I highly recommend the book “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West” by Stephen Ambrose. It truly brings the Lewis and Clark expedition to life. Of particular note for me was how much personal time Thomas Jefferson spent with Meriwhether Lewis in preparing him for the expedition. Jefferson spent so much time with Lewis that he was able to notice that Lewis had acquired his father’s depression but that Lewis did a good job of covering it up and not letting it interfere with his mission. There’s just so much fascinating history associated with the story. Kudos to these students for keeping this great American event achievement alive!
devilbunny · 23h ago
Among their other fine services provided to the public, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln hosts a free, one-webpage-per-day version of the collected diaries of Lewis and Clark, heavily cross-referenced. If you want to have some hint of how it was to be them, crossing unknown territory peopled by strangers, you could hardly do better.
However, if you did manage to do better, it would probably be with Dale Morgan's Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West, which was published by... the University of Nebraska Press.
tastyfreeze · 1d ago
Came to say the same. Superb immersive writing.
xtiansimon · 1d ago
HA! Sort of off-topic, but related. I grew up in CA and I'm now living in NY. I enjoy the mountains and wilderness related activities such as fly fishing. The two coasts could not be more different. In upstate NY the creeks and rivers are small and choked by lush vegetation. California is much more open, distances are further, creeks and rivers are deep and fast in the Sierras. (Although recent years the snowpack was very low). Now, after nearly two months into the season, I've been watching videos on Youtube, of course you see a share of those unique fisheries of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado--really wide open spaces, amid the back drop of the high peaks of those states. And between these are the Great Plains. Its mind boggling to contemplate the beauty and diversity (gasp) of the
US.
And I'm also a motorcyclist. So add together the appreciation of geology and the desire to wander on two wheels and you know where I was this weekend in my thoughts and plans. I was imagining the epic journey to try to capture exemplars of these contrasts by motorcycle. Naturally Lewis & Clark came to mind. Though, as I considered their journey as inspiration for a motorcycle road trip I had not recalled the extent they traveled by canoe. HAHA. Not that adventurous.
I would certainly enjoy learning more from this research for my planning of such a motorcycle trip.
However, if you did manage to do better, it would probably be with Dale Morgan's Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West, which was published by... the University of Nebraska Press.
And I'm also a motorcyclist. So add together the appreciation of geology and the desire to wander on two wheels and you know where I was this weekend in my thoughts and plans. I was imagining the epic journey to try to capture exemplars of these contrasts by motorcycle. Naturally Lewis & Clark came to mind. Though, as I considered their journey as inspiration for a motorcycle road trip I had not recalled the extent they traveled by canoe. HAHA. Not that adventurous.
I would certainly enjoy learning more from this research for my planning of such a motorcycle trip.