DAY 11 - June 11, 2004
Crossing the Continental Divide

Day 9-10

Sacajawea Interpretive Center

On Day 11, the weather finally cleared for the Flight of Discovery to take off for the next planned destinations. Aircraft started departing around 9 AM, and it was off over some wonderful terrain, and through some spectacular scenery, as the Missouri wound its way through the mountains of Montana.

First stop was Three Forks, MT, where several pilots met with some of the crew during a refueling stop. Then it was on to Twin Bridges, and there were some children waiting to meet with the crew. And finally, the crew passed over the Continental Divide, by way of the Lemhi Pass, and made their way down to the most welcoming town of Salmon, ID.


Cessna Flight Operations


Weather

Salmon, ID (SMN)

45o 07.43'N
113o 52.88'W

Runway 17/35
Length 5,150' x 60'
Elevation 4043'

3:30PM Local Time
Winds fairly calm from 350

Visability = 10
Overcast 10,000'
Temp 10/ Dew point 7
Flew over Bitteroot Mountains through Lemhi Pass, elev. 7,300', from Three Forks (9S5).

Expedition Leader's Notes

I've pretty much given up on the idea that we can launch early in the morning; we schedule 8:00am but generally are lucky to get off by 10:00am. I'm concerned about late starts primarily because of turbulence and uplift over the mountains, but we also have folks to meet along the Trail and they look at our schedule on the web, unaware of what it takes to get 34 people and aircraft rolling everyday.

Sigfried and Greg left us here at Great Falls; our loyal Dog of Discovery needed a rest so Greg took him by van to Big Fork, MT for a little R & R. We'll miss both of them terribly.

Today, the morning delay works in our favor as the weather begins to clear out over the mountains as the flight continues south. Gates of the Mountains… and from altitude it's easy to make out Mann Gulch and the historic fire written about by Norman MacClean in "Young Men and Fire". We actually fly quite high above the Gates and Canyon Ferry Reservoir to avoid turbulence. We exit the reservoir, noting the artificial breeding islands at the south end and fly lower along the winding river valley (I could easily live here), landing at historic Three Forks for fuel.

After quickly fueling and playing with the FBO's resident dogs, we launch into the clearing skies, eventually landing abreast snow-capped mountains in beautiful Twin Bridges… a airport we were actually invited to stop at by Heather at Ruby Valley Aviation. Here we encountered our first kids with signs... ready to trade. Everybody really dug this and exchanged buttons and medallions for pins, purses and pizza… provided generously by the FBO. From the airport, the Beaverhead… recognized by Sacajawea as indicating her homeland 200 years ago… really looks like a beaver. While we were on the ground, a charter flight of fishermen arrived… from San Diego; go figure. We'll be back to fish someday ourselves.

Like me at Mandan, Roger decided to challenge high density altitude and take off on the grass strip. And like me, he quickly radioed back to use the asphalt. South to Clark Reservoir… the submerged Camp Fortunate… then directly west and over Lemhi Pass and the Continental Divide. It was for me, as it must have been for Lewis, an extremely important moment. It seemed from that point that we fairly slid down the valleys to Salmon, ID.

At the airport we were met by Terry Whittier, his family and a host of local students and citizens… again with signs of welcome. We were escorted to the new Sacajawea Interpretive Center where we presented the first program in the Meriwether Lewis theater. We were hosted to a fantastic dutch-oven dinner sponsored by Salmon Air and unbelievably, were serenaded by a fiddle group. Invited to join in, I "had" to oblige, picked up a loose guitar and it was a hoot. As Brian said: "Anyone who serves me six different desserts is a friend of mine."

After some story telling by Terry, Leslie and her resolute band of website volunteers took up residence in the Center office until late in the evening, or for her, early morning. Roger and I ran into town to find the fixins for s'mores, successfully locating marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers at the local 7-11.

We set up camp along the creek, among the cottonwoods in the valley below the Center. As the distant snow-capped mountain ghosted in the web-light of moon and stars, it was easy to imagine this as the place that birthed the legendary Shoshone girl that became part of the Corps of Discovery legend. We burned marshmallows, made a dent in the supply of Italian wine, sang songs until we were too tired to stay awake and slept like rocks.

Co-Expedition Leader Daily Log Notes: Friday, June 11, 2004

We depart toward Salmon Idaho in search of the Lemhi Pass where Lewis & Clark struggled to make contact with the Shoshone people to trade for horses required for the portage across the vast expanse of mountains forming the continental divide where we found all navigable water to end. We rally to overnight in Salmon before proceeding onward.

The township of Salmon is very hospitable and honors our passing with an opportunity for us to give a presentation of our discovery objectives and accomplishments. We are also privileged to a much needed dinner and fiddle playing ensemble. This area that Lewis and Clark did briefly pass through is pleasantly unique as it is economically, culturally and geographically isolated from rest of the world by the mountainous terrain surrounding the small valley town. Tomorrow, weather permitting we will attempt to make our way to Hood River, Oregon. Hood River is another significant destination as it has educational importance to our objectives.

Sciences


Ecology

Flight of Discovery Crew Observes Large Numbers of White Pelicans on the Move. The FOD crew has noticed large numbers of white pelicans on the move along the Missouri River from North Dakota all the way into Great Falls, MT. This has been the predominant large bird species we have seen along the river. Our observations may be connected with the article below from AOL Science News. John Egan, FOD Ecologist

MEDINA, N.D. (June 9) - Wildlife officials estimate nearly 27,000 American white pelicans have abandoned their summer nesting grounds at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge north of here. The question is why - and where they went.

"It's like they packed up and left in the middle of the night - except they didn't pack up, they just left," said Ken Torkelson, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismarck.

Left behind were thousands of eggs, which are unlikely to hatch, officials say. (AOL science News)

Geology

After days of flying on our Flight of Discovery, and what would have been many months for the Corps of Discovery, we have finally reached the mountains. Over the plains we had slowly progressed generally up-section through essentially flat-lying sedimentary deposits, some of which seemed to stretch in nearly endless uniformity across entire states. Now abruptly, a greater variety of rocks and geologic structures pass beneath our wings in a few moments than we have seen for weeks. The river we have been following these many miles is for the first time clear. But its width deminishes after its confulence with every tributary. Further on into the

mountains what is left of the mighty Missouri River is reduced to a trickle that, although a great distance below us, appears could be easily straddled. Eventually, it disappears into a meadow leading to the Continental Divide.