Visited: June 2013
Nearby city: Billings, MT
Sometimes I wish I was alive during the Age of Exploration. To have been on that forefront, forging into the great unknown, would have been so thrilling and exciting. I think there is an innate desire in each of us: a longing to explore, to learn, to discover. The horizon beckons us, and we answer. Scratching that wanderlust itch never fully satisfies (there is always more to see), but the journey and the adventure is worth it. It breeds tolerance, engenders empathy, and builds character. Travel is both exhilarating and exhausting but ultimately rewarding. I'm sure I'm romanticizing the experience of exploration centuries ago, seeing the world via our comforts of modern vacationing and travel is pleasure enough. But still, I would give just about anything to have been a member of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, that virgin voyage into the great American West.
The Expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark is one of the great events of American history. In 1803, the Jefferson administration purchased an immense tract of land from France, the Louisiana Territory. At 828,000 square miles, the acquisition more than doubled the size of the young nation. There was so much that was unknown about this vast territory, so Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark to lead an expedition (known as the Corps of Discovery) to traverse the continent, establish an American presence in the new territory, study the area's flora and fauna, geography, and initiate trade with the Indians.
On May 14, 1804 the band of rugged adventures departed St. Louis to head out to the Pacific Ocean. They would not return until September 23, 1806. The maps, observations, journals, and knowledge gained was incredibly useful, and the expedition was a great success.
On the return trip, Lewis and Clark separated as they went east across present-day Montana. Lewis took the northerly route along the Missouri River (returning the same way they came) while Clark took the southerly route along the Yellowstone River. Clark's division was joined by the group's invaluable Shoshone guide, Sacagawea. One of the members of the Discovery Corps, a French fur trader named Toussiant Charbonneau, married Sacagawea and bore a son during the expedition, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Clark nicknamed the child "Pomp" or "Pompey." As the expedition traveled along the Yellowstone River, the group passed by a large rocky outcropping along the southern bank of the river. Clark named the 150 ft tall formation after Sacagawea's son, "Pompys Tower" which eventually came to be referred to as "Pompey's Pillar" (I guess they liked the alliteration better).
The area was designated as a National Monument in 2001, however it is not an official unit of the NPS, it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The site is just off I-94, only about 25 miles northeast of Billings, and is well worth a quick visit. There is a great museum, pleasant trails around the pillar and the Yellowstone River, and the highlight is the signature of William Clark himself, carved into the sandstone.
The monument has an excellent museum, with great interactive exhibits and lots of information about Native American life and the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
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| Tara fits right in. |
The pillar has lots of petroglyphs and signatures of explorers and traders who passed by. Clark's signature is protected behind a glass case. The inscription reads "W. Clark July 25, 1806." Clark's carving is the only remaining physical evidence found along the route of the entire expedition.
We took a stroll around the area. It was very nice. This is a good place to rest on a road trip, take about 30 minutes to an hour to visit.
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| Doing my best impression of William Clark |
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| Dugout canoes like this would be very similar to the ones the Corps of Discovery used to navigate the rivers |
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| Yellowstone River |
Pompey's Pillar is one of the few BLM sites that is easily accessible and is well worth a visit if you're in the area. More info here: https://www.blm.gov/visit/pompeys-pillar-national-monument
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