ROAD TRIP AMERICA WITH LEWIS AND CLARK AND BOOKS

The road trip for the original Corps of Discovery hit this beach in 1805.

The modern Corps of Discovery pulled up in a tour bus yesterday and marched to the spot above the beach.

That’s one way of doing it. There are other ways, but they all have things in common with Lewis and Clark.

Water, food, and shelter are right up there for essentials. What about books?

Don’t forget books. Lewis and Clark didn’t. You shouldn’t either.

This is a sample of the library the original Corps carried.

You won’t find a Stephen King or John Grisham title in the bunch. No Jack Reacher, but he would have come in handy in a canoe.

Survival Guide Books

The modern Corps of Discovery gets off a bus. The original Corps had to build their own bus along the way.

Extra reading material for today? Stop at a bookstore or museum gift shop.

One antique shop had so many books there was bound to be The Right One for anyone.

I met the modern Corps in a Park parking lot headed for Waikiki Beach.

Waikiki Beach is a small cove below the rugged headland of Cape Disappointment. This is considered the spot where Captain Clark actually reached the Pacific Ocean on November 18th, 1805. A boardwalk which illustrates Lewis & Clark’s journey to the Pacific with entries from their journals, part of the Confluence Project, leads here.

The beach itself has a small, safe break and is popular with beginning surfers. However, the beach is named “Waikiki” not because of its attraction for surfers but because a Hawaiian sailor’s body washed up here after his ship was wrecked attempting to cross the Columbia River Bar in 1811.

A park ranger gave a talk about Lewis and Clark to add to their road trip memories. He said he’d been doing it for eighteen years.

I asked if he’d ever addressed his audience as the New Corps of Discovery. He said no, but liked the idea.

He probably wouldn’t have liked my talk to the group.

Welcome To Waikiki

The Corps of Discovery had to build their own shelter once they got to the west coast.

First came the Officer’s Quarters. Large, roomy, running water, but no wifi.

Room service was a cast away.

The enlisted men had similar rooms, but smaller.

The New Corps road trippers didn’t make it all the way to the beach to see the hardships before leaving for their motel rooms.

A well dressed bunch, they could have passed as Rick Steves European Tour people. Which is nice to see out on the Long Beach Peninsula.

Since they chose this tour, they had to be history people. Their gray hair was historic enough. I fit right in except I opted for extra adventure in the sand.

Once I saw the driftwood forts I knew there was more to be done: I wanted to make a discovery.

To that end I picked up a sturdy pole and started stirring through the beach debris and rolling small logs. You know the feeling of finding something just before you find it? I had it.

But I didn’t find anything.

To complete the beach visit I looked around for a kelp whip to swing. No kelp whip, but I did find a couple of jousting poles for my wife and I to fight it out. She gave it a good go, but growing up in LA didn’t prepare her for breach jousting.

We started out, took a few swings, and called it good. A kelp whip would have been better.

Lewis And Clark Road Trip Saved By A New Mom

You’d need a peace symbol going through uncharted lands occupied by people with uncertain intentions.

Sacagawea stepped up for them.

How bad could any group be with a wife and child in tow? Add York, an enslaved black man the native population had never seen, and everyone got along better.

It wasn’t a movable feast, but the Corps of Discovery found their way past some potential hostile hurdles by way of their personnel. Just not the ones you imagined.

Their job, their goal, was reaching the Pacific Ocean. The second part was getting back to report in. And they did.

With paintings and drawings and descriptions, Lewis and Clark delivered the goods to Thomas Jefferson.

Was he pleased? Happy? Ecstatic? He had to be, but he was also a man defined by his times.

Jefferson was the writer who said, “All Men Are Created Equal?”

With all of the celebration and excitement brought back by the Corps of Discovery road trip, two of the main players were ignored.

Did anyone object to this deal? Instead of money and land, the sort of land the Oregon Trail pioneers looked forward to, the black man and the Indian lady were dropped off.

How much changed during the ensuing years?

Arguably the most generous federal land act in American history, the law legitimized the 640-acre claims provided in 1843 under the Oregon Provisional Government, with the proviso that white male citizens were entitled to 320 acres and their wives were eligible for 320 acres.

A white man and his white man’s wife received equal treatment, but nothing for the man and woman who undertook the most daring road trip ever at the time.

This is where history turns a little wonky.

The beautiful Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center covers the topic thoroughly. They could have left out the part about York and Sacagawea compensation compared to the rest of the group. Kudos to them for presenting accurate history.

The history question to ask? Did Lewis or Clark remedy this glaring omission?

For answers, find the right books and read. It’s that simple.

Then come back here and leave a comment. After all, inquiring minds want to know.