Along the Missouri River ( and other stuff)

 Arrow Rock, Missouri

Population 56

The beginning of the Santa Fe Trail 

The J. Huston Tavern built in 1833 and has been serving food continuously since then.  The food was delicious and reasonably priced!

  

A Tavern was not just a drinking establishment, but was also a hotel and restaurant.

A general store and meeting room were added and the rooms are on display.

Trundle beds were popular and the quilting method of the day is displayed.

A beautiful hooked rug on disiplay.

A Gunsmith Shop ( one of two in the US)

We were glad to spend an hour with Tyler to hear how he does gunsmithing (as opposed to gun building) and how he had to spend the last 10 years as an apprentice in the only other gunsmith shop ( Williamsburg VA). 

He fashions the lock by hand from scratch

makes and polishes the brass hardware

engraves and carves a beautiful stock

and (after 500 hours of labor) he has a beautiful gun that was used for survival  (food and defense) in the frontier.

It gives meaning to the phrase "lock, stock, and barrel".

Lou would love to have a beauty like this

(but the price of a totally handcrafted gun would be $20,000.)

Tyler wants his guns to be used (not just sit on a shelf for display) because they have been so thoroughly tested for safety.

This was such a fun, out of the way place and one of the reasons we love traveling with this tour company.

OTHER STUFF

The quaint "Old Town" St. Charles, MO

Great lunch spot

And This??

Probably not the grave of Lewis and Clark

(This is where they started - not ended!)

😉

                            An interesting campground offering

Good prices on the refreshments--

bug spray??

Necessary in this part of the country.

Our stop near Denver

Evan is now in Scouts, and we get to work on the Rocket Building

Luke loves meeting the kitty

Evan is a pro Lego builder.

Todd loves photographing all the activities of both kids

( and this is only a portion of the pics)

A great couple of days ( and not easy keeping up with a 2 and 6 year old!)

St. Louis - Gateway to the West---Starting Louis and Clark Tour

 The Gateway Arch National Park

A tribute to the Lewis & Clark Voyage in 1804 , the westward expansion and an engineering marvel.

view from the entrance to the park

The engineering marvel that would build elevators that utilize self leveling mechanism as it rises to the top.

Riding to the top in a pod that carries 5 people takes 4 minutes

and there are 16 of these narrow windows and 80 people at a time.

There were over 2 million visitors in 2023.

(Those with claustrophobia chose not to come.)

Looking to the west we were able to view the shadow of the arch.

The Mighty Mississippi to the east.

Coming out is a breathtaking view--

(literally)

that can cause you to lose your balance when you look straight up!

The ponds we viewed from the top are lovely.

The "Official" beginning  of the Lewis and Clark Trail

Camp River Debois

May 21, 1804

we started May 21, 2025

How to take 33 men, enough provisions to go up the Missouri River 1500 miles while being able to defend against attacks?

The keelboat was 55 feet long.

Lou with the 1790 Girandoni Air rifle that was used to amaze the Indians with its power. A highlight for Lou as he is into airguns.

Sometimes the men who abused the privilege were severely punished with lashing and then had to work the next day pulling the boats  up the river.

A major part of the voyage was making friends with the Indians by gifting and bartering.

Bear Grease for cooking and mosquito repellant.

Bear rugs are handy.

Three boats were used to haul the equipment up the Missouri river as far as North Dakota. 14 tons in the large keelboat and about 8 tons in each of the large row boats.

And the men had to haul these boats up river!!!

We had a great 'Live Presentation" of one of the explorers in the party explaining the hazards and affairs of the trek.

We heard stories of the rough waters and the need to rescue the important items.

Camp Dubois just north of St Louis where they organized all the supplies before they started the Journey.  

They often had to stay in a camp for months, sometimes waiting for supplies, sometimes building or rebuilding boats, or maybe the weather.

There will be many statues of Lewis and Clark until we reach Oregon!

"Oh the view" St. George Jeepers

 A new trip for the St. George Jeepers

And a beautiful day to enjoy the mesa's and head toward Zion

First time I've seen a cat join us 

(what a delight!)

Lots of dogs on this trip -

Some are paying attention to the leader!

29 vehicles today.

Time to stop for lunch- Buddy enjoys getting to explore a bit.

Look in the distance - you can camp in Zion

( or rather very near to the Park boundary)

What a gorgeous setting for lunch.

Thanks Dave!