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Lewis & Clark Canoe Trip Planned for August

By Anonymous

Canoes move along the pristine Missouri River as a hawk circles overhead and a summer breeze rustles the leaves of ancient cottonwoods along the shore. This scene took place 200 years ago when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the Missouri River. It will take place again this summer during the Heritage Outbound Adventure scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, August 9-10, near Washburn, N.D.

“This is the fourth summer we’ve offered this exciting adventure to the public,” said Rachel Retterath, Lewis & Clark coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism Division. “We take the same route Lewis and Clark took as we explore our rich heritage.”

Along with paddling the last undeveloped stretch of the Missouri River in a birchbark canoe, the adventurers will try the foods that Lewis and Clark ate, gather around an evening campfire and sleep in tipis.

The weekend will be informative as well. The staff at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site is set to talk about American Indian culture. Dr. John Hoganson, North Dakota Geological Survey, will explain the river’s history, geography and geology. Stop mid-afternoon on a Missouri River sandbar to document your journey using the writing materials of Lewis and Clark and the paints used by the Mandan and Hidatsa for hide painting. Spend an evening camping on the banks of the Missouri River, enjoying a buffalo dinner, paddling a bullboat, listening to traditional Hidatsa stories around a campfire and navigating the stars after dark. The second day takes adventurers to Fort Mandan, where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-05 and where they met Sakakawea, their Indian interpreter and guide.

The weekend is limited to 14 participants, so it is important to register early, according to Retterath. The $250 cost covers all fees, meals, sleeping bags, ground pads, transportation to and from landing sites and the use of canoes and tipis.

“Conditions are primitive and paddling the mighty Missouri can be strenuous,” said Retterath. “We encourage participants to plan ahead and be in good shape.”

Sponsors for the Heritage Outbound Adventure are the State Historical Society of North Dakota, North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism Division, North Dakota Geological Survey, Three Affiliated Tribes Museum, North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

For more information or to register, call Kiri Stone, State Historical Society, at 701-328-2799 or e-mail kstone@state.nd.us.



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