My Missouri River Journey

So it has been 5 days since I left Montana and all the new friends that I met in my journey of discovery down the Missouri River in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. When you experience something truly amazing, the most difficult thing is trying to share that experience with others who cannot quite relate or understand. It is not their fault, but the experience is exactly what it is: the experience. I can tell you about the stunning vistas, the mass of mosquitoes, or the personalities of the individuals but unless you personally experienced, within context, the views from Eye of the Needle, the coatings of DEET or the humor of Norman and the talents of Jessica, you will not quite understand what the experience was like for those of us that were there.

I cannot share with you all my experiences, nor will you necessarily be as excited about them as I am. But you do need to know some of the things I got to experience, so here is an encapsulated summary of my week:


Day 1, Mon 23 Jun: Travel Day. Met at RDU at 6:00AM. Flew in airplane. Met the rest of the team. Norman Askew and I, with our wrestling connection, hit it off. Arrive at Great Falls International where they have stuffed animals (not teddy bears) in the lobby. Check in at Holiday Inn- Great Falls where they have stuffed animals in the lobby. Learn what an espontoon is. Take a walk around Great Falls where I am introduced to the mosquitoes of Montana. Meredith H. and I go on a futile search for ice cream and settle for Wendy's frosty.

Day 2, Tues 24 Jun: Breakfast is tasty. We meet Carol T. Place! We see waterfalls: Rainbow, Crooked and Black Eagle. Learned that Lewis expected one waterfall and a one day portage. He finds 5 and the portage takes a month. They push and pull canoes across the prairie with prickly pear (a cactus) sticking them in the feet. Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center lets us experience the Corps. Yummy sandwiches at Giant Springs. Avoided the guided tour at the Charles Russell Museum. Am introduced to Scheel's Sports. Pack for River. Next door, Armando and Justin sick.
Day 3, Wed 25 Jun: Breakfast was sparce. Meet Wes, driver from MRO. Ulm Pishkin is where buffalo jumped and we saw snake, marmot and prairie dog colony. Stunned, just like Lewis, by the mighty Great Falls of the Missouri. Learn new word: precipate (as in "precipate off the precipice"). More yummy sandwiches. Wes takes luggage and non-river essentials to Ft. Benton. Meet canoe partner, Jessica. Go back to Scheel's. Dinner at Bert and Ernie's where I enjoy good company, bison burgers and Fat Tire and am introduced to Pig's Ass.

Day 4, Thurs 26 Jun: Breakfast better. Look at Decision Point, the confluence of Missouri and Marias Rivers. Wes drives us to Coal Banks to put in the river. Meet MRO Crew. Jessica has queen chair and new nickname: Cleopatra. I am Diesel. Paddle through cliffs, touch cliffs, admire cliffs. Watergun fight. Get to campsite. Happy Hour. Food and service amazing. Peter rescues runaway kayak. Campfire includes camp songs and "Frosty the Snowman" (sung in June, sung in French), and a not so scary scary story about a toe.

Day 5, Fri 27 Jun: Up before 5:00 and there's coffee! Watch sunrise hit cliffs. Blueberry Pancakes and Canadian Bacon for breakfast! Climb to Eye of the Needle. Look down at camp. Boys pee off cliff. Eat again. Hike into Neat Coulee. Narrow canyon and gorgeous bluffs. Definitely worth the effort. Canoe with Jamie. Camp at Hole-in-the-wall. Mike and Meredith hike in with ice! Pasta for dinner. Stay up really late to watch stars under clear and perfect "Big Sky".


Day 6, Sat 28 Jun: French Toast! We hustle to help break down camp. Hike up to Hole-in-the-Wall. Pretty views and no one falls. Matt, the Sheik, is my canoe partner. Slaughter River is where we camp and one of the places that the Corps camped on both the away and return journey. Leisurely stoll after dinner. I am pooped, fall asleep at the campfire.

Day 7, Sun 29 Jun: Karli is my paddle partner today. I have too much coffee. Need to stop and pee. Flotilla with Loren, Meredith, Renee and Adam. We are the last ones back to Judith Landing. Bridge makes us sad. Wish we could stay on river. Bison burgers for lunch! Cheer the MRO crew. Shower at Grand Union is perfect. Walk along levee. See Carol T. Place again. Dinner at Grand Union where there are toasts and Peter makes us sad. Hang out with Mike, Meredith and Mr. Scottie! Scottie reveals that this year's Summer Celebration was the first one he's missed in 25 years. He could not do both the Summer Celebration and the NCCAT trip and he chose us!

Day 8, Mon 30 Jun: Closing circle, lots of touching testimonies. We are a family. Norm and I walk to Ft. Benton High School, talk with some administrators there. Say goodbye to Keith and Mr. Scottie. Back to Great Falls. Ride plane. Minneapolis-St Paul. Ride plane. RDU. Get concerts from Meredith and Jessica. Hugs and farewells. Fond memories.

When in Montana

Just got back from Montana. Spent 4 days on the Missouri River on a near perfect trip. I highly recommend Missouri River Outfitters if you want to experience the Missouri River the way that Lewis and Clark did. If you are in the area, look up Mike and Meredith, they are amazing and will take good care of you. Great hospitality, friendly service, and amazing food all within the pristine setting of the scenic Misouri River. Five stars!

Missouri River Outfitters website

If you are lucky, you'll also run into one of my favorite people, Mr. Scottie Peters. We call him Mr. Scottie and he took care of the NCCAT crew (with the help of Renee, John, Whitney, Lona and Neal).

Lewis and Clark

Today is a history lesson because on Monday, June 23, I will be departing Raleigh-Durham for Great Falls, Montana. The seminar I am attending is on Lewis and Clark and is through the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). We will be studying Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery as they voyage west through unknown territory.

Louisiana was one of the hallmark moments in American history. Thomas Jefferson sent a delegation to France to purchase the strategically important port city of New Orleans. New Orleans, with its location close to the Gulf of Mexico, controlled all traffic in and out of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi not only was the western boundary of the fledging United States, but an important means of transporting goods from the Ohio River Valley.

Napoleon, facing mounting costs of wars in Europe and maintaining an empire in the western hemisphere, made a desperate offer of 15 million dollars for not just New Orleans, but the entire territory of Louisiana. In what would later be a very controversial decision, Jefferson approved the appropriation of funds to purchase Louisiana.

The Louisiana Purchase resulted in:

• Doubling the size of the United States, which begins the perpetuation of the idea of “Manifest Destiny”
  
• One of the first major tests of Presidential powers. Many people in Congress believed that Jefferson overstepped his powers in acquiring land without Congressional approval.


• Political, social, and economic issues that come with the acquisition of such a large swatch of land.
  
• In order to better inventory and survey the land, prepare for the Natives and determine the value of the purchase, Jefferson employed Meriweather Lewis and William Clark to lead a team called the Corps of the Discovery.
  

The Corps of Discovery departed in 1803 north of St Louis on a mission to map the newly acquired land and record and observe the plants, animals and people of the new territory. The Corps were led by army veterans Meriweather Lewis and William Clark. With them were an additional 31 individuals (and one dog, Seaman) who who were willing to brave the unknown journey west into some of the most scenic and wild places in North America.

From the bayous of Louisiana to the scenic vistas of Glacier National Park, the Louisiana Purchase added an incredibly diverse topography to the United States. Journeying from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark lead a three year voyage of discovery, adventure and hope through new frontiers and with new people. Next week, I get to experience some of their journey through experiences in and around Great Falls and a few days retracing their voyage along the Missouri River.

For more information on Lewis and Clark's adventures, check out these websites:

Discovering Lewis and Clark

National Geographic: Lewis and Clark Interactive

PBS: Lewis and Clark

National Park Service: Lewis and Clark Historic Trail