TOUR AMERICA 2022, AMANA RV PARK AND EVENT CENTER, AMANA, IA

Friday, April 29, 2022

Temperature 63, Rain, Gusting Winds

Missouri River Basin, Lewis and Clark Center, Nebraska City, NE

Since today seems like it is going to be an inside day due to weather, I’m going to try and get caught up on attractions we visited while in Nebraska City.

This is the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center that is part of The Lewis and Clark Adventure Trail which is a 3,700-mile long historical trail in the United States National Park Service system.

It passes through 11 states and follows the path Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took as they explored the lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. As visitor centers/museums go it is rather small but it is absolutely packed with fascinating exhibits and facts. Following is a small part of what was there.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was the first overland expedition across America from the east to the Pacific Ocean and back.

President Thomas Jefferson asked

Captain Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson’s private secretary, to arrange the expedition. Before the expedition Lewis was sent to Philadelphia in order to learn botany, celestial navigation, medicine and zoology.

Regarding what he learned about medicine

While in Philadelphia he also purchased supplies and spent $20 on Newfoundland dog, Seaman.

The second commander in charge of the expedition.

Lewis asked his friend Lieutenant William Clark of the US Army to hire and train men for the expedition while he gathered supplies.

The expedition began on May 14, 1804 and it took over two years to complete. There were several reasons for the expedition: to map a route that would be part of a water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans; to determine the boundaries of the territory obtained in the Louisiana Purchase, to make diplomatic contact with Native American Indians, and expand the American fur trade.

The Corps of Discovery (as the expedition company was called) traveled 10 to 20 miles a day.

They polled, pushed, and pulled their keel boat upstream. But the going was not always easy.

They also used many other types of boats.

President Jefferson also instructed Lewis to map the geography of the West.

Lewis and Clark ‘discovered’ animals that they had never heard of including the grizzly bear.

Many plants were ‘discovered’ by Lewis and Clark on the expedition as well.

October 16, 1805 the expedition was finally completed. They had traveled nearly 8,000 miles round trip, survived altercations with Indians, almost starved to death at one point in time, and learned new ways to fish. The expedition contributed significant geographic and scientific knowledge of the West, aided the expansion of the fur trade, and strengthened U.S. claims to the Pacific. Clark’s maps portraying the geography of the West, printed in 1810 and 1814, were the best available until the 1840s.

If you are ever passing through this part of the country do yourself a favor and plan on stopping for a bit to explore the visitor center. You will not regret it.

Thanks again for taking the time to share our adventures with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with others. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before