Enjoying The Sights and Sounds
I’m taking a couple of respite days at a beautiful campground in a state park that sits on the Missouri River (where else??). I’ve driven 1377.7 miles so far, which works out to about 230 miles a day, which is fine by me. That kind of distance allows me to make multiple stops and not feel rushed. (although sometimes I do feel like I’m packing so much in that I don’t have time to really “see” whatever it is I’m looking at). As I drive between stops I reflect on the history I am witnessing and try to pay attention to the way our history is being explained, interpreted, shown to us. What gets left out? What gets highlighted? What gets romanticized, and why? What gets glossed over, and why? I think about what’s happening today and worry about how our current times will be explained, interpreted and shown to future generations. Whose “truth” do we have access to when we study history? Our track record as a country isn’t always very good.
With all that in mind, here’s my report for today:
Roadtripping in 1804
I decided today I would share the voices of the travelers themselves. One of the beautiful things about this trip is how well documented it was. Meticulous notes were made daily, sometimes multiple entries, either by Lewis, Clark, one of the other men, or a combination of them. So readers get different perspectives of the adventures they had, sometimes in amazing, vivid detail. I chose a few entries from the time period that covers their voyage up the portion of the river I just came from and where I am headed in the next couple days. For the most part I am quoting verbatim from the journals, which were famously collected in one place in modern times by Professor Gary Moulton, on the faculty of the University of Nebraska. It should be noted that none of these explorers were professional writers. Their spelling is atrocious, and at times it is difficult to know what they were trying to say. Moulton provides some guidance and I will use his annotations where I think they will be helpful.
It should also be noted that this was considered a military expedition all the way. The men were inducted into the military before leaving St. Louis, and carried the ranks from private to Captain. Military organization and discipline was important because they had no idea what or who they were going to encounter, and had to be ready to fight if necessary. President Jefferson made it clear to Lewis that he was to avoid violent confrontations if at all possible. But since they didn’t know what they might be up against and had heard that some of the tribes were hostile and violent towards white Europeans, they knew they had to be ready for anything. Hence they were armed to the teeth and the men were ready to muster if needed. Sleeping or getting drunk while at your post was a big deal.
Despite the fears and uncertainties, the goal was to bring the tribes “into the fold,” so to speak. Lewis was under orders to deliver the message that the Americans were now in control of the territory and not the French or Spanish, and that they now had a new “father.” The expedition was instructed to learn what they could from the different tribes they would encounter, and develop friendly relations with them. Besides conducting trade and commerce in the short term, the ultimate end game of Jefferson was to “civilize” all the Indians by “inviting” them to become Americans and teaching them the European ways of agriculture and farming. Jefferson’s fantasy was that they would allow themselves to be subjugated to the American European culture and values and religion and would be happy to live peacefully alongside the settlers that would be flooding in. What hubris! We all know how that turned out…
Here are some tidbits directly from the journals:
June 28, 1804
[Ordway] I went out hunting 2 1/2 miles & passed a fine Spring Running from under the hills. I drank hearty of the water & found it the best & coolest I have seen in the country.
June 29, 1804
[Clark] A Court martial will Set this day at 11 oClock, to Consist of five members, for the trial of John Collins … Charged with getting drunk on his post this morning out of whiskey put under his Charge as a Sentinal… To this charge the prisoner plead not guilty…The Court after mature deliveration on the evidence abduced &c. are of oppinion that the prisoner is Guilty of the Charge exibited against him, and do therefore Sentence him to recive one hundred Lashes on his bear Back.
June 30, 1804
[Clark] a verry large wolf Came to the bank and looked at us this morning…
July 1, 1804
[Clark] last night one of the Sentinals Chang’d (challenged) either a man or Beast, which run off, all prepared for action…
July 4, 1804
[Clark] The Plains of this countrey are covered with a Leek Green Grass, well calculated for the sweetest and most norushing hay - interspersed with Cops of trees, Spreding ther lofty branchs over Pools Springs or Brooks of fine water. Groops of Shrubs covered with the most delicious froot is to be seen in every direction, and nature appears to have exerted herself to butify the Senery by the variety of flours rising Delicately and highly flavered raised above the Grass, which Strikes & profumes the Sensation, and amuses the mind…
Maybe this is what Clark was describing?
[Floyd] a Snake Bit Jo. Fieldes on the Side of the foot which Sweled much
July 12, 1804
[Clark] … I observed artifical mounds (or as I may more Justly term Graves) which to me is a Strong indication of this Country being once Thickly Settled…on a sandstone Bluff about 1/4 of a mile from its mouth on the Lower Side I observed Some Indian marks, went to the rock which jucted over the water and marked my name & the day of the month & year.
Clark was an early graffiti artist, but not the first.
These may not be the same Indian markings Clark saw, but they were fascinating nonetheless.
July 14, 1804
[Clark] The Storm which passd over an open Plain from the N.E. Struck the our boat on the Starbd. quarter, and would have thrown her up on the Sand Island dashed to peces in an Instant, had not the party leeped out on the Leward Side and kept her off with the assistance of the ancker & Cable, untill the Storm was over, the waves Dashed over her windward Side and She must have filled with water if the Lockers which is covered with Tarpoling had not threw off the water and prevented any quantity Getting into Bilge of the Boat. In this Situation we continued about 40 minits. when the Storm Suddenly Seased and the river become Instancetaniously as Smoth as Glass…
July 18, 1804
[Floyd] Saw a Dog on the Bank Which we Sepose to be Indians had been Lost this is the first Sine of Indians we have Saw
A little mix of the mundane with the poetic with the dramatic. While Clark was the primary leader of the men and the boats (being a more experienced boatman than Lewis), Lewis spent most of his time on the shore walking alongside the boats, observing, recording, and gathering specimens. As a product of the Enlightenment, Jefferson was relying on him to be the botanist, the biologist, the geologist, the cartographer, the medical doctor, the meteorologist, the astronomer, and any other scientific field that required observation, measurement, and experimentation. Oh, and also the chief diplomat whenever they encountered someone along the trail.
Roadtripping in 2025
Everytime I take a trip in my camper I learn new things. Here is a sample of what I’ve learned so far (and I’m still less than a week into the trip!)
You Can’t Control What You Can’t Control
I’ve learned a few things that fall under this category:
Don’t panic if you are driving happily along and suddenly hear something crash behind you (I’m talking about inside the van). If Sadie hasn’t yelped in pain then it’s probably something that can wait. You may think you have tightly secured every imaginable loose object inside the van before you take off, but inevitably you overlooked something. It will work its way to the edge of your bed or counter and the next time you go over a slight bump in the road, or go around a curve (even a wide curve), the object will clatter to your floor and sound like the entire contents of your cupboard over the sink have tumbled out. Chances are that it is only one thing. Pick it up next time you stop.
During the hot season, just embrace the dog fur that is flying everywhere and covering everything. Adds flavor to your morning coffee, warmth on a cold night and seasoning to your food.
Avoid hiking on a narrow, little used, trail right after you have had a nice hot shower and are still feeling squeaky clean (not knowing when you will get your next one…). Otherwise you may find yourself covered in cobwebs that have been carefully spun across the pathway every few feet. If you are determined to follow the path anyway, then be sure to carry a big stick and wave it wildly in front of you all the way down the path and back. When you get back to your van be sure to swipe as much of the cobwebs off your clothing and hair as you can before getting into the driver’s seat. And definitely make sure that you don’t have any stowaways…
It was already too late by the time I picked up the stick…
Control the Things That You Can
My route today took me to Leavenworth, Kansas, home to the famous (or infamous) federal prison. This was also the site of some Lewis and Clark history so I planned on a “twofer” - check out the Lewis and Clark stuff and take a look at the prison. Driving through town it was clear to me that the entire economy of the town of Leavenworth is wrapped up in the prison and the fort. Both are huge installations, and sit right next to each other, pretty much right in the town. Turned out that the Lewis and Clark historical stuff is inside Fort Leavenworth, which I did not know ahead of time (why would I know that, I ask you?). Here’s what happened:
I drove up to the entrance to the fort. I told the nice, uniformed young man at the gate why I was there and asked if there was a Lewis and Clark exhibit on the grounds that I might go see (Google had informed me that it was there, but as usual I needed to confirm Google’s veracity). He confirmed that there was something to see down by the river but that the museum was closed today. I said I didn’t care and would like to look at the outdoor portion of the exhibit. He took my driver’s license, looked at it for a minute, then asked me if I had a pass. I said no, and he directed me to the visitor center, which was around the corner and down the street a short ways. I thanked him and he put a cone in front of the gate so that none of the many vehicles that had lined up behind me could crash through while he walked beside the van, holding onto my driver’s license, as I made a semicircle around the front of the gates. He gave me back the license and wished me good day once I was facing the open exit gate.
The prison is rather imposing and intimidating. I took my picture and skedaddled. The military fort installation (that also contained the alluring Lewis and Clark exhibit and museum) is right next door.
I found the visitor center and went to the desk, where I told a nice lady why I was there and asked for a pass. She took my license and put me into the system, then told me to go to “Room 2”. In Room 2 a man was sitting at a desk behind two computer monitors. I handed him my license. He looked intently at the screen, clicked a couple times, then looked intently some more. After what seemed like an excessive amount of time of him looking intently (scowling maybe?…) I asked:
“May I ask what you’re looking at?”
“Oh, the usual stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Just things in your background.”
“What kind of things?”
“The usual things.”
“What does that mean? Can you see all my parking and speeding tickets from over the years?”
“Yes, and criminal records, things like that.”
“Well, good thing I’ve never been arrested,” I said casually.
After a few more minutes of looking intently and clicking on stuff, he left the room.
A few minutes later he comes back and tells me that he found something. Apparently there is a warrant out for my arrest in Delaware County, Ohio from 2010.
WHAT????!!!!
Apparently, I failed to pay a misdemeanor speeding ticket on one of my many trips to Columbus. Since I also didn’t show up on the court date, Delaware county municipal court issued a warrant for my arrest. I had no knowledge of any of this and had totally forgotten about the ticket. I think I was on one of my road trips at the time and figured I would take care of it when I got home, but then it just went out of my brain.
The government official (I did not get his name) then informed me that he could not grant me access to the fort until I got it resolved or the warrant lifted. Apparently I was considered some sort of threat or security risk. He gave me the phone number of the Delaware County sheriff’s office and sent me on my way. In the parking lot of the visitor center I called the sheriff’s office to find out what could be done. The clerk gave me the number for the Delaware municipal court. I called that number, hoping that perhaps I could just pay the fine over the phone and be done with it and clear my record but nooooo…. The clerk there told me that I was going to have to appear in person to either pay it or plead my case in court. Arrrggghhh!!!
Needless to say, I did not get onto the Fort Leavenworth property and I did not see the Lewis and Clark exhibit, which I’m sure was amazing. Instead, I consoled myself by taking Sadie for a walk along a different part of the river in downtown Leavenworth, hoping to find something cheery about the town before I left. I was happy to find that Leavenworth boasts one of C.W. Parker’s famous carousels but alas, it was not open. All I could do was peek in the windows.
So word to the wise - the outcome to this little episode was in my control and I should have taken care of business 15 years ago. And now I have experienced first hand the long arm of the federal government, which has easy access to virtually every last little thing any of us has ever done to draw attention to ourselves, no matter how small. Take care of those loose ends… you can control that part of your life. And all those peaceful protests I’ve been attending since January and in previous years? Well, apparently the government doesn’t know about those…yet…
Leavenworth wouldn’t let me into anything that day. This was as close as I got to the carousel museum.
Other Things I Learned (or was reminded of)
Mondays are not the best days for touring small-town museums in the off-season. Or for visiting one of the oldest, continually-operating distilleries in the country.
2. Late August is definitely a great time to camp in state parks. You practically have the entire place to yourself, and the pick of the choicest campsites. And you might meet the most interesting people as you explore the park.
This is Dan. He was weedwacking along the banks of the river when I interrupted him. He came up to chat.
Turns out Dan was born in a house that used to sit on what is now the Indian Cave State Park property. He worked in the Texas and Oklahoma oil fields for many years before returning to his home base. He now works to help keep this beautiful state park beautiful. We had a very nice conversation!
3. Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. Her museum is not open on Mondays.
4. The Pony Express only operated for 19 months, from April 1860 through October 1861 and the beginning of the Civil War. It started from St. Joseph, Kansas, which is also where I toured the Pony Express Museum. The introduction of the telegraph, as well as active sabotage by Indian tribes who didn’t appreciate the encroachment of the waystations all across their land, contributed to its demise. I’m baffled by the hype and romanticism that surrounds such a short-lived endeavor. Turns out that Buffalo Bill Cody was a Pony Express rider when he was a teen.
5. Armadillos live in Missouri (who knew?) and tend to commit suicide regularly by wandering in front of moving vehicles.
6. If you are going to cool yourself off in your camper on a hot night by sticking your feet out from under your covers, don’t be surprised when you wake up and your feet and ankles are full of mosquito and chigger bites. You did it to yourself, and must suffer for it.
Next Steps
Tomorrow I trek my way into South Dakota, where I have reserved another campsite for another two nights. I hope it is as restful and relaxing as the Indian Cave State Park has been. Along the way I plan to soak up Lewis and Clark and any other history that catches my imagination. The weather has been wonderful the last couple of days. Blue skies. Mild temperatures. Low humidity. Cool nights. Really perfect. I know it won’t stay this way, but I’ll enjoy it while it does.
Til next time,
