From May 1804 until November 1805 Lewis and Clark led the Voyage of Discovery westward. Through spring, summer, and autumn, for two seasons they traveled with their faces turned toward the setting sun. Hardships that few of us would be able to cope with were their everyday experiences. Times were such that the desire to return home to family and friends was commonplace. Still they kept up their westward journey, in spite of hunger, exhaustion, and fear of the unknown. No roadmap existed and time after time the rumors of what they would find proved to be false. Still they traveled westward, hoping that they would soon watch the sun set in the Pacific Ocean.
Today aboard the Sea Bird we follow in their wake. We have the setting sun in our faces, and have gained an increased respect for the goal that was theirs. We see the land that they saw. We watch the clouds build in the west, and feel a kinship with them across nearly two hundred years of time.
