St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri

Gene and I are so excited to be starting our long-awaited adventure to learn more about the Lewis & Clark Expedition by following the Lewis & Clark trail from Missouri to the Pacific coast in Oregon. We are starting out our trip in St. Louis and have already visited some of the sites related to the initiation of the expedition.

The exploration of the western portion of North America was the vision of Thomas Jefferson. For decades, Jefferson had tried unsuccessfully to staff a party to explore the northwest and attempt to discover a northwest passage to improve trade with the west coast and other nations. Other nations, primarily France and Spain, had interests in the land and resources west of the Mississippi River; which was already inhabited by numerous tribes native to the land. In 1803, sold 828,000 square miles to the U.S. The transaction was dubbed the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase of the land cleared the way for Lewis & Clark to travel west unhindered by other foreign powers. Thomas Jefferson's charge to Meriwether Lewis was to "explore the Missouri river, and such principal streams of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregan [sic], Colorado, or any other river, may offer the most direct and practicable water-communication across the continent, for the purposes (of commerce."

It is fitting that we begin our travels here in Missouri where the co-leaders and the other brave men of the expedition launched their boats on May 14 of 1804. In tribute to Thomas Jefferson, we began our own travels by visiting the city of St. Louis and especially the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The Gateway Arch is a fitting memorial to Jefferson's personal interest and role in expanding the borders of the country and St. Louis' role in the Westward Expansion. Countless individuals traveled through St. Louis on their way west. The Arch itself is an engineering marvel, and I am certain Thomas Jefferson would approve given his interest in science and engineering.

Next we visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Hartford, Illinois just the other side of the Mississippi River very near where Clark and the other men set up camp in December of 1803. The men camped there for approximately five months during which time Clark trained the men, established disciplinary order, and made preparations for the departure. The center includes a replica of Fort River Dubois where the party camped and trained.

 At the nearby Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower, we had a wonderful view of the Missouri River entering the Mississippi River. We could easily imagine the men making their preparations for the expedition and setting out.

In the picture to the right, the darker water on the far side of the Mississippi River is the Missouri River pouring into the Mississippi. That is the point at which The expedition embarked to explore the west, and especially to find the origin of the Missouri River and a waterway to the Pacific Ocean.

 Here we are with the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in the background. What a gorgeous day to be following in the footsteps of great explorers.




Finally, we visited the Lewis & Clark Boathouse and Nature Center located on the bank of the Missouri River. Unfortunately the boats were out on tour, be we found the museum fascinating. The exhibits described the entire expedition with excellent displays. After visiting the museum, we had plenty of time to visit historic St. Charles and enjoy the ice cream at Kilwin's.

Tomorrow we head west. Updates will follow.