Rollin' on the River
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LEWIS & CLARK, Chapter 2: IN WHICH WE HOOK UP WITH THE MIGHTY MO
The second day of this adventure began with a 40° local temp and reports of snow falling in South Dakota. None is forecast for Missouri or Iowa, but that can change quickly. How convenient it would have been, back in 1804, if Lewis and Clark had been able to see the forecast on the Weather Channel web site as we can.
Wood River |
Because the Mississippi River has shifted, Camp Wood's actual site is uncertain. Today, it may be in Missouri or even under the Mississippi River, but the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site has been built at Hartford, IL, to honor the Corps of Discovery's winter on what was then the Illinois side of the river. The building is now complete but won't open until December.
Lewis & Clark State Historic Site and Park (Hartford, IL) |
Missouri River at Frontier Park |
Interested in visiting the privately owned Lewis and Clark Center in St. Charles, we waited outside the grassroots museum with an increasingly impatient group of 3rd graders, who had come there on a field trip.
Private museum in St. Charles, MO |
When we returned to the local tourist center and inquired about the center, someone on staff telephoned the museum's owner. By the time we returned to the little museum, the manager had arrived and the children were entering. We quickly realized we would have a long wait and decided to move on.
Along the banks of the Missouri on State Road 94, we visited the Weldon Spring Conservation Area, an 8,400-acre state park. We took a brief walk on the Lewis Trail (but not on the Clark Trail) and drove down to a boat ramp on the Missouri. Since the sun had warmed things up, temps were in the mid-60s by early afternoon.
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Lewis Trail, Weldon Spring Conservation Area |
Characterized as a quiet, serene village, the entire town of Arrow Rock, MO (est. 1829), has been identified as a national historic landmark. Lewis and Clark noted the nearby Arrow Rock, for which the village was named, in their journal. Once a thriving river port, the town is now mostly a historic tourist attraction.
Arrow Rock village street |
By the time we arrived at Fort Osage near Sibley, MO, it had closed for the day. Because of its location overlooking the bends and currents of the Missouri, the site was noted by Lewis and Clark as a likely spot for a fort. Four years later, Clark returned to build the outpost, the second constructed in the Louisiana Purchase.
We pushed on to St. Joseph, where we spent the night, having traveled the breadth of the state of Missouri, following the Missouri River and the footsteps of Lewis and Clark.
Miles today: 326
States today: 2 (IL, MO)
TUESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2002
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Old Train Depot, St. Charles, MO |
Weldon Spring Conservation Area, MO |
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Weldon Spring Conservation Area, MO |