the open, friendly nature of the people we met in Montana
and Idaho. They were so enthusiastic about sharing their connections and
knowledge about Lewis & Clark. They also seemed interested in us and
our reasons for visiting. It seems that the population here is small enough
and the pace unhurried enough that people have time to be interested in
others. Food for thought, and certainly a contrast to the urban rudeness
that has unfortunately become a daily part of life home in Austin.
We had a very nice farewell dinner. One of the most interesting aspects of going on a tour is being brought together with others who share your interests but may have very different life experiences. One of our intrepid van drivers during this week was a supernice guy named Ron Nigrini. Although he was very modest about it, it turned out that Ron is an accomplished singer-songwriter in Canada. He was persuaded to sing and gave us a haunting a cappella version of "Powder River," a song he had written about Custer. As always on a tour, we had all shared a lot of fun and hardships together, and it was bittersweet to say goodbye.