In The Spirit of Lewis and Clark

Okanogan County, WA- July 13

After a beneficial repost the men shown good spirits and readied themselves with deliberate vigor thus to ensure that moccasins were established for the coming travail. They are but cheerful despite the prickly pear, sharp rocks and treacherous going of our present course. Pulling mightily, they manage but scant progress advancing up the Missouri toward our intended destination. Yet remain steadfast as do we all in the pursuit of that most coveted achievement- the Columbia River, which river will bring us through to the Western passage our President has charged us to discover.

(This is my crude attempt to copy the amazing language of Merriweather Lewis as he records the doings of the team for President Jefferson and for all of us.)

I’ve been listening to the journals of Lewis and Clark, thinking it fitting that I should partner with these amazing travelers as I journey through Oregon, the Columbia River, Idaho and Montana. In their own words they describe what they see before them, day after day: the new species of flora and fauna, the tribes of Native Americans they meet and try to befriend. I try to picture what it would be like to make my way without roads or GPS or maps, but only a hint given from a trapper or an Indian of the region. What stands out is their good spirits and commraderie during 2 years of a lot of hardship.

Two highlights in Okanogan County, WA:

 I came into an apple region in Okanogan. I’ve been waiting to see the acres of apples I’ve heard about. There they were, coupled with peaches and cherries, the cherry trees covered with acres of netting to keep the birds out. I stopped at a roadside stand and had the great pleasure of being able to talk apples with the farmer, Dennis, who is farming 90 acres of fruit organically (although he has to call it ‘Naturally Grown’ because he’s not certified). We talked about the challenges, the markets, the pickers, the varieties, and the business of making it work. He’s 4^th generation, with his 10-year-old son nearby learning to use the forklift. Such a wonderful treat.

And there was the Grand Coulee Dam, an amazing engineering feat being the largest of manydams milking the Columbia River of its power. But....

I visited the Okanogan Indian Museum there. The faces and stories were so moving, but the video that had recently been made to highlight the impact that the dams have had on the native people and the salmon had me in tears. When I knocked on the door of the two native women who worked there to say thank you, thus proceeded an hour long conversation about their lives, their peoples’ lives, the Catholic Church, the Native Hawaiians’ experience, and the experience  of women then and now. That conversation will end up being one of the highlights of this trip, I feel sure- three women sitting and talking about their lives across cultural divides. I am honored.