We were fortunate to have chosen fall for our tour since the tall, dark evergreens were highlighted by the brilliant leaves of the hardwoods.  When we parked the car for short hikes, we were often rewarded with old growth forests in their natural state beckoning us to come in and enjoy the peace and quiet.

This scenic drive has to be one of the finest in America — unspoiled beauty and well-marked, well-maintained parks and outlook areas.  Definitely worth the drive!

If you choose to go:

Be sure you are prepared with plenty of fuel and food since retail establishments are few and far between .  We’ve read that the Lolo Pass Visitor Center is a great first stop; however, it was closed when we got there since our visit coincided with the government shutdown.

For more information: 

The Lewis and Clark Trail: http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/

The Lewis and Clark Trail from Missoula to Lewiston (Map included): http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/trailadventures/w200.htm

Facebook: LewisandClarkTrail.com: https://www.facebook.com/relivetheadventure

For more posts on the Inland Northwest, click on the Page at the top of this post.

This post is #11 for the National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) for 2013.

Now a National Historic Landmark and the only archaeologically verified Lewis and Clark campsite in the world, Travelers’ Rest was the camping area for the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805 and 1806. The Holt Visitor Center and Museum houses artifacts and room-like vignettes indicative of the time.

Volunteers offer information on many of the artifacts and point out notable details. But the Visitor Center can be explored on your own.  Major events are outlined from the time Lewis and Clark arrived in the Bitterroot Valley in September, 1805 (exhausted and hungry but spared from death by the hospitality and generosity of the Bitterroot Salish) all the way to the time of their departure along what is now known as Lolo Trail towards the Pacific Ocean. At the time of arrival, the party included Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, 26 army troops, Clark’s slave York, Interpreters Charbonneau and Sacajawea and their infant son Baptiste, and two fellow Shoshonis. They rested a day and a half at the small flat they called “Traveler’s Rest.”

Quotes from primary sources such as this one celebrating the kindness of strangers (the Salish) line the walls of the Visitor Center:

“they received us in a friendly manner.  they appeared glad to See us.  they Smoaked with us, then gave us a pleanty Such as they had to eat, which was only Servis berrys and cheeries pounded and dryed in Small cakes. Some roots of different kinds.”

Beautiful autumn view of the Loop Trail

Well-preserved artifacts housed in glass cases enable even the youngest visitors to get a feel for life in the early 1800s.

And room settings, like this one in a teepee and the one below that Bert is examining, show the living quarters and how various life functions such as cooking, metalwork, garment creation, etc., would have been conducted.

Outside, a half-mile Loop Trail marks notable finds.  (And for young visitors, a Trail Adventure brochure serves as a scavenger hunt marked with nine notable sites along the way.)

One area marks where researchers have discovered the remains of fire-cracked rock, charcoal, and lead indicating that there had been intense heat as a result of a hot-burning fire, evidence of a working encampment.

One of the greatest finds, however, was the evidence of a “trench-like disturbance in the soil”  indicating a sink or latrine, a find that helped to authenticate the spot as the Lewis and Clark encampment.

Even though there is a tipi set up on the Loop Trail, the Visitor Center brochure says that “it is unlikely that the Expedition had any tent material by the time they reached Travelers’ Rest, with Lewis and Clark sleeping in a tipi and the rest of the party sleeping in the open or under makeshift lean-to’s.” But we loved the setting anyway!

The expedition left Travelers’ Rest on September 11, 1805, following the land route toward the Pacific, but returned in 1806.  From June 30 to July 3, the group “rested” for the last time prior to leaving Travelers’ Rest on July 3, 1806.

Without the support of the local community, the exact location of Travelers’ Rest might not have been discovered.  But now, with the support of Montana State Parks and the Travelers’ Rest Preservation and Heritage Association, this well-preserved, beautiful site welcomes all of us to consider how early explorers paved the way for future settlements.

(And, I must admit, I’m so glad my husband wanted to stop here!!!)  Let the Sams’ exploration of the Lewis and Clark Trail begin!

Travelers’ Rest State Park

6717 Highway 12 West

Lolo, MT 59847

info@travelersrest.org

www.travelersrest.org

Lolo Creek Steak House

Lolo, MT

www.lolocreeksteakhouse.com

For more posts on the Inland Northwest, click on the Page at the top of this post.

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge offers us a reason to share photos from our recent trip along the Lewis and Clark Trail, one of the most scenic drives in America.  (Well, we think so, at least.)

Placid waters, fall colors along the Lewis & Clark Trail

Fall scenery along the horizon of the Lewis & Clark Trail

View from Lewiston Hill in Lewiston ID.

For more great horizon pictures, go to Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon.

For more posts on the Inland Northwest, go to the Page at the top of this blog.  Thanks!