If you are in Jefferson City on June 6, 2009 be sure to stop by the Lewis & Clark Trailhead Plaza as we celebrate the first anniversary of the dedication of the “Corps of Discovery” monument. The Saturday event will start at 10:00 am and run to 4 pm. The sculptor Sabra Tull Meyer will be there to relate her story about designing a monument. Re-enactors representing the bronze figures will be there to tell their stories too! Period children’s games and a Native American story teller representing the Lakota Sioux Nation and their story.
In January 2009, Amtrak announced the winner of a Missouri train naming contest. The winning name was “Missouri River Runner” which pleased members of our local Lewis & Clark Task Force. The winner stopped for a photo opportunity by the snow covered bronze statues in the trailhead plaza just uphill from Jefferson City’s AMTRAK station. The train route between Jefferson City Hermann, Washington and New Haven, Missouri parallels the Missouri River journey of the Lewis & Clark expedition and should be of interest to Lewis & Clark faithful coming east for the 2009 anniversary of Meriwether Lewis’ death in Tennessee. Note the photo of the railroad tracks at Hermann.
In 2009 we also have a new logo with the GPS coordinates of the monument displayed on the logo. We dropped the word bicentennial as we continue to “proceed on” with a new mission. During the summer weekends docents from the task force will be at the monument to acquint visitors with the monument design details and history.
The monument and other Lewis & Clark landmarks appear in the Lewis & Clark Trail category on http://www.waymarking.com to pinpoint points of interest down to the GPS coordinates and Google map features for tech savvy modern day explorers. Use our zip code 65109 as a tool to filter the number of entries to within 30 miles of Jefferson City.
The connection to the KATY Trail via the Missouri River bridge project is proceding with the detailed design phase. Connection to the popular cycling trail is expected in 2010.
Kira Gale had asked about the portaits of Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark as Missouri Territorial Governors that hang in the nearby Missouri State Capitol, so those photos are included with the other photos. Also there is a highlight photo of the dugout canoes running the river for our 2006 “Homeward Bound event to conclude the Lewis & Clark bicentennial.