In October 1805 as the Corps of Discovery traveled to the western sea, and again the following spring, as they returned home, they stopped here at Rock Fort. This natural amphitheater, in what has become the industrial area of The Dalles, has remained much as it was when Lewis and Clark first saw it. As we travel in their wake along the Columbia River we have the opportunity to stand in their very footprints. The hardy souls of the Corps were traveling in canoes of questionable seaworthiness, and had paused here to rest and dry out. We have been traveling in the comfort of our second home on the Sea Bird, and stand here in appreciation of the differences nearly two hundred years have brought. Our common thread is that we both have had balmy weather and a vivid array of wildflowers.