Atchison, Kansas and Lewis and Clark State Park, Missouri

On July 4, 1804, the Corps of Discovery continued to travel north on the Missouri. Depending on the terrain, they would camp either on the west side of the river (Kansas) or the east side (Missouri). At times they would choose to camp on an island. On September 1, 2015, Gene and I visited sites on both sides of the river that honor the Corps of Discovery. We have noticed that in most sites, the flag flown is the one in use at the time of the expedition. It has 15 stars and 15 stripes even though, at the time, there were already 17 states. Up until then, whenever a state was added, a star and a stripe were added to the flag. If congress had not implemented a statute to limit the stripes to 13, today the flag could have pinstripes. I for one am very happy about the decision.


Atchison, Kansas, has honored the expedition with a beautiful pavilion, and a pathway along the river approximately follows the Lewis and Clark Trail.














Naturally, the commemorative parks are located adjacent to the Missouri River. It is easy to see how the river got it's name, "Big Muddy." Muddy it is, but pretty none the less.

One of the plaques at the pavilion singled out Lewis' Newfoundland dog named Seaman who proved himself to be a valuable asset to the Corps of Discovery with his skills in hunting and guarding. As noted here, Seaman endeared himself to the members of the expedition.



Lewis and Clark arrived at this location around the 4th of July. On the same day, they discovered a creek entering the river that had not been named. In honor of Independence Day, they called the creek Independence Creek.

"pass a Creek on the L.S. about 15 yards wide cuming out of an extensive Prarie as this Creek has no name, and this day is the 4th of July, we name this Independance us. Creek"                                                                                       William Clark

On the other side of the river in Missouri, we visited Lewis and Clark State Park. We were highly impressed with the park. It had a spacious campground area (although we did not camp there), and expansive grounds next to the lake that was formed as the river's course changed, called an oxbow lake. The lake was named Lewis and Clark Lake in their honor.

 

William Clark described the lake in his journal as “full of Geese & Goslings.” Today birdwatchers favor the area, which continues to attract a wide variety of water birds. In fact, we also found the lake to have a large population of geese.

The State Park houses a wonderful tribute to the entire Corps of Discovery called the Lewis and Clark Plaza. The plaza includes a monument located next to the lake in the shape of a circle with a compass in the center. Around the compass are panels the size of benches that bear the names of the members of the Corps of Discovery. 



The plaza also includes hiking trails and items related to the Indians in the area such as the tipi.