tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114059252011-07-28T14:02:59.429-07:00An academic weblog exploring the interpretation of the Lewis and Clark expedition and bicentennial in museums, historic sites, interpretive centers, and popular media.Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comBlogger2121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-73575540547479628872009-07-17T08:12:00.000-07:002009-07-17T08:18:50.277-07:00

I have decided not to post any new entries to Lewis and Clark Trail Watch. I thank everyone who followed this weblog through the L&C bicentennial years and who have communicated with me about the various topics covered. I have received emails from all over the country and beyond, as recently as a week ago.I will keep Trail Watch available for the time being. Thank you so much for reading!

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-6407104585121289312009-03-22T08:58:00.000-07:002009-03-22T09:17:00.595-07:00

Dear Readers,I know it looks like I fell off the face of the earth, but I plan to resume posting to Trail Watch later in the spring and over the summer.In the meantime, I received an email pertaining to a blog by ecologist and environmental writer Daniel Botkin, the author of (among many other works) Passage of Discovery: A Guide to the Missouri River of Lewis and Clark (1999). He has decided to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-13986959169138598102008-04-27T09:46:00.000-07:002008-04-27T22:30:02.617-07:00

I've accumulated several email correspondents over the years who have discovered this weblog and sent me photos and news related to Lewis and Clark events and interpretative facilities or exhibitions. One such individual is Bill Stine of Jefferson City, Missouri, who recently shared with me the information presented here and in the next post.I wrote about a previous visit to Jefferson City in May

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-18941630033073919522008-04-12T20:54:00.000-07:002008-04-15T07:44:11.377-07:00

Okay, I guess a six-month hiatus is enough! Truly, I did not realize it had been this long since I've posted here.I recently rented the movie Night at the Museum because I've become interested in the image of "the museum" in popular culture. I'm teaching a course on tourism and museums this term and just finished a weekend course on visual culture and museums, so I've got museum stuff on my

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-2435044873699486972007-10-21T10:47:00.001-07:002007-10-21T11:48:57.968-07:00

One of the things I most want to do about Lewis and Clark interpretation is examine the themes and meanings of all the amazing public commemorative art--the statues, murals, and billboards, as well as the art and music (and dance) used in museums, roadside interpretive signs, and reenactments.The problem is that I have no training as an art historian or any other kind of analyst of the arts (

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-56187812302831104882007-10-06T07:27:00.001-07:002007-10-08T21:38:51.422-07:00

Oregon Public Broadcasting has just concluded a four-part series on the Columbia River and some of its present day issues and concerns. Follow this link to the OPB page with links to all four episodes. You can read them or listen to them or both.I was especially interested in the last installment about the mouth of the river, often dubbed the "graveyard of the Pacific," how dangerous it is to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-59189148379262424972007-09-23T20:28:00.000-07:002007-10-08T21:44:02.547-07:00

One of the more enjoyable things about my research is sampling the various wares to be found with Lewis and Clark themes. It's all pretty silly because the expedition did not have fancy chocolate bars and scented candles and soaps and lotions. But perhaps they had coffee and beer. We know they had whiskey--barrels and barrels of whiskey--so the Jack Daniels company's commemorative distillation a

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-75926156870858550932007-09-06T22:18:00.000-07:002007-09-06T22:45:11.035-07:00

From Dayton, Washington, you can go up a secondary highway for two or three miles to reach the site of Lewis and Clark's May 2, 1806, camp along Patit Creek. I followed a sign indicating a "heritage site" in that direction, not realizing it was an L&C campsite because it seemed to be in the wrong direction.What I found was a field full of metal silhouette sculptures representing all the members

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-73030885481348397782007-08-29T14:54:00.000-07:002007-08-29T15:31:48.857-07:00

Yesterday I drove up to a stretch of U.S. 12 in Washington state that approximates the overland shortcut that the expedition took on their return trip in May of 2006. Upon the advice of the Indians, they left the Columbia River at a point west of present-day Walla Walla and traveled overland to the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers at today's Clarkston and Lewiston.This stretch of the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-73445450473263777432007-08-16T22:31:00.000-07:002007-08-16T23:14:45.268-07:00

And now for something completely different: snow! Here are some great pictures of the Lolo Trail on the mountain ridges above U.S. Highway 12, courtesy of my friend Jim Petersen who kept the weblog "Lewis and Clark: What Else Happened" during the years of the bicentennial.Jim went on a "supported" backpacking and camping trip on Lolo Trail during September of 2003, the same days of the year that

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-22606547563830824382007-08-11T12:00:00.000-07:002007-08-15T21:41:17.383-07:00

Greetings, dear readers, from the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel in the airport in Orlando, Florida. I'm at a conference without my laptop, but there's a free computer for use by guests at a desk right next to the concierge. I hope no one asks me to help them get tickets to the theater or anything!Here are a couple more items from the Three Forks area. First is an older interpretive sign located in

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-37734890411913882112007-08-05T21:46:00.000-07:002007-08-15T19:14:52.599-07:00

One of the most important things about the headwaters of the Missouri River is that it was in this area that little Sacajawea (I'll use the "j" spelling since that is the preference around here) was captured and taken away by Hidatsa (Minnetaree) raiders in an attack that killed her mother. She was about 10 or 11 years old. Her band had traveled over the Rockies into enemy territory from what is

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-78221098996963614652007-07-30T17:40:00.000-07:002007-07-31T17:14:37.312-07:00

In Missouri Headwaters State Park itself are several interpretive stations or sites with numerous signs and maps. I stopped at the visitor's information site just inside the park entrance and collected several brochures and pieces of information from a very helpful park volunteer who explained about the various places to stop and things to see.In addition to the small booth where he sat, there

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-12398039721371227102007-07-25T23:50:00.000-07:002007-07-26T00:14:38.809-07:00

Three beautiful rivers converge near the town of Three Forks, Montana, to form the wide Missouri. These are the Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin, still known today by the names given them by Lewis and Clark. It was the western-most stream, the Jefferson, that the expedition followed on its way to the continental divide.Where the three rivers come together is Missouri Headwaters State Park

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-37870735087109349772007-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:002007-07-23T22:06:57.062-07:00

I drove between Great Falls and Helena on Interstate 15, which passes to the west of the Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River. I wrote about that site in a previous post. At Helena, I left I-15 and drove along the river on U.S. 287, which connects Helena and the Three Forks area. There are several Lewis and Clark sites on this stretch of highway, shown in the photos below. The most

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-91489820371879784722007-07-20T18:56:00.000-07:002007-07-20T19:38:47.872-07:00

Fort Benton, Montana, is the western terminus of the National Monument called the Upper Missouri River Breaks, a dramatic length of canyon with breath-taking sheer-walled rock formations and other beauties described so poetically by Meriwether Lewis. His famous passage about "scenes of visionary enchantment" never coming to an end were penned about the white sandstone formations in the Missouri

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-91253708248380819792007-07-19T07:30:00.001-07:002007-07-21T20:39:56.748-07:00

I was pleased to find at this site a much more honest treatment of the eruption of violence that resulted in the deaths of two native people, the only Indians hurt or killed on the expedition. Obviously, it's appropriate that the interpretive signs here would have such details, but there really is no reason for the timidity in discussing this incident that is found almost everywhere else along

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-69413599688106382372007-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:002007-07-21T20:44:16.383-07:00

Greetings from Montana, Trail Watchers. At last I have been able to go to (or near) the site on the Two Medicine River in Montana, where Meriwether Lewis and a couple other men fought with some young Blackfeet men who coveted their horses and guns on the expedition's return trip in July of 1806.It proved to be the only fatal altercation of the expedition, fatal to two of the Blackfeet. One was

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-22935001964966711662007-07-12T10:33:00.001-07:002007-07-12T11:10:33.632-07:00

I've written in earlier posts about the letters written by William Clark to his brother that were not found until 1988 in a Louisville attic, and what an amazing treasure that sort of thing is. This article appears in today's Washington Post about the discovery of trunks belonging to Robert E. Lee's daughter, Mary, in a bank vault in Virginia. The trunks were found in 2002!Rob deButts, Robert E.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-23903332743788906932007-06-22T22:23:00.000-07:002007-06-22T22:46:05.400-07:00

Dear readers, I am in Las Vegas visiting relatives at the moment, which has nothing to do with Lewis and Clark apart from the weird coincidence that this is Clark County, named after a different William Clark, a rather changeable and eccentric fellow who helped create the city of Las Vegas while serving as a Montana Senator. But I did happen to pick up my daughter's alumni magazine from Lewis and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-77864813185888155142007-06-05T07:21:00.001-07:002007-06-05T07:40:29.557-07:00

I was gratified to hear this recent story on Oregon Public Broadcasting about plans to tear out two dams on the Sandy River and restore it to a free-flowing state.I have written a few times on this weblog about dams on the western rivers and their effects on the once-abundant salmon and other wildlife observed by the Lewis and Clark expedition. The article linked to above doesn't mention it, but

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-30252248239995293462007-05-23T08:46:00.000-07:002007-05-23T12:29:25.926-07:00

I'm going to take a moment on both my research blogs to plug Eastern Oregon University and encourage those thinking about going to college or just taking a course or two to come here to do it! We have no out-of-state tuition--that's right, wherever you're from, you pay the same as in-state students.Here are some useful links to inspire you to join us.EOU's HomepageThe College of Arts and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-44457607857338215342007-05-15T20:32:00.000-07:002007-08-15T22:12:24.321-07:00

Recently I heard a story on the radio that mentioned the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary on the Oregon side of the Columbia near its mouth. I remembered that I had gone there last summer because it was listed in some guide as a Lewis and Clark interpretive site. I also recalled that I had taken some pictures but had not yet posted them here.A viewing platform and interpretive signs about wildlife and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-69535839195951923272007-05-08T19:28:00.000-07:002007-05-20T10:58:01.425-07:00

Five more weeks of our academic year (Oregon's public colleges are on the quarter system) and then freedom for a while! I'm eager to hit the road again and wrap up this phase of my Lewis and Clark research. Amazingly, there are still some important sites I either haven't yet visited (with an eye to how things are being interpreted and portrayed to the public, anyway) or that I need to revisit and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-73935778767353624772007-04-27T20:25:00.001-07:002007-04-27T20:44:35.839-07:00

Today there was a sad story on Oregon Public Broadcasting about the newly found skeletal remains of a man with Alzheimer's who disappeared in June while hiking the Fort to Sea Trail between the Pacific Ocean and Fort Clatsop. His wife waited for him in vain where she was to meet him at the Fort. You can read the story here.The trail is about 6 miles long and follows or approximates the route

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-76257450730432020702007-03-29T12:24:00.000-07:002007-03-30T18:22:32.698-07:00

Yesterday's Talk of the Nation on NPR featured a new book called Etched in Stone: Enduring Words From Our Nation's Monuments, by Ryan Coonerty (published by National Geographic), which "collects immortal words from 50 monuments and memorials, public buildings, walls and sidewalks around the country," according to NPR's website.I haven't seen the book yet, but it got me thinking about Lewis and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-54253244461176983892007-03-12T21:24:00.000-07:002007-03-13T08:29:01.622-07:00

While on my sabbatical a couple years ago, I was in a shop in Vermont that specializes in antique and rare books, looking through a collection of vintage postcards, when I found two that depicted places on the Lewis and Clark Trail all the way across the country. I put them away in a safe place and promptly forgot where, but I came across them again this weekend.The first postcard is of Beacon

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-15587259628997659062007-03-03T13:16:00.000-08:002007-03-03T13:19:54.812-08:00

It makes me sad that I must remove "Lewis and Clark: What Else Happened" from my list of links in the sidebar. My friend, Jim Petersen, faithfully posted to the blog each day of the expedition, highlighting what Lewis and Clark were up to on that day, and then indicating all sorts of fascinating things occurring elsewhere at the same time. It took Hurricane Katrina--Jim lives in the New Orleans

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-58445807389417802822007-02-15T13:07:00.000-08:002007-02-21T19:24:59.796-08:00

Yikes, it's been a whole month since I wrote the last post! I still have quite a bit I want to say on this blog, but the time has gotten away from me over the past few weeks.I did get an interesting email from a man who is on the board of directors for the Oregon chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation (see the link in the sidebar). He wanted to tell me two things: First, that

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-38937961798527357652007-01-15T20:10:00.000-08:002007-01-15T20:29:27.871-08:00

People who examine how the Disney corporation interprets and presents historical themes to the public have coined the term "distory" to describe the "dis"tortions and "dis"information usually promoted by the company. (The Disney production I most love to hate is Pocahontas--truly appalling.)Surprisingly, Disney has not done much with the Lewis and Clark saga, although via a web search, I found on

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-3859547369673024022007-01-05T01:45:00.000-08:002007-01-05T14:32:57.895-08:00

Happy New Year to all. Can you believe all that Y2K stuff was seven years ago?Winter is a slow time for me in terms of traveling to museums and historic sites (yes, there are still some I haven't seen), but I do need to catch up on several topics and themes, so that is what I'll be doing over the next couple months.My previous post on George Venn's book about C. E. S. Wood and the Nez Perce war

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-28498589397766976132006-12-16T14:30:00.000-08:002006-12-16T22:19:05.030-08:00

This is a follow-up to an earlier post about a new book by my EOU colleague, Professor Emeritus of English George Venn. His book, Soldier to Advocate: C. E. S. Wood's 1877 Legacy, was published in October 2006, and a couple weeks ago, Professor Venn gave a presentation on campus about his research, this book--which is really a sort of first installment of a larger work--and his future plans.I've

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-84253791853150621042006-12-07T21:15:00.000-08:002006-12-07T21:26:31.637-08:00

I thought readers might be interested in knowing that on the radio today, I heard this news item from Oregon Public Broadcasting about the completion of the new Fort Clatsop replica. Last year at this time, the replica that was built in the 1950s had burned to the ground and people were still dealing with their shock and disappointment. But hundreds of volunteers pitched in and, following

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-16184367821963491222006-12-03T16:59:00.000-08:002006-12-07T21:45:11.828-08:00

At the "Legacies" symposium I attended a couple months ago in Portland, one of the featured speakers was Patricia Limerick, professor of history at the University of Colorado, and a primary player in the academic re-interpretation of the history of the American West that has been a focus of scholars for the past couple decades.Limerick's The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-49219279526400638822006-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:002006-12-07T21:47:03.531-08:00

I have not been able to find anything about Lewis and Clark mentioning how they commemorated Thanksgiving and no wonder: the holiday was not held regularly at the national level and certainly not standardized until long after the expedition took place. Some (but not all) Presidents and the governors of colonies and early states proclaimed various days of thanksgiving, but these sometimes were in

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-64456590381063699482006-11-19T12:30:00.000-08:002006-11-19T14:53:22.576-08:00

My dean, Marilyn Levine (who came to us at EOU from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston), gave me an interesting little book that tells the story of the L&C expedition in the form of an epic poem. The Journey of Lewis and Clark: A Poet's Version is by Eldon Hutchins, a long-time Idaho resident whose wife, Lela, is the daughter of the "first white man born on the Weippe Prairie," according to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1162160929486556202006-11-18T00:05:00.000-08:002006-11-19T11:00:14.034-08:00

The Lewis and Clark expedition is certainly the historical event that launched a thousand books, and I swear most of them are now on my shelves. But in addition to the various editions of the journals and the nonfiction works covering every imaginable L&C related topic, I've collected a fair number of works of fiction and poetry.One of the earliest fictitious treatments of the expedition was Eva

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-30764442198699476672006-11-11T10:50:00.000-08:002006-11-11T12:01:48.676-08:00

I received an email recently from a woman named Kira Gale who has published a new book in the Great American Road Trip series about traveling along the Lewis and Clark route. There is also a companion website and blog for Lewis and Clark Road Trips: Exploring the Trail Across America.This looks like a good guide to the entire trail, including sites in the eastern part of the country that are

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1163181493025160462006-11-10T09:53:00.000-08:002006-11-10T23:41:00.229-08:00

After 2 and 1/2 years, I'm finally learning how to customize my blog templates a little to make them more interesting. I hope readers like the new image in the header. The background photo is a view of the Missouri from the levee in Fort Benton, and the little oval inset is from the Robert Scriver statue located on that levee.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1163134112349342492006-11-09T21:36:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:05:13.148-08:00

I've mentioned previously the conservation organization American Rivers, which sponsored traveling exhibits and magazine articles about rivers and the Lewis and Clark expedition during the years of the bicentennial. I thought readers might be interested in this message that AR sent to its members summarizing some of the implications of the elections for rivers and river issues."With final votes

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1162182061753725202006-11-06T20:50:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:05:12.038-08:00

York is a very popular fellow right now. In addition to the published reprint of Darrell Millner's article about him mentioned in the previous post, I have come across several other fairly recent works examining the life of this intriguing expedition member. People attending presentations, reenactments, and in-character performances related to Lewis and Clark ask many questions about York,

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1162178701251250852006-10-31T09:15:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:05:11.907-08:00

One of the most interesting presentations of the recent "Legacies" symposium in Portland was that of Darrell Millner, Professor of History and Afro-American Literature at Portland State University, and author of a slim but fascinating volume entitled York of the Corps of Discovery (2004, a reprint of a 2003 article in the Oregon Historical Quarterly).In his talk, called "Racing the West: York and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1162161432331733782006-10-29T15:36:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:05:11.144-08:00

Anthropologists face an occupational hazard in which we begin to identify too much with the people we're supposed to be studying and lose our objectivity and analytical distance. We call this "going native," and it probably happens to most of us after we've dedicated a great number of years, not to mention emotional energy, to specific topics of study. (And it doesn't only happen to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1161140891110013622006-10-21T11:10:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:05:10.077-08:00

Finally, I'm getting to some reflections about the "Legacies" symposium held recently on the Lewis and Clark campus in Portland.Most of the speakers and many of the participants were nerdy, tweedy academics, thoroughly immersed in the world of books and colleges and conferences and symposia. It is a world--and a worldview--I am totally comfortable with and enjoy participating in, and yet . . . .

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1160715461628823112006-10-12T22:35:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:27.469-08:00

I know I was going to start discussing the "Legacies" symposium, but a fortuitous thing happened. In the process of organizing and scanning photographs for Pick and Shovel, I keep coming across Lewis and Clark-related pictures, including some photos I took of the gravesite of Charbonneau fils, Sacagawea's son. I was preparing a blog entry about his burial place, to be posted at some future time,

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1160242120340824642006-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:26.386-08:00

Last weekend, I attended part of the last of four symposia about the Lewis and Clark bicentennial held at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I will now be submitting a few posts reflecting on the symposium, called "Legacies," where writers, historians, and scholars presented some very interesting perspectives about not only the expedition itself, but about this whole business of

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1159808948211671772006-10-02T09:57:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:26.284-08:00

I haven't said much up to this point about all the anti-Lewis and Clarkies out there, although I've been steadily collecting the various critiques, comments, and pejorative jokes that appear in the popular media. I assure you this is not a cover-up! I agree with some of the criticisms of not only the expedition itself, but of our portrayals and interpretations of it. I just haven't gotten around

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1159586765316206122006-09-29T21:23:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:26.121-08:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that there is a new bronze marker at the Lolo Pass visitor center honoring the late Stephen Ambrose, who died in 2002. It sits at the beginning of the interpretive trail, overlooking the restored wetland. It was installed in June of 2003 by the Montana and Idaho state Lewis and Clark committees.Marker honoring Stephen E. Ambrose, who helped preserve the nearby Lewis

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1159314091463776502006-09-26T17:10:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:25.997-08:00

In addition to the visitor center and trails on Lolo Pass and the Bernard DeVoto memorial grove, there are numerous interpretive and informational signs on both the Montana and Idaho sides of the pass, some dealing with Lewis and Clark, some with the Nez Perce Indians, some with both, and some with other topics.There are also several more places to explore that I haven't mentioned yet. On the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1159070356427451822006-09-23T20:44:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:25.893-08:00

This weekend marked the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's arrival back in St. Louis, Missouri. See this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (actually, their internet site) for a description and photo of the final reenactment (for now) by the St. Charles group, the Discovery Expedition.Now begin the retrospectives and reflections. Next weekend, I'll be attending that sort of symposium,

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1158875572772686242006-09-21T14:43:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:25.768-08:00

Bernard DeVoto was a historian of the American west (and early expert on Mark Twain) whose works include, among other things, an abridged edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, first published in 1953 and still widely used today. In fact, this is the version of the journals I use when I need a basic overview (the complete journals are, of course, very extensive and take up several volumes).On

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1158672571753506312006-09-19T06:13:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:24.688-08:00

Dear Readers,I have started a second weblog for examining museum and other sorts of interpretation of historical and cultural topics not pertaining to Lewis and Clark. These topics include the mining and fur trade eras, the coming of the missionaries to Native American lands, the establishment of trading posts and military forts, early railroads and overland trails, and the Western press. I'll

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157992097794965232006-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:23.887-08:00

At the very top of Lolo Pass on U.S. 12, right at the state line between Idaho and Montana, there is a visitor center and rest area well worth stopping at. This is also the division between Mountain and Central time zones, so there is a real sense of "passage" when traveling either east or west over Lolo Pass--new state, new time zone, new watershed with different rivers.A mile-high visitor

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1158290831225306112006-09-14T20:26:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:24.577-08:00

I was happy to get an email today from Shannon Andrea, Media Relations Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, a citizens' group that supports our National Parks through research, education, and other activities. The NPCA released a new report today called National Parks Along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Shannon provided me with the following information about the report:The new

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157916413985215392006-09-12T14:25:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:23.393-08:00

After rereading the last post, I decided to say a bit more about the archaeological evidence for the expedition's presence at the Travelers' Rest site, particularly for the location of the main campfire and the latrine. While archaeological conclusions might seem astonishingly and impossibly precise to a layperson, trust me: when you've excavated a site by the teaspoon and analyzed practically

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157862089455876482006-09-09T22:36:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:23.273-08:00

This is the first of several posts about the Lewis and Clark sites (and sights) along U.S. 12 as it traverses Lolo Pass and crosses the Bitterroot Mountains, paralleling Lolo Creek on the Montana side of the pass, and hugging the Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers on the Idaho side.Much of L&C's actual route followed a well-used Indian trail high on the ridges to the north of U.S. 12. The banks of the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157596575779729382006-09-06T19:27:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:21.653-08:00

The last of the National Bicentennial Commemoration's fifteen Signature Events marking Lewis and Clark's journey to the Pacific and back will begin September 20 in St. Louis, Missouri, and continue for several days. There will be events at other L&C sites in that area as well.The signature event is called Currents of Change and readers can look at the web site for a schedule of activities and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157523919700389852006-09-06T10:50:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:21.512-08:00

The Nez Perce tribe was and remains one of the most important western tribes to interact extensively with the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this part of the country today, they play important roles in the region's culture and politics; the names of the leaders during the 1877 Nez Perce war--Joseph, Looking Glass, White Bird, Joseph's younger brother, Ollokot--are well-known in this area.Part of

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157235565786398272006-09-04T12:10:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:20.695-08:00

I have not yet had the time or opportunity to hike the six-mile-long Fort to Sea Trail that connects Fort Clatsop with the Pacific Ocean. This is the approximate route hiked by members of the expedition when going back and forth between the fort and the salt camp, located in present-day Seaside, Oregon.Sign at the entrance to the trailhead.I did get a chance to visit the trailhead at the "sea"

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157321375376362702006-09-03T15:09:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:20.837-08:00

This weekend, about 30 members of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Gettysburg National Military Park to spew their usual hatred toward about 90 percent of Americans. There were anti-Klan counter-demonstrations at the park and nearby.What I found fascinating were the objections to the Klan and their rally from some Civil War reenactors and members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. In particular

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1157147421494049162006-09-01T16:20:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:19.804-08:00

I was surprised a couple days ago (Wednesday) when I visited the new Fort Clatsop replica to discover that there is still quite a bit of work to be done on it. For some reason, I had gotten the impression from news items and so forth that it was completed, or nearly so. (This isn't a criticism, just an observation.)A new sign for the new fort, reflecting Fort Clatsop's promotion from a National

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156783469825311502006-08-28T09:38:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:19.680-08:00

This has nothing to do with Lewis and Clark, but I thought readers might be interested in today’s New York Times article on the politics of commemoration on the Gulf Coast. After all the L&C bicentennial activities wind down, I’ll be saying more about this sort of topic as it relates to Lewis and Clark interpretation.It doesn’t say in this article, but I read somewhere that very few members of

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156362105925367432006-08-23T12:35:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:19.535-08:00

I've been to the historical society's facility in Helena--Montana's Museum--several times now and can never pass up this incredible scale-model diorama of bison tumbling over the edge of Ulm Pishkun, a traditional buffalo jump and now a state park between Great Falls and Helena. The diorama is mesmerizing and I know it's not just me--I've seen others standing for long minutes at the glass and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156261932761217302006-08-22T08:50:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:18.965-08:00

I haven’t said much about Helena, although it’s on or near the Lewis and Clark Trail and has many L&C-related exhibits and public art. Last summer, the city hosted some major bicentennial events, but I had to be elsewhere and could not attend. I did, however, take the boat tour through the nearby Gates of the Mountains stretch on the Missouri.Last week, my niece and I stopped off in Helena to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156201895226081162006-08-21T18:20:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:17.942-08:00

Last summer, I drove across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to Cut Bank Creek, where a disappointed Captain Lewis camped after he decided that "Maria's River" did not extend into Canada (thereby making it more difficult for the United States to try and claim additional territory based on the course of the river). I wrote about the site of Camp Disappointment in this earlier blog entry.Last week

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156178927465621482006-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:17.567-08:00

My niece and I spent three days last week in Great Falls, Montana. We also visited Fort Benton to see if the new interpretive center for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is completed yet—it isn’t, but the construction is underway—and drove up to Cut Bank Creek area to read and photograph the new signs related to Camp Disappointment. This was the northernmost point reached by

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1156174236119042582006-08-21T08:14:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:16.972-08:00

Dear readers, my niece and I are back in La Grande after a frustrating time in Montana--frustrating because I did not have the internet access I'd hoped for. Sitting for two or three hours at a stretch in a "free wi-fi" truck stop, editing my photos and writing, just wasn't all that appealing, although I might have done it if I'd been alone. I'm bursting with topics and photos, and will be

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1155406732112061502006-08-12T11:17:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:14.886-08:00

I’m embarrassed to admit that my niece and I did not go to Fort Clatsop after all. Our plans changed and I shouldn’t have announced we were going. Fort Clatsop will have to wait until later in the summer.One exhibit I’ve seen recently that I haven’t mentioned yet is a traveling exhibit called The Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, produced by Lewis and Clark College in Portland (my

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1155001142681861852006-08-07T18:33:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:14.768-08:00

Dear Readers, I'm off to Portland soon to pick up my little niece at the airport. We're going to travel in the western part of the state for a few days and I'm actually going to leave my laptop at home--imagine that! But we'll be visiting the new, allegedly improved Fort Clatsop, so I'm excited about that, and will be sharing my impressions and photos when we get back to La Grande later in the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154743162031130562006-08-05T13:25:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:14.544-08:00

The next big national signature event is called Reunion at the Home of Sakakawea and takes place August 17-20 in New Town, North Dakota. New Town is on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and is the tribal headquarters for the Three Affiliated Tribes: the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. The above link leads to the website for the signature event, which will focus on the history and culture of the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154623194287475202006-08-03T10:25:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:14.433-08:00

On the way back to Oregon from Billings, Montana, I stopped off at some of the smaller towns along the Yellowstone, seeking any mention of Lewis and Clark activities—and found several. Actually, one such mention—a new interpretive sign and a holder with new pamphlets about Clark’s travels in the area—was on the river far from any town. There was no mention of it on the interstate and the only

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154391192051522282006-08-01T08:40:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:13.432-08:00

In addition to saving the Yellowstone River, we need to rescue the poor, abused apostrophe. I mentioned in an earlier post that nowadays, the official spelling of Pompey’s Pillar is “Pompeys Pillar,” without the apostrophe, even though Clark clearly gave it a name in the possessive: “Pompy’s Tower.” You may also have noticed that I refuse to drop that apostrophe. I've thought about it some more

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154376554498552462006-07-31T13:40:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:13.045-08:00

I’ve been lamenting that there don’t seem to be any pictures in the media of Bud Clark replicating his ancestor’s famous carved signature at Pompey’s Pillar, but suddenly it’s Betty Kluesner to the rescue! Ms. Kluesner is the official photographer for the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri. She has been traveling with the group for four years, documenting their reenactments and

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154315712976211882006-07-30T20:20:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:12.922-08:00

The signature carved into the sandstone of Pompey’s Pillar by William Clark is about halfway to the top. Today’s boardwalk and stairs lead to viewing platforms overlooking Clark’s signature, and visitors can then proceed to climb all the way to the top of the Pillar for fantastic views in all directions. In his journal, Clark described both his carving of his name and the impressiveness of the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154233931184798772006-07-29T21:58:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:12.797-08:00

I have been fascinated with the types and variety of architecture used on what I think of as the Lewis and Clark interpretive trail. The new interpretive center here at Pompey's Pillar is one of the most interesting and beautiful of all the new facilities I’ve seen. It resembles a sort of upscale mill or barn or mining-era structure, which is a look I love. It has two tall walls of windows, one

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1154145912091381672006-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:11.546-08:00

A day and a half with no internet access—how did I ever survive?I have two or three more posts pertaining to events at Pompey’s Pillar, then want to ruminate on the degree of militarism and nationalism found in some of the L&C commemorative events.The fourth and last day of “Clark on the Yellowstone” was designated a “National Day of Honor,” which, according to the signature event’s printed

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153920159325792102006-07-26T06:16:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:10.804-08:00

Dear readers, I'll be driving all day on my way back to Oregon, so there'll be a delay in my posts about "Clark on the Yellowstone." But here's a link to an article about Bud Clark's reenactment of the carving of the famous signature. More soon.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153877828448601342006-07-25T18:29:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:10.688-08:00

The Billings Gazette has had some great coverage of the Clark on the Yellowstone signature event and (often amusing) peripheral issues.Here is a link to a complete list of articles, which themselves contain many photographs.For a great picture of Bud Clark with his grandson, William, look at the top photo on this page. Little William is the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of the explorer!

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153835600462107942006-07-25T06:52:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:10.577-08:00

Today’s the final and big day for the “Clark on the Yellowstone” event: 200 years ago today, Clark carved his name upon the yellow rocks, which will be reenacted later this afternoon (on stage) by no other than his great-great-great-grandson, Bud Clark. He’s been a major part of the bicentennial and Lewis and Clark festivities for many years and is really in his element, but this will be his

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153803040449965202006-07-24T21:47:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:09.931-08:00

If you had told me a couple years ago that I would regularly patronize commercial campgrounds like the KOA while on my research travels, I would have laughed, but here I am, membership card and all. It turned out to be mighty difficult to connect regularly to the internet for blogging and research purposes from a pristine but remote Forest Service campground or other sort of less-developed site.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153704608362764102006-07-23T20:15:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:09.830-08:00

I spent today wandering the grounds at the National Monument, taking pictures, and catching some of the "Clark on the Yellowstone" presentations and performances, which are held concurrently in the Tent of Many Voices, on the main and music stages, and in the various living history and interpretive exhibits. There's something for everyone. Tomorrow the new interpretive center (or bust)!The

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153669590944698482006-07-23T12:40:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:08.956-08:00

This signature event is being held at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument near Billings, Montana, and opening day was packed. I really was amazed at the number of cars—which took up an enormous area of empty fields, complete with shuttle buses and shade shelters—and people. Some of the signature events have not seemed nearly as well attended, an observation also mentioned in the press from time to

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1153163368796176232006-07-17T12:08:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:05.889-08:00

When Lewis and Clark descended the Snake and proceeded along the Columbia, it was during the fall salmon runs and the journals describe the native people’s fishing equipment, drying racks, and so forth. What has always impressed me were the descriptions of the sheer numbers of fish, including the dead and dying adults that were being washed downstream after spawning. This actually alarmed the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152913916009648832006-07-14T14:50:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:05.168-08:00

I came across some photos I took a few years ago when there was a major draw-down of water from the reservoir behind the 700-foot-high Dworshak Dam near Orofino, Idaho. One summer, water temperatures at the dams on the Snake and Columbia were too warm and killed hundreds of thousands of baby salmon making their way downriver. Something like 90,000 smolts died in just one day at one of the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152842565593381052006-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:04.822-08:00

The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition is in large part a story about rivers, beautiful rivers initially explored, then dammed, harnessed, leveed, straightened, polluted, poisoned, and degraded. The burgeoning populations of fish, birds, and other wildlife along the rivers as described by the expedition are sadly diminished today, or entirely gone in some places. This weblog has featured

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152558816950134582006-07-11T20:30:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:04.734-08:00

There are only three more official L&C bicentennial "signature events" left. The next one is called Clark on the Yellowstone and will be located in Billings, Montana, and the nearby Pompey's Pillar National Monument, where Clark carved his name on a sandstone bluff he named for "Pomp," Sacagawea's son, Jean Baptiste. I'll be attending this one, which begins July 22.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152505189726053102006-07-10T11:05:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:04.635-08:00

Both subjects create dilemmas for historical interpretation. I’ve just finished reading The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai, by John Tayman (2006). This led me to the website for the Kalaupapa National Historical Park, which interprets and commemorates the 140-year history of the isolated Hawaiian settlement for people diagnosed with leprosy. Like other interpretive

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152391381305993502006-07-08T13:42:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:04.546-08:00

It takes three hours to drive from La Grande, Oregon, to Lewiston, Idaho. The first time I did so, I was astonished to find that what looks like a pretty straight, direct route on the map in reality passes through a rugged, dramatic landscape of canyons and ridges with spectacular views and few signs of human habitation. At one point, you have to descend one steep, winding grade to cross the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152332476181306152006-07-07T21:20:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:04.355-08:00

From what is now the Lewiston-Clarkston area, the expedition entered the Snake River from the Clearwater. In what DeVoto calls a “remarkable example of geographical intelligence,” Clark recognized that the Snake (which rises in the Tetons/Yellowstone National Park region) was here from the same watershed as the river the expedition had hoped to navigate in Shoshone country, that is, the Salmon.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1152232018174705222006-07-06T17:26:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:03.318-08:00

While listening to the question and answer period following a performance by “William Clark” (Craig Rockwell, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), I started thinking about how the question-answering format used by the performer really affects the impact of the information. Essentially there are two ways an in-character performer can answer questions: as the character really would have thought

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1151036111890093702006-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:58.549-08:00

I had good intentions of posting to my blog while visiting family in Las Vegas, but you can see how well that worked. I’m back in the Northwest and so will now catch up with my entries.The recent signature event, "Summer of Peace: Among the Nimiipuu," was the fourth to the last signature event of the National Bicentennial Council, and focused largely on Nimiipuu or Nez Perce perspectives on the

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1151355244940674672006-06-26T13:51:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:02:03.223-08:00

I have finished rebuilding my archives from a previous weblog site. The rest of November 2004 and December 2004 through February 2005 are now available on the archives list. The January posts feature "old" Fort Clatsop before its recent destruction by fire.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1151120805482917692006-06-23T20:46:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:59.565-08:00

Before talking about the Summer of Peace signature event, I want to comment on my side trip to the town of Weippe near the region called the Weippe Prairie. It was here that the Lewis and Clark expedition stumbled out of the Rockies hungry and exhausted in September of 1805 into the midst of the Nez Perce tribe. They were fed and cared for by the Nez Perce people, although there was some

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1150387107685341972006-06-15T08:46:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:55.901-08:00

I'm heading up to Lewiston, Idaho, today to attend some of the final events of the current L&C Bicentennial Signature Event, Summer of Peace: Among the Nimiipuu. (There are three more signature events to go in Montana, North Dakota, and St. Louis.) In addition to lectures and reenactments, Summer of Peace events include a powwow, quilt and hide show, film festival,"healing ceremony," and Nez

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1150342374251277682006-06-14T20:25:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:55.769-08:00

Dear Readers, I've got about half of the previous entries for November 2004 from a now-defunct earlier weblog rebuilt and posted on Trail Watch. These are available on the archives list. They include information about sites and events in North Dakota, and a discussion about some of the problematic aspects of Lewis and Clark interpretation, including who "owns" Sacagawea.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1150253303844319912006-06-13T19:43:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:54.741-08:00

And I can't resist adding: you have nothing to lose but your chains!There will be a new statue of Meriwether Lewis' dog, Seaman, at the Fort Mandan site when I go back there in August. Read here about this Sunday's dedication festivities, which will feature a gathering of Newfoundlands. But all this publicity about Newfoundlands reminded me that I'd recently read that the breed we know today

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1150062536627665982006-06-11T14:43:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:53.448-08:00

I've completed reconstructing my blog entries for October 2004. These are available on the archives list and include posts about Monticello, the Smithsonian, Civil War battlefields at Manassas and Gettysburg, several North Dakota L&C sites and Fort Mandan, even Niagara Falls and the Corn Palace, with lots of photographs.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1149608441231870482006-06-06T08:19:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:50.030-08:00

I recently joined the Inland Northwest Bloggers' Association (there is a button on the sidebar that links to their site), and made the email acquaintance of Mari Meehan, a woman living in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, who has been carving one-of-a-kind themed chess sets for 20 years. She shared the photograph below, posted here with her kind permission, of the Lewis and Clark themed chess set she carved

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1149476163419045682006-06-04T19:51:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:46.555-08:00

Some readers know that I am rebuilding blog entries from the beginning of my sabbatical, which were previously posted to an earlier weblog. September 2004 posts are now accessible from the archives list. They include text and photos pertaining to sites in Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Indiana, and Kentucky, as well as the site of Meriwether Lewis' grave in rural Tennessee. I hope you enjoy them.

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11405925.post-1149000108478322972006-05-30T07:39:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:01:40.775-08:00

Oops, I was going to talk about Hasan Davis' performance as York in "a couple days," and here it is about three weeks later.Mr. Davis is an "educator and youth advocate," according to his website, who has overcome many difficulties in his own youth. He has been traveling over much of the country doing a one-man interpretive performance as York, a Lewis and Clark expedition member and William

Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.com