tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114059252008-04-27T22:30:02.550-07:00Kathleen A. Dahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823430314345158858noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag: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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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 Homepage The 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.com