Expedition 2004: Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail

On the morning of June 13, 2004, eleven westward-bound aircraft left the mouth of the Columbia River and soared above the waves of the Pacific Ocean for a few moments before turning south to land at the Astoria, Oregon airport. Like the Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, we had traced the water and overland routes of a continent - albeit in somewhat different means of transportation and in a far shorter time frame. Two weeks earlier, on June 1st, the Flight of Discovery left The Falls of the Ohio near Clarksville, Indiana with the goal of completing the epic Lewis and Clark Trail in two weeks. Flying above the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers, we had bridged the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass, then continued on down the Lochsa, Clearwater, Snake and Columbia River before arriving at their final destination, Astoria. (Click here for trip details.)

The 2004 Expedition constitutes the first stage of a multi-year project. For the crew members, accomplishing this particular portion of our work is pretty dramatic; a life experience for each and everyone involved. But in the larger context of our goals and objectives - that is, why we chose to do this in the first place - it's more of a beginning than an endpoint.

Cruise through our website and you'll discover that the our overall objective is to use current technology (aviation and science) to compare present-day cultural, environmental and anthropological resources to the 200-year old historical record contained in journals, correspondence, notes and samples assembled from 1804-06 by the Corps of Discovery. To accomplish this goal, our scientists are working closely with school children along the route through an innovative educational program we call the Trunk of Discovery, or TOD. The TOD encourages kids from kindergarten through high school to learn more about science and math by framing it in an historical context.

Beginning in 2003, the Flight of Discovery placed Trunks at public school districts, tribal schools, museums and interpretive centers along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Each TOD, valued at over $ 1,000, is a large footlocker containing four individually separate and complete learning modules addressing botany, zoology, geology and mathematics. Plant, rock and zoological data collected by students throughout the school year will be added to the Flight of Discovery's national and route-specific collection that will be compiled, preserved and published at the end of the end of the expedition in 2006. Each Trunk contains a GPS unit, and by placing their name, a location and date on each sample they collect, we tell the kids that like Lewis and Clark, they're putting their thumbprint on history.

The Flight of Discovery flew the Great Plains portion of the Trail in 2005 and worked with students on their collections. In 2006, the Flight will depart from Astoria and like the Corps of Discovery, retrace the Trail eastward. On the 2006 expedition, the scientists will share the results of their observations through a variety of publications and presentations along the National Historic Trail.

Sound exciting? More so than you can imagine. Want to get involved as a pilot or scientist? Give us a shout. In a position to provide financial support? We'll come and see you! Our efforts are entirely supported by the crew, with each person volunteering their time and paying their own expenses. We have recently filed for non-profit 501 (c) status which we hope will help us obtain the funds necessary to place more Trunks of Discovery across the country. We also need financial support for the scientists and students who will analyze our data and organize our samples into a comprehensive collection that can be given to a museum, something that never occurred in Meriwether Lewis' or William Clark's lifetime. And if you're interested in sponsoring the next expedition, think about how your logo would look on the tail of a dozen aircraft crossing the country, or the fact that our website averaged 25,000 hits a week during the June 2004 expedition, and still averages between 1,500- 2,000 requests each week since.

We Proceed Onward...

Mike