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Trek II - Willamette River, OR Trek III - Western Lewis & Clark |
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| The Background Story-part 2 | ||
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When Val and I go on trips we most often take the kayak along just in case there is an opportunity to go paddling. One weekend we went down to Long Beach, Washington and visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Fort Canby State Park. After viewing the exhibit the story of their long river journey left quite an impression on me. That experience, combined with the many times I have passed Lewis and Clark Trail signs on the roads throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho, began to create the idea that my paddle-pedal journey could retrace the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. The route follows the Missouri River upstream from St. Louis through to Montana, then over the mountains to the Pacific. I started to collect information and read books on the subject.
I was developing a desire to see this part of the country for myself. I had previously been to Montana and toured Glacier National Park with friends Dick and Pat in 1996. I knew all about "Big Sky" country but had never been to eastern Montana, or followed the L&C trail for any great distance. I had mentioned to Val several times about traveling to the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. She was anticipating a week off in July 2000. When the time came she said, "Let's go", so we did. We covered over 2,600 miles in 5 days!
We drove through Washington, Idaho and Montana and then just 2 miles inside North Dakota to the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Then we followed the L&C trail as closely as we could by road back to the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers in eastern Washington. Read the story of this 5-day exploratory trip in the Western Trial Reconnaissance.
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