Lewis and Cark started their exporation today

[Green Eyed Monster]

On this day in 1804, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the rest of their party headed up the Missouri River on a government-sponsored mission to explore the land that had been acquired in the Louisiana Purchase the year before and find a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

And so began a multi-year adventure.

GEM

[Zink]

Supposedly one of my ancestors went with them as far as the east side of the Rockies. We've never been able to figure out which one though because the last names we've checked out didn't match the list we've seen for the expedition. Grandpa wasn't really one for lying and making things up so it's probably true. My mom's relations are almost like cockroaches. Not important enough to make the headlines but involved somewhere in the background of nearly every major event in US history.

[haldir]

Wagon ruts are about 15 min drive west of here in Vale, OR. There is even better ones over in Baker City. One of these days, I'll actually go to the interpretation center up there.......

[Inarah]

There are several sites near here where they are believed to have stopped and camped.  And wagon ruts.  You can even recreate the experience of a bumpy wagon ride by driving many of the city streets today. 

 

[Marvin]

I'm picturing Lewis as a human ranger/druid/artificer and Cark, obviously, as a half-orc fighter of House Tharashk. (Because apparently early America is Eberron in my brain I guess, idk.)

 

Lewis died just up the road from here in a county named for him. Have to say though we've got nothing on 'em out West, where in Montana it seemed like every other street, creek, or building was named for Lewis and/or Clark.