December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Two: The Governor’s Palace and Patrick Henry

First stop in Colonial Williamsburg is the governor’s palace. A popular activity there is to listen to a speech by one of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson or Patrick Henry. The fellow who plays Jefferson apparently looks like him… because he is a direct descendent of him!

On the crisp morning of my visit, the talk was by Patrick Henry. Other than his “give me liberty or give me death” speech, I didn’t know much about him. With the talk being 45 minutes, I didn’t expect to stay through the whole thing. The reenactor was so good, that I hung onto every word! I really would suggest not missing this if you go to Williamsburg.

(As point of reference, by this point, it was 11:30 and I had already been in Colonial Williamsburg two and a half hours!)

All the open buildings in Colonial Williamsburg have an English flag outside the entrance. The governor’s palace did not. It was just open for private school tours. But we could wander around the grounds.

: You have to go through this little gateway in the wall to reach the gardens.

: The gardens are full of these pathways.

: The governor’s palace from the rear.

: This crest was equisite.

: This is a curious little building with a door on either side, a few steep steps leading from ground level down, and about 1 square foot of space. I found an interpreter who was able to tell me what this building was possibly used for.

: Entrance to the cellar. Duck!

: Hooch.

: The cellar was quite dank and musty.

: Pots of apricots.

: The best the historians can come up with about the curious building is that the governor would stand in this building on a hot day and his servants would poor cold water on him!

: This drain is supporting evidence of the building’s purpose.

: Walled garden.

: Garden gate with a weight to close it.

: Go that way into the hedge? Huh?

: Oh, it’s a maze. How do I get out of here again?!

: Cute little door with a big lock.

: Patrick Henry. This guy knew his stuff, fielding questions with aplomb! He made the context of Colonial Williamsburg very clear and also revealed a lot about the man. Do a search about Sarah Henry, his wife, for example. Tragic.

: Cute little house off the palace green.

: Interior of McKenzie’s where you can buy snacks.

: You can buy cold drinks and snacks here.

: The governor’s palace as seen from the palace green.

August 19, 2012 by Rae

Fort Chambly (and a Bonus Side Trip to Downtown Montreal)

Canadian history is a bloody mess of conquests, racial tensions, thrilling battles, crushing defeats, and centuries-long grudges. How anyone can call our history boring is beyond me. It is such a shame that many Canadians know about, say, the battle of the Alamo or Custer’s Last Stand but know nothing about the raid on Deerfield or why the political situation in Quebec is as it is.

Canadians need to go to places like Fort Chambly and read the placards or to sites like Fort Lennox where history is brought to life. Our country was born here, along the Saint-Lawrence, Ottawa, and Richelieu Rivers. You can’t understand what it is to be Canadian today without understanding how it is that we got here. I believe that if more Canadians knew and appreciated their history, we would be able to get over our linguistic and cultural grudges and form a strong, united, country. But as long as we keep this nearly four-century year old resentment alive without understanding its basis, there can be no resolution.

Fort Chambly sits at the heart of Canadian history, rooted in the French-Indian Wars of the 17th century, the English conquest of New France of the 18th century, and the 1812 war against the United States.

Located on the banks of the Richelieu River, an important north-south link with New York state, Fort Chambly is now a park where families come to picnic and I used to spend long hours up a tree writing, reading, and day dreaming. I spent my late childhood and adolescence just a few blocks away and the grounds of the fort were like my second home

I’d been meaning to return to the fort all summer. Since I was due for a date with my grand-mother, I proposed that we go to Fort Chambly today. I felt a little trepidation at coming back for the first time in 15 years, but I was glad to see that it was the same place. The trees have grown a little, but that’s it.

I’ll put all the information in the photo captions, but will say that after we toured the fort, we enjoyed a picnic under the trees. Then, we drove to Saint-Lambert to drop off something for my aunt and I got spirited away on a short jaunt to downtown Montreal to see my cousin’s loft; hence the bonus Montreal pictures.

Merci pour la belle journée, grand-maman!

Fort Chambly from the parking lot. You used to actually see the Fort; the trees have grown!

The bridge from the parking lot to the Fort, looking towards the Bassin

Looking up towards Bourgogne Avenue (I took the bus to high school up there for a year).

I couldn’t believe how much the trees have grown!

the Bassin de Chambly (a large spot in the Richelieu River), with the marina (the water is FILTHY, so while there is boating, there’s no swimming)

The Bassin de Chambly

approaching the entrance to the fort

looking up river

entrance to the fort

names of some of the major military leaders who commanded the fort in the 17th and 18th centuries (names added at the end of the 19th century)

inside the fort

map of New France

most of the exhibits are about the fort in the late 17th century at the time of New France before the British conquest

Fort Chambly was built along the Richelieu between Albany and Montreal

map of the Iroquois Wars/French-Indian Wars, 1641 to 1701

looking downriver from Montreal to Albany

at the time, it took four hours to go from Chambly to Longueuil (now about 20 minutes!)

I remember this pottery

Fort Saint-Jean was the next fort south of Chambly

Fort Chambly was the last defensive outpost of Montreal

I remember this pottery

Albany and Montreal were rivals in the fur trade but Canada never attacked the city. In the 18th century, it took eight to make the journey by canoe. I made this route in just a few hours northward this spring.

from Albany looking up towards Montreal

Albany, 1760

Montreal, 1760

looking out towards the middle of the fort

Lake Champlain

I still love the plank floors

wow, this place hasn’t changed!

fierce Iroquois warriors

his tattoos are impressive!

He was a Mohawk chief known as Brant

the fur trade was the pillar of the New France economy

reasons for Fort Chambly: in short, to prevent invasion and to provide a staging ground for invasion

a tomahawk

a variety of snowshoes

remnants of a shovel

The population of New France was 4,415, of which the split was 30% soldiers, 30% women, and 40% civilian men. In other words, women were a commodity in short supply!

a musket

the raid on Deerfield was in 1704

New England prisoners from the raid were forced marched back to Fort Chambly with the woman forced into arranged marriages and the children given to French Canadian families

18th century wedding bands

18th century children’s clothing

children were stolen from their families and brought back to Canada to be raised French

17th century toys

a key

17th century tools

the existing fort was rebuilt from 1750 plans

how the fort was constructed

powder magazine

view from the powder magazine

powder magazine

we’re now on the second story and I am showing how the wooden turrets seen from outside are decorative (save one)

looking out over the Richelieu

the fort is square with loopholes and other defense mechanisms at each corner

I’ve always loved his sneer!

soldiers at work

that drum looks heavy!

sword

a 17th century screwdriver!

17th century personal effects of a soldier

a 17th century shoe

soldiers having dinner (the corn still looks good, the stew still looks like dog food)

in the 17th century, the daily ration was about 2,000 calories while today the military rations are about 2,500 calories

modern rations have changed!

soldiers grooming (there’s even one sleeping in the bed)

soldiers with families billeted in the village

soldiers at rest

a soldier “enjoyed a good life and a bad reputation”

tobacco

an imposing commander

Fort Chambly was surrendered to the English in September of 1760, just before the capitulation of New France

In1763, the King of France conceded defeat and handed New France to the British. Two hundred years later, the French would take back their country during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. Two centuries of English oppression cannot be forgiven and now the English in Quebec are paying for the sins of their ancestors. How many generations will it take for this rift to be healed?

“All conquests go deep — they are among the deepest of human experiences.”

a dormer window looking into the courtyard

comparison of the population in different years

lovely window

a typical French Canadian homestead (seigneurie) was 10 times as long as it was wide and was set against the river

sample 18th century homestead

bread was a staple food, with wheat comprising 50% of the diet

other grains, like rye and corn, comprised 10% each of the diet

toys

we are about to go up to the watchtower (watch your head!)

it’s very claustrophobic up there!

gorgeous view from the watchtower

I always thought this model of a bird was pretty

entering the Albany room (named for the singer Albani), which holds temporary exhibits (currently about the War of 1812)

“For Canadians, the War of 1812 was about the successful defense of a small colony against attack by a much larger neighbor.”

a cocky 13-year-old boy did not believe the Americans would win

“For the United States, the War of 1812 was a second successful war of independence from Britain.”

I am really amused that the US thinks it won the War of 1812 because Canada didn’t conquer it.

Tony Blair apologizes for the British/Canada burning down the Library of Congress during the War of 1812.

While US and British relations normalized after the War of 1812, Native Americans were left vulnerable.

modern Britain has almost completely forgotten the War of 1812

back in the courtyard, we’re heading towards the luxurious (for the time) privies

this luxurious privy was over fast moving water, meaning no smells or diseases

looking up the rapids

looking towards the rear of the fort

Grand-maman packed lunch. It doesn’t look like much, but it got me to dinner, which is no small feat! We had crackers, cheese, almonds, a fig, half a banana, and a couple of bite-sized oatmeal chocolate chip cookies each, plus water. We ate on the grass in the shade of a big tree.

the watchtower we visited

the rear of the fort (with fake watchtowers)

In 1775-1776, during their War of Independence, the Americans invaded Canada. In 1812, we finally had enough and burned down their White House. 🙂

Saint-Jean was favoured over Chambly for defense starting in 1840

I used to climb this tree and read in its branches for hours!!!

The big hole was smaller back then, but the seat-like branch where I’d make myself comfy is still there

the tree looks a lot worse for wear now!

🙁

the father of one of my high school friends was the reverend of this church

the guard house (closed to visits)

my grand-mother thought it was hilarious that my best memory of this park and community centre was of the time I stepped in dog doo there!

The Ducharme residence (formerly a garrison, then converted to a stately home)

it’s for sale!

the house was bought in 1908 and used as a saddlery, then was converted to a residence in 1938

Fort Chambly is a National Historic Site

intersection of Bourgogne and Langevin, the street where I grew up. I took my bus here one year and resented it badly since I lived on the opposite end of the street (quite a distance) and the bus passed just a block from my house.

looking down Langevin street

I lived here from 1987 to 1998 (age 8 to 19). It’s not a mansion! There are three apartments; we lived in two and rented the third. The joke was that the guy who built it was missing only two tools: a level and a square. The house was a bunch of rooms added to each other and we actually discovered a secret room off the garage (cold cellar) and there was a secret passage going from my room to the downstairs apartment!

Bourgogne Avenue (further back, the street has really been developed into a touristy strip)

downtown Montreal, place Ville-Marie (building that looks like a carpenter’s pencil)

Place Bonaventure (the train depot, mega shopping centre, and the hub of underground Montreal)

the hideous Palais des congrès

we’re on the roof terrace of my cousin’s loft (shared space) looking at the Hôtel Inter-Continentel

church from the terrace

water tower?

National Bank headquarters (on the right, behind the crane)

close up of the Hôtel Inter-Continentel

closeup of the church

I like churches 🙂

Hydro-Québec headquarters (they have the monopoly to create and provide electricity)

June 8, 2012 by Rae

Through the U.P. Along the Shores of Gitche Gumee

I made it to the Soo Ontario!!!!!!!!! I left Thief River Falls, MN, at 5:45AM CST and pulled into my final destination at the Soo (no room at the first inn) at about 9:00PM CST (10:00PM EST). It’s been a very long day, not aided by the fact that the fastest speed limit all day was 55MPH. At least, most of it was through the U.P., the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a gorgeous stretch of country.

This long day was soooo scenic. I love northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan! I went through a little bit of this area between the western and eastern tips of Lake Superior back in ’05 when I did my grand tour of the Great Lakes. I highly recommend making that road trip once in your life!

I really wanted to get across the border tonight to get it done, figuring that a couple more hours waiting to cross and then being interrogated wasn’t going to kill me at this point. So, of course, I only had to wait a minute and I got the nicest Canadian Customs officer I have ever dealt with!

Her: “Where are you from?”
Me: “Lethbridge, AB.”
Her: “My God, dear, what are you doing all the way out here?!” (that is verbatim, LOL!)

I explained that I was coming to visit family. She asked where I crossed and then we had a discussion about the fact that Montana extends into Saskatchewan. Bla bla.

Her: “Did you buy anything en route?”
Me: “I didn’t have time; I just drove straight through.”
Her, handing me back my passport: “Well, you be safe now. Have a good trip!”

No questions about booze, drugs, guns, nothing. She made my day. I wish I could have hugged her. 🙂

Tip: Like at Sarnia/Port Huron and, presumably, Detroit/Windsor, there is a bridge connecting the US and Canada. You will need to have some small change with you as there is a fare. Today, it was $3 both CAD and US. When I crossed at Sarnia/Port Huron in ’05, the dollars weren’t close to par so the amounts were different and I remember opting to pay in US dollars as it was better value!

My destination tonight was the Super 8 motel. That chain is my standby on road trips as it is always clean and sometimes is very nice. But they were full and told me to try the Comfort Inn across the road. I did and blanched when I entered the lobby in my super casual skirt and tee-shirt to discover this is a much more luxurious hotel than I normally stay at. Everyone in the lobby was dressed to the nines and the next person in line with a suitcase had on a business suit. But I was there and the clerk didn’t even blink when she saw me so I figured I might as well inquire about rates even though I was sure I’d be turning around and sleeping in my truck at the casino.

I asked about a single, non-smoking, and was told that the singles were actually mini-suites with king beds, and their least expensive option at $99. What?! Had the Super 8 had room, it would have been $88. What was an extra $11?! I took a room, went back to the truck to get all my valuables, and then hoofed it to my ‘tower’ room. Pictures are below. It is insanely luxurious. I love the shower and that there is a proper work desk. I actually feel comfortable walking barefoot in here.

First order of business was a very long shower, which included a test of all the bath products available. This is such a fancy place that there is both body and facial soap. 🙂

I’ll be heading to bed shortly. It’s 11:15 here, so I’m pretty sure a super early start tomorrow is unlikely. I have another 14 hours or so of driving to do, but it’s all familiar territory, so I’ll get home when I get home.

Driving the truck for such a long day has really made me see my Accents in a new light: I’m not even remotely sore. Moya pretty much drives herself, making her name very appropriate! I laughed when I stopped for gas just before lunch when a guy came up to me and said, “So, how do you like YOUR Ranger?” I looked up and saw Moya’s fraternal twin, a dark green topperless 2000 ‘sport’ Ranger. Not sure what makes it ‘sport’ since it’s not a side step model.

The pictures below are out of order as I finally got my camera pics dumped onto the laptop. So far on this trip, you’ve only seen what I’ve taken with my iPad. Tomorrow, I will see if there’s anything worth sharing from the phone since I didn’t bring the mini card reader adapter. That’s a crazy number of camera options, but I finally learned how to add pics to my posts from the iPad, so I’ve been favouring that camera since I’ve only cracked open the laptop a couple of times.

nice to land here tonight!

I gave a lady toilet paper at a rest area and she felt obligated to reciprocate with a box of Raisinets. Raisins and chocolate, I could not refuse. As for the drink, McDonald’s sizes are ridiculous! But all the sizes were $1 and I wanted a big cold drink. So half the cup is ice, two thirds of the rest is water, and there’s a shot of juice. 🙂

bird near Donna’s RV park

park near Donna’s RV park

lovely bridge in Stettler

the spiral maze

this reminded me of the pingo in Tuk!

looking at the spiral maze from the top of the hill

Stettler sunset

Stettler museum

the Roving Acres + half of Travels With Miranda 🙂

Rugby, ND, the geographic centre of North America

entering Minnesota

the truck ahead of me is one step up from the Ranger, the F150. Same colour as my truck but definitely beefier!

entering Wisconsin, a sorely under rated state

I love the French names in Wisconsin, like Eau Claire and Fond du Lac

It was noon when I hit the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland, WI. I had a nap, then took the time to tour the museum before grabbing lunch and dinner (a Subways sandwich) down the road

Monarch butterflies land in Wisconsin in droves during their migration

more about Monarch butterfly migration

Lake Superior has the largest surface area of all the fresh water lakes on the planet

“The oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.” Aldo Leopold

Lake Superior

Lake Superior from a viewpoint where I had my dinner

Lake Superior

I’m a direct descendant of Grosseillers, a French-Canadian explorer of this area

a hole in the clouds after an impressive storm (had I been an hour behind where I was, in Marquette County, MI, I would have had to find shelter because of a tornado warning!)

May 12, 2012 by Rae

Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier (Petersburg, VA)

As the morning marched I, I could see that I was going to waste the day moping. I decided that I was in Petersburg and surely there had to be a Civil War battlefield or monument or something where I could go spend a few hours. I went on Trip Advisor to look up the area attractions and the first thing that came up made me giddy. In less than 20 minutes, I was on my way to the Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, site of the last big battle of the American Civil War, The Breakthrough.

This major battle of April 2nd, 1865, isn’t well known, but it was the death knell for the Confederate Army. The war ended just a week later with the surrender of Confederate soldiers, including General Lee.

The words to describe this incredible facility almost escape me. There is the museum, but also a plantation, a second museum about the Breakthrough battle, and finally there is a walk through the battlefield. I arrived at noon and the park closes at 5:00. I was the last guest off the property and got back so close to 5:00 that they were literally about to send a search party for me. And after five whole hours there, I didn’t see and do everything!

Regular admission to the facility is $12. This includes an audio tour of the entire facility. This gadget is what made the visit so memorable and ensured I spent as much time there as I did. Photography is only allowed outside, not in the two museums.

The first thing to do is tour The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. You are asked to pick a soldier out of a group and the tour will be personalized with his perspective. I was amused that my randomly selected ‘comrade’, Sergeant Peter Welsh, was originally from Canada! His letters were read by an interpreter, adding a personal touch to the exhibits.

This museum was really, really well done, with lots of artifacts and the audio track being a combination of narration and reading of period documents. One exhibit had three men playing poker and the audio track was of their conversation, a clever way to show the drudgery of daily life in camp.

My favourite exhibit in this museum was one that is optional because it is so intense. You are sent into a battlefield. I shut my eyes for most of it and was completely transported. The ground shakes and bursts of air brush by you, simulating a volley of bullets. By the end of it, I actually ducked and cowered when a shell went off right beside me!

After this museum, I headed outside to tour the Tudor Plantation, a fairly typical tobacco plantation that was occupied by the army. You can tour the house itself, restored to period looks, the kitchen, the tobacco barn, the kitchen garden, and the slave quarters. The slave quarters have a really good movie showing the perspective of six (fictional) people from the 1850s who share their ideas about slavery.

By the time I was doing with the plantation, I had already been on site for three hours! I ate my picnic lunch (bring food!) then continued to the Battlefield Center. On the way there, you can see a reproduction of the trenches used to fight in the area, the sight of which will remind you of World War One.

There are just a couple of exhibits at the Battlefield Center as well as a few movies. It was 3:30 by the time I was done with the exhibits and I had to make the choice between watching a movie or walking through the battlefield. I decided that I wanted to spend some time outdoors.

Before getting to the battlefield, you have to cross a military winter camp. I was disappointed that I’d missed the period reinactors, but they finish for the day around 3:00.

I decided to do the big loop through the battlefield, including the detour to see the Hart farm and the site of a modern camp where people can go recreate the days of the Civil War. But I was too short on time to do the Heartland Trail.

It was amazing to see the Civil War-era ‘works’, the dirt berms built as fortifications. I found it very difficult to believe that at that time, there was nothing in the area but barren ground and mud. While the area is filled with trees today, there was no place to hide except behind the berms during the Civil War.

I had an amazing day at Pamplin Historical Park and am almost grateful that the circumstances have been such lately to have brought me to this memorable facility. I would have really missed out on something special had I been on schedule today.

The pictures below have more information.

map of this impressive facility (it’s HUGE)

walking out of the first museum towards the plantation

that’s the tobacco barn, where the tobacco leaves were cured over a fire

first glimpse of Tudor house

the tobacco barn

Tudor house, a fairly typical plantation house

lambs

inside the laundry/kitchen building; house slaves slept upstairs

the stairs from hell

the kitchen (in an outbuilding to keep heat and odors out of the main house)

family cemetery

the laundry/kitchen outbuilding

Tudor house (home of the Boisseau family, pronounced not Bwa-so but Bo-saw)

Tudor house

the outbuildings

work shed

the parlour as it might have looked under army occupation

a box that once held breakfast cocoa

interesting wallpaper

I liked the wallpaper in this less formal parlour/dining room

staircase to the second level

Love this bed, but imagine the dust!

dressing table

closeup of 19th century toothbrush

the trim was a bright aqua colour

a bedroom imagined as an officer’s quarters

the children’s bedroom as barracks

the kitchen garden

herbs

onions

I was leaving this area when the audio invited me to in and see what was growing. Here, it’s radishes and onions.

cayenne peppers!

these cabbage are coming up nicely

the watermelons are starting

a ball and chain serve as a reminder to keep the gate shut

the lambs liked the shade provided by the fense

heading to the slave quarters

approximate walking times to the various areas (very generous; I must be a fast walker)

the field slave quarters weren’t as luxurious as those of the house slaves

approaching the slave quarters

an interesting lock; if you try to open the door, the chain goes through the whole until it gets blocked by the padlock

this rooster was very chatty

entrance to the museum about slavery

the movied showed the perspective of a wealthy slave owner, an abolitionist minister, a freed slave, a slave cook, a farmer, and yeoman (all but the rich lady felt slavery was wrong, but the white except for the minister felt that blacks are inferior and should be segregated)

inside slave quarters

children slept up in the rafters

slaves ate what their masters provided and what they could forage

field slaves had one set of clothes for the year while house slaves had new clothes more often

day pass for a slave to serve at a wedding

the end of the American Civil War started here

walking towards the Battlefield Center

trench

the Battlefield Center was built to look like the pointy wooden structures (not the fence in the foreground) called ‘abatis’, the Civil War equivalent of barbed wire

canon

looking towards the winter camp

the Battlefield Center

walking towards the winter camp

winter camp quarters were given funny names

map of the Breakthrough Trail

the site of the battle is now a National Historic Landmark

these berms were built by Civil War soldiers

map of the trail including the optional detour to the Hart farm

these berms were built by Civil War soldiers

the Hart farm

site of a camp where recreationists can live the days of the Civil War

the Hart farm (the area around it was occupied by soldiers, but not the house itself, inhabited by a widow who hid in the cellar when there was shelling)

the Hart house is a gothic cottage complete with gingerbread

it’s really rather lovely!

description of the army camp set up in the Hart orchard

another view of the modern camp for recreationists

canon

starting on the main loop path

this small ravine was the setting for the events that gave the Union the edge it needed to win the war

part of the strategy involved the building of a dam; you can see a break in it here

the battle came to a head here

the neat little audio gadget; when you got to a placard with a number on it, you could enter the number and get a few minutes of audio about the area

looking up a berm at a canon (really)

can you see the canon now?

many minutes later, I’m up the berm by the canon

the Breakthrough Battle was fought on April 2nd, 1865 (entrance to the Battlefield Center)

April 27, 2012 by Rae

Exploring St Charles, Missouri (and the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center)

Today, I took reader Gina’s advice and drove all the way to historic St Charles, Mo, to visit the historic downtown section as well as the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center.

‘All the way’ is about 3 miles from where Miranda is parked, at the Harrah’s Casino. 😀

It was cold in the rig today and it promised to be grey and miserable all day, so I decided that since I was up I might as well get an early start and have breakfast in St Charles before going to the museum, which opened at 10. It was only 9:30 when I was done, so I went over to Walmart, also in St Charles, to get a few things and discovered a gigantic Dollar Tree store next door. I have never seen one so big, and it was full of brand name products! The cashier teased me when I told her that ‘all those bags’ couldn’t all be mine, saying that she was watching me toss stuff in my basket like I was touring Ali Baba’s cave! Everything was on the list, however, and I barely had to get anything at Walmart.

I then drove to the historic downtown portion of St Charles, a formerly French-Canadian city that was the last bastion of civilization for the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is tons of free parking down near the boat house, just a block from the southern portion of Main Street.

I read the Lewis and Clark journals about 15 years ago, but I think they would make a bigger impression on me today, so I have downloaded the free Kindle version (readable on my iPad and iPod Touch using the Kindle app) and am looking forward to rereading about their journey now that I have pretty much covered their whole route to the Pacific Ocean.

The museum is small with entry costing $4. This includes a really good National Geographic movie about the expedition that had me glued to the edge of my seat!

After the museum, I walked up to Main Street and walked it from the southern to the northern end and back again, visiting a few shops and checking out the restaurant menus. The Little Hills Winery menu was particularly appealing and quite inexpensive, so I went in, but lunch was rather disappointing. The ciabatta bun was stale and the McCain-type seasoned wedge fries were tepid. The sandwich filling, however, was incredibly delicious and is one I would like to recreate at home! There was a moist and flavourful charbroiled chicken breast topped with thin slices of creamy Brie, two strips of crispy bacon, and a delicious apple and onion chutney, definitely worth the price of lunch.

I got an ice cream for the walk back to the car, made briskly as the sky was starting to spit. It’s now very windy and threatening to storm.

Check out the gallery for more information about my day.

this was a crazy intersection; I had no idea where to go and was so glad I could follow this car!

the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center

close up of the sign

Mention of St Charles by Clark

Portraits of Lewis and Clark (did you know that William Clark was a flaming red head?)

about Lewis

about Clark

mention of how well managed was the expedition and that only one man died

representation of a stone house at the time

the museum

this razor may have belonged to Lewis

list of articles, including the Lewis’ razor

a page from the Lewis geneology

description of Floyd, the man who died (probably of a ruptured appendix)

“I have been wet and cold in every part as I ever was in my life”–Clark

a little bit about their Shoshone guide, Sacagawea, the wife of a French-Canadian interpreter

about Sacawagaea’s son, the final member of the expedition

About the expedition’s triumphant return to St Charles. The men had been gone for 28 months and were presumed dead.

An hilarious story about a French Canadian interpreter with such poor eyesight that he mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him in the rear!

representation of this man, Pierre Cruzatte

I loved this statue of Lewis and Clark; it seems to capture their spirit

Reproduction of the type of clothes the French Canadian men would have worn (Lewis and Clark’s soldiers all wore military attire. When that was worn through, they made neat leather suits. The image of a roughly dressed expedition party is fictional.)