           
Steve's Journal
Thursday July 03, 2003
Our first day, at first I was worried about not having anything to write as up until an hour out of St. Louis it was uneventful. That all changed when the gay couple next to me decided to wrestle in the seats. The reason I mention that they were gay has nothing to do with being judgmental, but has to do with the fact that they were freakin’ wrestled in the seats.
St. Louis is hot and humid. The hotel is OK, but when we checked in they gave us a room that the key did not work. When we finally got a key that worked, we found that someone was already in the room. Finally they gave us a room that was empty. The room is nice and clean. Had a heck of a time finding a restaurant that was open, but ended up in Applebees. Next stop Kansas City.
Friday July 04, 2003
Hot, I tell you it was Hot!!! When it gets this hot and humid they start talking about something called a Heat Index. I don’t know what that crazy talk is. All I know it was hot. I think it was something like 98 to 1,000,000 degrees or something like that. I left a little bit of myself in Missouri from all of the sweating I did.
St. Louis was pretty interesting. We started the day at Camp Wood or Camp Dubouis. They seem to call it both. It is in Illinois and was where the Corp of Discovery spent the winter of 1803. From Clark’s point of view it was far enough away from St. Louis that the men were kept out of trouble. We saw our first keel boat replica.
In St. Louis we had to do battle with a parade. It was Fair St. Louis in downtown St. Louis and we were caught in the middle of marching bands, cheesy balloon sculptures and Shriners (actually the Elks were having their convention). We finally made it to the Gateway Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion. Since it looked like it was going to take over an hour to go to the top of the Arch we decided to forego this part of the trip. We did visit the museum and saw an interesting actor portray George Drouillard. He was basically the third most important man on the trip. He was the main interpreter.
We left St. Louis and went on to St. Charles. There we saw replicas of the keel boat and the
Pirogues. I was impressed by the size of the boats. We then departed and drove across Missouri. It seems like every 50 miles they had either a porn store or firework stand. What’s up with that? Of course with the amount of firework stands we saw made for some interesting displays later on.
We finally reached Kansas City and went to the Kansas City Royals game. It was blasted hot. All you could do is sit in the seats and sweat. The wind was calm and the air thick. The Royals beat the Tigers. We were then treated to a fireworks show. Bob and I watched it from in front of the gas station by the Holiday Inn. We could also see quite a few other displays (both legal and illegal) from our room. It was a good day all in all.
On to Sioux City.
Saturday July 05, 2003
Well here we are in North Sioux City, South Dakota. We are under a Tornado Watch and hoping it does not turn into a Tornado Warning.
Today saw us starting at the Truman Historic Site and Library and ending in Sioux City, SD. On the way we went to Fort Leavenworth, Council Bluff and Omaha.
The Truman site was pretty interesting. It is made up of the house he and Bess lived in from 1919 until her death in 1982 (Truman died in 1972)
and his library. The house was cool. It was like visiting your Grandma’s house.
Because of stipulations in her will, the house is basically the way it was on
the day she died in 1982. It was weird seeing photos in $1.00 frames from
Thrifty Drugs on her mantle. The tour was also interesting in that we had
National Park Employees on the tour that brought up questions about how the
house was restored or kept preserved. Fort Leavenworth is a huge military
base that has a Lewis and Clark site but also has a beautiful monument to the
Buffalo Soldiers. We also saw a cut in the side of the mountain caused by the
many wagons that traversed the Oregon, California and Mormon trails.
Council Bluffs will always be memorable to me as it is where Bob and I got
really, really lost. We were trying to find the Council Bluffs location where
Lewis and Clark met with their first Indians. Based on the maps in both the
National Geographic Lewis and Clark book and the AAA book we drove all over
Council Bluffs. Basically both books were wrong and both books suck. Council
Bluffs also sucks because they did not have very good signs. We finally bought a
Rand McNally map and found it. It was well worth it. After driving through a
huge thunderstorm we reached the site just as the sun came out. It was awesome.
The view of Council Bluffs and Omaha was beautiful. We then drove towards
the storms approaching Sioux City and now are sitting in our room at the Hampton
Inn in North Sioux City wondering if our county is going to be put under a
Tornado Watch. Tomorrow we are off to Sioux City, Vermillion, Yankton and
Pierre to see more Lewis and Clark stuff (if we make it through the storm).
Sunday July 06, 2003
After an exciting night of thunderstorm and tornado warnings we set off to see
Sioux City Iowa. We visited Sergeant Floyd’s grave first thing. The grave is
marked by an impressive obelisk and an equally impressive view of the Missouri
river and Sioux City. The sky was clear and the temperature was quite
comfortable. After visiting the previous home sites of my Sister-in-law,
Carla, we set off to see the interpretive center in Sioux City. Due to it being
Sunday, it did not open until noon. Needless to say we did not visit it. We did
see the Sgt. Floyd River Boat. After leaving Sioux City we then ventured
to Vermillion, SD and saw the Spirit Mound. Lewis and Clark visited this site on
their trip. Legend had it that “little people” inhabited this site and if people
visited it they were killed. Lewis and Clark risked it and climbed to the top of
the mound. In order to get a sense of what it was like, Bob and I climbed to the
top. The cool thing is that South Dakota is restoring the area to the way it was
in 1804. We walked amongst tall prairie grasses and wild flowers to get to the
summit. It was impressive. From Vermillion we went on to Yankton in
search of the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center. After seeing much of the Lewis and
Clark Recreation Area we finally discovered we had to cross over into Nebraska
to find the center. We got a nice view of the lake but not much Lewis and Clark
stuff. Once seeing Yankton we set off for Pierre, SD. On this leg of the
trip we saw vast areas of farm land and prairie grass. It was beautiful. We even
saw antelope playing in the grass. During the day we saw a mole, prairie dog,
deer, antelope and a pheasant. Ending our day in Pierre, we saw the
Capitol and I waded into the Missouri River. Tomorrow sees us visiting
Mobridge, Washburn and Minot. Hello Mandan.
Monday July 07, 2003
Monday saw us leaving Fort Pierre, SD. Sunday night I actually waded into the Missouri River. From Fort Pierre we drove to Mobridge, SD. On the way we got a little lost by missing a turn. After a 30 mile detour, we were back on track.
We arrive in Mobridge and went out to the Sitting Bull and Sakakawea (sp) Memorials. The Sakakawea memorial was another obelisk. The Sitting Bull Memorial is his actual grave site. One interesting thing about Mobridge is that it is the ancestral home of my good buddy Brian Meisch.
After leaving Mobridge we journeyed up to North Dakota and I can officially say
that I have visited all of the lower 48 states. North Dakota is flat, flat,
flat. It is however, beautiful. Most of the area is devoted to some sort of
grass farming. Hay, barley and wheat fields dot the landscape. In
Bismarck we visited Fort Abraham Lincoln the site of George Armstrong Custer’s
last command. It was from here that the 7th Cavalry left to go to the Little Big
Horn. The facility consists of recreated buildings as all of the buildings were
scavenged after the military pulled out in the 1890’s. It was cool to see the
home of Custer and even cooler as we were guided by a “re-enactor” who played
the role of “Laundress”. From Bismarck we drove to Fort Mandan. I was
disappointed in Fort Mandan. While the recreation of the fort was wonderful it
was basically antiseptic. It could easily have been the fort on Tom Sawyers
Island at Disneyland. The interpretive center was also equally disappointing. It
was very “high level” and offered no real new data. The drive from
Washburn to Minot was awesome. Even though I slept for 20 minutes the rest of
the view was beautiful. Once again grasslands dotted the landscape but now small
ponds and lakes also added to the landscape. The sky was a deep blue and was
covered with fluffy white clouds. Minot is not very notable. The Holiday
Inn is very nice. The cool thing is that the hotel has a quasi casino in the bar
and I won $200.00 on a pull tab card!!!! Tomorrow will see us visiting
Fort Buford, Pompey’s Pillars and Little Bighorn National Battlefield. It will
be a lot of driving.
Tuesday July 08, 2003
Tuesday did not see much Lewis and Clark activities. We
started by driving from Minot to Fort Buford on the western side of North
Dakota. Fort Buford was one of the forts built at the confluence of the
Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Lewis and Clark suggested this site for a fort
and not only did the military build one there, but John Jacob Astor had a fort
built about a mile away. The name of that for was called Fort Union and it
acted as the main trading post for the upper Missouri River.
From Fort Union we drove into Montana towards the Little
Big Horn National Battlefield Monument. What an experience. Of all of the
battlefield sites I have been to, this one is by far the best for giving you a
sense of the scope of the battle. Throughout the site, markers denote where
soldiers of the 7th Cavalry died. The trails and brochures also give
details in regards to the what, where and how things happened.
Arriving in Billings, MT ended our day but we did see some
beautiful scenery. The hills and plains of Montana are decorated with lush farm
lands of differing grains. We also saw antelope and a dead moose (no kidding).
Tomorrow will have us visiting Pompey’s Pillar, the
confluence of the Marias and Missouri rivers, Great Falls and Helena.
Wednesday July 9, 2003
On this day we visited the only spot where the Corps of
Discovery left its mark. On the return trip William Clark carved his name on a
rock formation in present day Montana. He named the formation Pompey’s Pillar
after Sacagawea’s son Jean Baptiste (who they called Pomp). After he carved his
name the spot came to be known to other travelers as a spot to carve their
names. We saw names from 1823 to the early 1900’s.
After leaving Pompeys Pillar we then drove north back to
the Missouri River. On this trip we covered some very beautiful countryside.
Heck we went through Metra, Montana!!! Actually we went through everything from
high desert to pine forest. We saw Prairie Dogs and Antelope on the drive
north. We also saw some cool old towns like Lewiston.
Upon reaching the Missouri, we drove out to the confluence
of the Marias and the Missouri. It was at this point where Lewis and Clark had
to make an important decision about their trip. Should they follow the Marias
River or the Missouri? Neither river stood out a thse actual Missouri so they
went on instinct and followed the river that exhibited typical rivers being fed
from the mountains (it was flowing clear). They chose correctly.
From the confluence we drove to Fort Benton and saw a
statue to a dog named Shep. Shep was a dog whose owner died and was shipped
back east for burial. After the owner was shipped, Shep met every train that
entered Fort Benton. Shep ultimately met his demise when he slipped on a train
track in front of a train.
From Fort Benton we then went to Great Falls. At this spot
the Corps had to carry their canoes 18 miles around the falls. The land
consisted of rocks, prickly pear and cactus. It was exhausting to the men.
Bob and I became exhausted looking for the freakin’ falls.
Unfortunately the falls have been brought under control by dams. We did end up
driving out to Ryan Dam and had an awesome view of what was left of the falls.
We then ended up in Helena Montana where we visited the state capitol and the
downtown area. It was a nice city.
Tomorrow we finally see the headwaters of the Missouri
river and cross the Rockies into Oregon. We are having a great time on the trip
of our life time.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Man did we drive today!!! 565 miles on the old odometer by
the time it was all done. We started in Helena, MT and ended in Walla Walla,
Washington. All I can say is that the fight song from the old California Angels
keeps going through my head: “From Walla Walla, Washington to Kalamazoo, it’s a
beautiful day for a ball game, for a ball game today.”
Today we saw the headwaters of the Missouri. At this
point, the Jefferson, the Madison and the Gallatin come together to form the
mighty Missouri River. At the start of our trip I dipped my foot in the river
in front of the Gateway Arch signifying the end of the Missouri. At the halfway
point in Pierre, South Dakota I waded in to signify the middle of the trip. So
at the headwaters I also waded in. It was cool both literally and
figuratively. The USGS puts the headwaters at the confluence of the Madison and
the Jefferson but Lewis and Clark put it at the mouth of the Madison-Jefferson
and the Gallatin. Bob and I are siding with Lewis and Clark.
After leaving this site we drove and drove and drove. We
went over Lolo Pass and visited the visitor center. The terrain and vegetation
was awesome over Lolo Pass. One thing that stuck out was how thick it was. How
Lewis and Clark made it through is a miracle in itself.
After dealing with a last minute detour, we ended our trip
in Walla Walla, Washington. Not a lot of Lewis and Clark but we saw a lot of
what they saw.
Tomorrow we end at the Pacific.
Friday July 11, 2003
The day started for us by leaving Walla Walla, Washington
and heading towards the coast. The Columbia River is huge. We caught up with
the Columbia at the Oregon/Washington border and we basically followed it all
the way to the coast.
On the road we drove past Mount Hood. Man is it tall.
Here it is July and it still has snow on it.
After a days drive of 379 miles we finally reached Fort
Clatsop. This is the site where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805. Of
the three forts they built on their trip, this was the smallest.
We walked around Fort Clatsop for awhile and then headed to
Cape Disappointment. Cape Disappointment is a spit of land that juts out into
the Pacific. A lighthouse is now there along with a Lewis and Clark
Interpretive Center. The center is currently being set up to display Lewis and
Clark information so we had to settle for computer print-outs and Xerox copies
of this information. Needless to say, we were disappointed.
Our last Lewis and Clark site was appropriate as it was
their last campsite prior to their moving to Fort Clatsop. It is also the site
that Clark took his last measurements for his map of their journey. Washington
has a memorial there that consists of an odd looking statue of Lewis and Clark.
It is a wooden statue that was carved by chainsaw.
Friday night saw us celebrating our trip at the Lucky
Labrador Brewery in Portland. It was a good night and a great trip.
On Saturday we head for home.
Saturday July 12, 2003
Well we finished the Lewis and Clark trail and now needed to get home.
Oregon has this weird law that requires attendants to pump gas for you. They do not have self-serve. So returning our rental car was now a challenge in that we had to find gas. There are no gas stations within 5 miles of the airport. We finally found one and then had to wait for the girl to pump the gas, help other customers and then come back and take the nozzle out. Frustrating.
Of course this pails in comparison to what Delta Airlines had in store
for us. Our flight out of Portland went off with only one minor hitch. They
could not find our reservations at the electronic check-in. They finally found
it and we were off to Salt Lake City (we had a cheap fare). In Salt Lake City we
visited Delta's Crown Club which was very nice. The Crown Club is like
Continental's Presidents Club which is a club that for a yearly fee, members
have a quiet place to relax before boarding the plane (plus they have free
beer). After relaxing in the club, we then boarded our plane (we had a three
hour layover). We waited about 20 minutes as they told us there were mechanical
problems. They then told us that we needed to go to another gate. We scurried
across the airport to find our plane. We waited about 30 minutes and then
boarded. This was no real problem but then we watched as maintenance workers
scurried in and out of the cockpit. This went on for about an hour until they
told us to get off the plane. We waited about an hour in the terminal until we
decided to try to get on another flight. This went well except for the guy who
was verbally abusing the Delta employees. He started on our original plane and
kept it up until Delta called the police. We then watched the police escort him
out of the airport. I finally got home (well we had to go to LAX first) around
1:00 am five hours later than we had planned. All in all this was our
only issue on our trip and was minor compared to what a great time we had.
It is good to be home.
Sunday January 01, 2006
testing
Sunday January 01, 2006
testing
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