Adventure at Last!

The brown signs flashed by as we rocketed east on I-94: Pompey's Pillar. "What did that say?" my travel buddy asked. "We're going there," I say as we take the exit. (Full disclosure, I had already read about this National Historic Monument). We pull up to the entrance kiosk where I show my National Park Senior Pass in exchange for the brochure. "We're having a real adventure!" Erica exclaims - we'd been driving for two days straight and were definitely exhausted by it.  "It's a National Historic Monument!" she sobs. "I didn't think we'd see anything good today!"

That totally happened. :) And look -- it's a guest blogger! 💚 I think my travel partner may have wondered if this moment would be included in today's retelling. She may have erred on the kind side -- I started tearing up when we pulled up to the kiosk, stifled a sob when handed the brochure and had an ugly cry in the parking lot. Last night I flopped on our hotel bed and wondered aloud if this was all we did: drive all day, and sleep in a weird hotel at night. That is what it feels like! So today's adventure was so welcome.

Not having been a 4th grader in Oregon, or taught 4th grade in Oregon, my Lewis & Clark knowledge is still in its infancy, so forgive any obvious explanations or inaccuracies. In 1806, on their return trip, Lewis & Clark separated, and Clark took a trip south on the Yellowstone River (they met up later in North Dakota). Half an hour outside of present day Billings, the top of Pompey's Pillar is where Clark "had a most extensive view in every direction on the Northerly Side of the river".  The pillar is 150 feet and named for Sacagawea's son, Pompey.

First of all, this interpretive center is the bomb! It doesn't take much to get these two travelers excited, but this thing was a thing of beauty. 

Inside we went through the awesome journey Clark had here at the Yellowstone,  some of what Lewis was experiencing on the Marias River, and the overall impact of the expedition. Out of all the information we took in (we spent about an hour inside) I think the wow factor for me were the before and after images of the maps of the Louisiana Purchase area. They learned so much, and used cutting edge tools and scientific measurements to do so.  

Clark's "masterpiece"

And then we went out to the Pillar! 

NPS has built a nice boardwalk/staircase up the pillar so you can have the same experience as William Clark. I'm pretty sure I was wearing better footwear, but also probably sweated a tad more than he did. It totally doesn't matter what he was wearing - WE MELTED up there! He carved his name into the side of the rock, as did many other people in the following 70 years before it was protected. I couldn't be more against leaving ones mark in that manner, but...it was neat to see not only his signature, but the names and dates of people that came after him, but still over a hundred years before me. 

We met a man at the top that was wistfully thinking about seeing the land as Clark had. True - no Crow tipis littered the valley,  and no herds of bison drank from the river, but... We're from the big city where everything is paved and buildings exist where landscapes used to live. ;) Besides some agriculture and a few power poles, it looks very similar to what he must have seen. This looked like the American West that you read about. 

The most interesting thing I learned during today's botany lesson was about the plants that L&C "discovered" during their trip. They recorded 178 plants that were previously undocumented. These plants all include the "lewisii" species in their Latin name, in honor of Meriwether Lewis. See the Wild Blue Flax below. Isn't that cool? Wherever you are, if you look at the Latin name and you see "lewisii" you know it's a plant that L&C saw, documented, and brought back evidence of on their journey.

Also, I had a wildlife encounter with yellow-bellied marmot.

😌 Happy sigh. While on the road, we are reading bits of Terry Tempest William's The Hour of Land.  In a section we read today, she talks about the road trips of yesteryears, of families taking time, and experiencing a "gradual approach" to National Parks: "Anticipation was part of the journey as was the wildness of a family spending time together for hours and days, traversing the states."

"We're doing that!" we both shouted. 😊 It has been a trek, and we didn't roll up into North Dakota until dusk today. It was brown fields and flat landscape for most of the day. I wondered as we neared the approach to the park what we would really see. National Parks are not just random spots of land; they preserve historical, scientific, or environmental areas. I know that, but still.  Maybe that is the addiction of National Parks. If you haven't been to one, you don't know exactly what you are going to see. Remember the first time you peaked over the edge and saw Crater Lake? We rolled into Theodore Roosevelt National Park after the sun set, but I still gasped. And then shouted. And also pulled over. I don't know what the colors will be in the day light, but I will tell you that this wonder popped up out of nowhere.  So lucky to have several days to explore.

And the random bits:

Veronica, thank you for the help in upgrading the car picnic. Condiment dippers are THE BOMB. 

As a parting pic, it's D R Y here. I give you my hair as evidence. Surely you can see the "wings" on either side. 😂

💕