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| Many of the mountains the Corps of Discovery had to cross are taller than these. |
You can’t go very long in North Central Idaho without coming
across a reference to the Lewis and Clark expedition, also known as the Corps
of Discovery. Lewis County is named
after Captain Meriwether Lewis, as is the town of Lewiston. Just across the Snake River from Lewiston is
its sister-city, Clarkston, Washington, named after Captain William Clark. Lewis-Clark State College is jointly named
after both of them, and throughout the area, you find historical sites related
to their journey.
The explorers traveled through the region in 1805 on their
way to the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Americans to explore the area. They passed through in 1806 on their return trip, following
approximately the same route as they did the first time.
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| The Corps of Discovery had to travel rivers like this |
They entered Idaho through Lolo Pass. Before that, they set up a camp that Lewis
dubbed “Traveler’s Rest.” Today,
Traveler’s Rest is a Montana state park.
The journey through Idaho was not easy between the
mountains, rivers with rapids, and heavy September snow falls. Today, though, these obstacles post little trouble to travelers and are much of what makes Idaho so beautiful. One way you can enjoy them is by retracing the Corps of Discovery's journey
along US Highway 12, which parallels their travels fairly well. You can even buy interpretive CD’s to listen
to as you drive and learn about what happened in the places you are passing.
