Monday, May 31, 2021

Lewis & Clark Trip Day 24: Montana to Idaho (5/31/2021)

Monday, May 31, 2021
Happy Memorial Day!

~From 5/26-27/1999, Ada & Bert S stayed at the Western Heritage Inn, with "stuffed animals" in the lobby. They also visited Montana State University, where their grandson, Ryan, was to attend the next year.~

1999: Western Heritage Inn lobby;
2021: We also stayed here and those
stuffed animals are still in the lobby!
1999: Montana State University;
2021: Ryan has since graduated and moved on to bigger things!
Museum of the Rockies (founded 1957, building 1989)
Spring has recently arrived in Bozeman, MT
Prehistoric sharks diorama
Why are dinosaurs found with their heads bent so far back?
Because that raptor attack was so terrible; this is
a Tenontosaurus tilletti skeleton (KSS)
A red-haired Deinonychus antirrhopus attacks a
Tenontosaurus tilletti (KSS)
On the other side you see their skeletons (KSS)
Not only does the Museum of the Rockies have the largest
collection of dinosaur remains in the country, it also has the
largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull ever discovered; pictured
is the most complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton in the world
The museum also had an exhibit of Viking
burial boat artifacts from the Gustavianum
Uppsala University Museum in Sweden
Replica keelboat at the Museum of the Rockies
An outline of the United States with the "Rockies"
A bit more hiking at the Madison Buffalo Jump State Park (KSS)
Toxicoscordion paniculatum/
Foothill Death Camas
Something bushy
Papaver pygmaeum/Alpine Glacier Poppy
Madison Buffalo Jump
Whitehall, MT has a dozen murals depicting scenes from
the time Lewis and Clark were in the area; this one
is #7 (1999, by Kit Mather) depicting York and Sakagawea
#2 is a Corps of Discovery montage
#3 is Sakagawea
#1 shows the Corps members pulling the canoes upstream

*On 8/8/1805, Sakagawea recognized a promontory that her people called Beaverhead, and it was near to where the Shoshone spent their summers.*

Beaverhead Rock at Beaverhead Rock State Park
Nearby is a Antigone canadensis/Sandhill Crane nesting site
Sculpture at the overlook of the nesting site;
we could see tall white birds out by the lake

*On 8/13/1805, William Clark climbed a high point of limestone rocks to survey the area of Beaverhead Rock and Beaverhead River.*

Clark's Lookout State Park in Dillon, MT
The Dillon Visitor Center located in an old railroad depot
was closed today; many places were closed for the holiday

*On 8/9/1805, Meriwether Lewis took a scouting party overland to look for portage and to make contact with the Shoshone tribe. Meanwhile William Clark led the rest of the group up the Beaverhead River, which was arduous work as the men usually had to walk in the water and pull the canoes over shoals.*

*On 8/17/1805, William Clark, with Touissant Charbonneau and Sakagawea, met up with Meriwether Lewis who had brought a few Shoshone with him. It turned out that the Shoshone chief, Cameahwait, is the brother of Sakagawea. The Corps of Discovery set up camp, calling it Camp Fortunate.*

*On 8/18/1805, William Clark and a party of men departed from Camp Fortunate to explore the land. Sakagawea and Touissant Charbonneau accompanied Clark as far as the Shoshone village.*

*On 8/20/1805, Meriwether Lewis established Cache #3.

*On 8/22/1805, Sakagawea and Touissant Charbonneau returned to Camp Fortunate along with Chief Cameahwait and about 50 men, women and children.*

Camp Fortunate: Lewis & Clark Historical Marker
Clark Canyon Lake, created by Clark Canyon Dam (1961-
1964), now covers the site of Camp Fortunate and Cache #3
An example of the dugout canoes the Corps of Discovery
dragged up Beaverhead River

*On 8/26/1805, the Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Fortunate and crossed the Continental Divide along with Cameahwait and all the Shoshone visitors.

*On 7/8/1806, on the return trip, William Clark and his party arrived at Camp Fortunate to dig open Cache #3. It was the first time since Christmas that they had real tobacco.*

This type of buck and pole fence is typical of western Montana
A beaver lodge (KSS)

*Back on 8/12/1805, Meriwether Lewis and his party crossed the Continental Divide, and by doing so they left the territory of the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery believed they would then see a vast plain to the west with a mighty river flowing to the Pacific Ocean. Alas, all they saw were more mountains.*

*On 8/12/1805, as Meriwether Lewis's party neared the Continental Divide, High McNeal stood straddling the rivulet and thanked God he had lived to bestride the mighty and heretofore endless Missouri River.*

A rivulet near Lemhi Pass and the Continental Divide
Heading into Lemhi Pass
Lemhi Pass at the Continental Divide
Lemhi Pass view back to the east
There is snow up here!
Still snow as we headed down from the Continental Divide
Okay, so no one has been plowing this dirt/gravel road!
Looks like Dianthus
This Lewis & Clark Historical Marker acknowledges
that we do not know the exact route taken
by the Corps of Discovery
Which way did they go?

*Back on 8/13/1805, Meriwether Lewis finally saw a Shoshone man with two women and some dogs, To signal his peaceful intentions, he set aside his rifle and pack, then unfurled a flag and walked toward them by himself. Eventually the wary Shoshone did lead Lewis and his party to their village to speak with Chief Cameahwait.*

Flag Unfurling Lewis & Clark Historical Marker
The flag unfurling event took place somewhere west of the Continental Divide

*On 8/30/1805, the Corps of Discovery heads north, while the Shoshone move east to buffalo/bison hunting grounds.*

This was a surprise to find in Salmon, ID,
on the road from Lemhi Pass (KSS)
Also in Salmon, ID is a statue (2005, by Bill Kranstover
and Adrian Prazten) of Seaman, where he stands
watch in front of a dog park
Statue (2005, by Stephen Conn) of
Sakagawea holding Jean Baptiste, at the
Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural
and Educational Center
Next: Lewis & Clark Trip Day 25.

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