Resources

The following are resources that I have already accumulated.

      

These are all books I had bought when I thought I was going to do the trail when I was in college.

I bought these last year at Ft. Clatsop National Memorial as well as a great educator's resource guide titled The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Scientific Discovery.

The visitor center at Ft. Clatsop had so many interesting guides.  They also had other educator resources.  I need to find out if I can get a list from them so I can order more.

Lesson Plans: The Journals of Lewis and Clark

My first lesson plans are to read the Journals of Lewis and Clark.  My plan is to begin reading the journals as if it were January 1804, and read them in the same time frame they were written.  I found a wonderful site for reading the journals online http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/index.html.

I also have this for the Kindle, and this in book form

I wish I had the complete journals in book form.

 
I see lots of opportunities for teaching using the journal entries.  

• Understanding diary/journal entries
• Summarizing daily activities
• Factual recounts
• Spelling and grammar
• Expanding writing
• Creative writing

 
Today's journal entry

Monday 30th Jany 1804    a Cloudy morning, Some Snow    send out 10 hunters to day in three parties, at 9 oClock The Thermotr. Stood at 22d abov 0, a little wind from N.    at 10 oClock 24° abov 0, cleared up & Sun Shown    Stoped Snowing, but little Ice running this morng—    at 11 oClock 25° abov 0, at 12 oClock 25° abov 0, Took M alt. of Suns L. L. 67° 22' 52"— Er[ror] of Entrement [instrument] 6'—, at 1 oClock 25° abov 0, at 2 oClock 26° abov 0, Reed Killed a Deer & wild Cat,[1] Cloudy. 3 men Cross the river to day, at 3 oClock 28° abov 0, at 4 oClock 27° abov 0, at 8 oClock 16° abv 0, about Sun Set Capt: Lewis arrived accompanied by Mr. J. Hay[2] & Mr. Jo Hays[3] of Kohokia—    The hunter killed 5 Deer to day—

Journal Reference:
Lewis, M., Clark, W., and Members of the Corps of Discovery. (2002). September 4, 1806. In G. Moulton (Ed.), The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2005, from the University of Nebraska Press / University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries-Electronic Text Center, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition web site: http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/journals.php?id=1806-09-04

Why Did Lewis and Clark Make the Journey?

There were a few goals for the Corps of Discovery Expedition.  They included:

• Exploring the Louisiana Purchase, 
• Finding a route to the Pacific Ocean, 
• Establish contact and trading with Native Americans, 
• Collecting specimens for additional study, and  
• Documenting American presence throughout the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Country.

13 States

I’m expecting to visit 13 states on this trip.  The order we will travel through is:

Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri

Then from there we will start the trail and travel through:

Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon

I would like to visit Mt. Rushmore and Badlands National Park on our way to the start of the trail.  I would also like to visit a few places where our ancestors are from in Nebraska and Minnesota.

In future posts I'm going to make lists of all the things we are going to do in each of these states.

Saving and Raising Money

One of the most important questions, how would I be able to save enough money?

We would need to make a strict savings plan and explore the possibility of finding sponsors or some sort of funding. 

Starting now, a full two years before we plan to travel, I should be able to accumulate the money and resources necessary for a trip of this scope.  I would like to save $8,000.  It is more than Options A and B on my budget, but I will also need to use some of the money for buying teaching materials and travel books, as well as for other expenses.

(To save $8,000 over 26 months, I would need to put aside $308/month.  Wow, that is like an additional car payment)

I would love the opportunity to get people/businesses to sponsor this adventure.  I don't know exactly how you go about doing that, but I'm going to try.  I would also enjoy writing about our adventures (since I'm going to do that anyways of course), but I would like to write about it for a magazine or online something or other.  ~Maybe even write a book?!?

Budget

One of the most important questions, how much would it cost?  

I’m estimating a budget for each of the options below.

Option A  $5,000 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals    $6,500
$2,000 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $50/night)  Hopefully we would be able to stay with family and friends in a few of the places and some of the fees wouldn’t be so high.
$1,000 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at 25 mpg is 240 gallons of gas at $4/gallon)
$750 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs

Option B* $5,600 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals   $7,100
$1,600 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $40/night)
$2,500 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at 12mpg is 500 gallons of diesel at $5/gallon)
$500 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs
*The trailer we currently borrow from Grandma would not be seaworthy enough for this type of cross-country trip.  So a purchase of this item may be necessary.

Option C $11,640 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals   $13,140
$3,000 for rental of small RV
$3,040 for mileage charge (.34/mile)
$1,600 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $40/night)
$2,500 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at  12 mpg is 500 gallons of diesel at $5/gallon)
$500 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs

How Will We Get There?

How will we travel?

There are options to this one, 

A.  either in the car/van and do KOA cabins or cheap hotel rooms for the trip, or 

B*. take the truck and a trailer or a third option is 

C. CruiseAmerica and renting a motorhome.

First for the problems for each of the options.

A.  Our PT Cruiser already has 200,000 miles on it, and it would be a bit small for having a cooler, camp stove and cooking supplies, food, sleeping bags, suitcases, and school work packed in.  This would mean that we would need to get a newer larger vehicle before the trip, or borrow one for the trip.

B.  Our truck would be fine for the trip, but the trailer that we borrow from Grandma probably wouldn't be sturdy enough for the trip, unless significant maintenance is completed before we go, and even then, it would be questionable.  So, we would again need to purchase a newer used trailer or borrow one.  ~ It wouldn't necessarily have to be a trailer, if we could find a nice camper for the truck that could be an option too.

C.  CruiseAmerica rentals are expensive!  The local branch doesn't have the smaller style ones, so we would have to drive to Seattle to pick it up.  Unless we wanted the standard size one, which costs $1,000 more than the other one.

Mom and Two Kids?

Would I be able to travel the whole way, just me and the kids?  This is an easy one, Yes

This is a question I don't really have to ask, because I know that I could do it, I know the kids could do it.  I have already started talking to them about the trip.
In 2011, I took the girls on a 1,000+ camping trip to Yellowstone National Park camping trip, just the three of us.  We had a great time!

Lesson Plans?

Another important part of the planning is what kind of lesson plans would I need/want to prepare?

• Basic understanding of the history of the time period; clothes, tools, and way of life.  
• Native tribes we would have encountered (we will encounter)
• Natural environments including; geology, ecology, etc.  
• Visit all museums/visitor centers/places of interest.  
• Identify plant and animal species.  
• Create journals of our travels while reading the Journals of Lewis and Clark.

This could be an endless topic, and one I'm sure to return to many times.

When Would We Go?

The second question I asked myself was, when would be a good time to go?

Tentative plans would be for April-June 2015.  I think traveling in the spring would be the best time, to avoid crowds on summer vacations, also to avoid weather extremes.  

I will need to wait till the girls are a bit older (kids in public schools study Lewis and Clark in the 4th grade), but I don't want to wait too long.  They will be equivalent in age to first and third grades in 2015.  Still a little young, but I think they will be able to appreciate the journey.  They are accustomed to traveling already, and the school lessons leading up to the trip will get us prepared.

How Long Will it Take?

The first question I asked myself was how long will it take us to travel the length of the Lewis and Clark Trail (and to get to the start of the trail, since we are almost at the end already)

I think that it will take us about 40 days.  

I could shorten it up, but I want the chance to relax a bit and enjoy the experiences.  I would like to spend about a week to get there, with a couple day stop at Mt. Rushmore and Badlands National Park.  I would also like to stop and visit a few locations for my genealogy research. 

Traveling the trail itself, I want to leave plenty of time for playing and exploring and not drive 100+ miles every day.  

I am also estimating that once we get back to Missoula and Lolo Pass, that we come home for a few days so I can meet a work appointment, and then continue on the trail in Lewiston or Pasco.  Then I would like to spend a week or so between Astoria and Ilwaco.  

With the few days at home, the total time from start to finish would actually be more like 44-45 days.

Traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail

It has always been a dream of mine to travel the Lewis and Clark Trail.   This past summer, we had a free day on our vacation in Nehalem Bay, Oregon and decided to visit Ft. Clatsop and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.  Once there, I knew that we would have to visit the whole trail and come back to this beautiful location.  I even picked up some lesson planning guides at the visitor center.  I began working out the details in my mind. 
With the freedom that comes with homeschooling, I am very excited to pursue the opportunity to travel with the girls and learn as much as we can while experiencing things first hand.  The experiences of being in a place and really taking time to reflect and enjoy the area, goes so much further in our way of thinking and learning.  There is no other place I’d rather be than teaching and learning with the girls. 
The following are some questions that I’ll begin with.

• How long would it take? 
• When would we go?
• What kind of lesson plans would I need/want to prepare?
• Would I be able to travel the whole way, just me and the kids? 
• How will we travel?
• How much would it cost?
• How would I be able to save enough money?

I've thought through these questions, and I don’t have all the answers yet.

There are so many things to think about.  I love the planning stages of a trip.  The only problem is beginning the planning over two years in advance.  It is hard to WAIT!  I don’t know how often I’ll post on this topic.  Planning for me comes in waves.  If you have any suggestions on sponsorship or grant funding, or just want to help out, let me know!