In the footsteps of Lewis and Clark - and the Oregon Trail

Our journey westward from the Minnesota border has, coincidentally, largely followed the route of Lewis and Clark in 1806, and this has greatly added to our enjoyment of the journey. In the last few days we have visited several of the geographical features which they noted, and which then became guide-posts for those heading west along the Oregon trail.
Amongst these have been the Devil's Peak, in Wyoming, and Pompey's Pillar and the Beaverhead in Montana, all large outcrops which stand out from the surrounding countryside. We followed the Yellowstone River across Montana, as they did (couldn't visit the park, of course, as it's always snowed in until May) and found several tributes to Sacarejawa, a Native American woman who travelled with them, who is considered one of the truly strong women in American history. As we've wandered through the countryside, avoiding the Interstate highways wherever possible, we've seen statues, signs, parks, murals - it's wonderful to see the pride that people have in their history. For us, however, perhaps the best feature visited by Lewis & Clark was along the Jefferson River - we were ambling along, enjoying the views of the snowy mountains in Yellowstone across the lazy, winding river, when we drove into a huge gorge - we'd never heard of the Jefferson River Canyon, but it was absolutely spectacular! As well as the steep rocky sides, with the grain of the rocks tipped to 45 degrees, we also saw a huge cave which, we are told, could fit the average house in twice - and not a tourist in sight!
We had planned to stay in Butte, Montana, but were seduced by the tiny town of Whitehall ... and when we woke up the next morning we found the entire world white with snow. However, we managed to drive southwards, along another part of the Oregon trail, and into Idaho. At Idaho Falls we 'called it quits', and booked into a motel beside the Snake River for two nights, with the day in between being dreadful for driving - snow in the morning, rain all day, and snow again in the evening.
What does one do at a time like this? One investigates museums! Yesterday's was the Idaho Museum - and it had a wonderful display of artefacts dredged up from the wreck of the "Titanic". This morning, in finer weather, we visited Blackfoot, the "Potato Capital of the World", and thoroughly enjoyed their potato museum. You should have seen the poster of Marilyn Monroe, stylishly dressed in a potato sack, posing in a potato paddock!
Now we're in the centre of Salt Lake City, directly across the road from the Mormon Tabernacle, and the Family History Centre ... but we'll save that for our next blog ...