Kaw Point Park, Kansas City, KS 7/26

 A brief return to the trail on the way home from visiting family in Oklahoma.

Scenes from the First Lewis and Clark Expo, and our trip to Omaha, Nebraska 10/24

Re-enactor talking about medical care

At the Trail Headquarters

Raising the flag ceremony on Discovery

Re-enactor with re-enactor "Seaman"

Teaching real history to school kids

Me with Them, 

Sgt. Floyd's Gravesite

Me on the L&C Trail; Sunset in Omaha

The Right Stuff, Part 1

Scripture:

Acts 15:22 “Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas, who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, the leading man among the brethren. (NKJV)

From the Book:

“Lewis and Clark had no lack of candidates for the Voyage of Discovery. According to Stephen Ambrose, a sense of sheer excitement spread through the country west of the Allegheny Mountains when the news of the expedition became known: “What young frontiersman could resist such an opportunity? It was the ultimate adventure.”

Before the two captains met in the Indiana territory, each of them began the interview candidates for the expedition, subject to the approval of the other. At one point Clark wrote Lewis that several “gentleman’s sons” had applied to him. He declined to accept them; they were not prepared for the discipline that the journey would require. Lewis wrote back, “I am well pleased that you have not admitted or encouraged the young gentlemen you mention. We must set our faces against all such applications.”…

The men chosen for the Voyage of Discovery came with a variety of talents and skills, but they had one thing in common: they were ready to follow Lewis Clark into an unexplored wilderness.”

Commentary:

No one ever said the journey would be easy. The thrill and excitement of adventure, then as now, attracts many different individuals. Some of them are prepared, some of them are not prepared, and in all honesty some of them are over prepared. In some cases the over prepared applicant may actually fare worse than the one with no preparation at all. In my opinion, as a guide or leader, nothing is scarier than the person who shows up at your door with a newly minted certificate from a wilderness survival school, a 70 pound backpack filled with ultralight equipment, and a pair of boots that don’t even have a scuff on them yet.

The Kingdom of God can be like that, however we welcome the underprepared, the over prepared, and everyone in between into the kingdom. The difference is, when you are going out to bring others into the kingdom, you must be adequately and completely prepared. This is no place for the well-intentioned new believer. There is an enemy out there that wants you to fail, miserably. He wants you to fail in ways that will embarrass you, discredit your church or sending organization, and generally cast dispersion on all Christians. Sadly, it does not take much for this to happen. One misstep, one word spoken out of turn, one roll of the eyes can be all that it might take to ruin a perfectly good witness.

When you Ride the River, you need to be ready, willing, and able to follow your captains; Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. That may sound easy, maybe easier than following Lewis and Clark, but like the Corps of Discovery the river is fraught with danger. In the days to come we will take a closer look at being a member of the Corps, and how, as a member you can stay in step with your captains.

Proceeding on…

2WX

Remembering "Ride Across the Rez"

 On August 28, 1804, the Corps of Discovery first met the Yankton (Ihaƞktoƞwaƞ Dakota Oyate) Sioux, meeting with them on Calumet Bluff, opposite the present-day city of Yankton, SD. It was that meeting that was the impetus for the next four years of outreach along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

This video epitomizes the mission statement of St. Brendan’s Traveler’s Missions: "Dedicated to the adventure of Missionary Exploration, to the ends of the earth." Following the trail of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and inspired by the book, "Ride the River" by Dr. Larry Christensen, we have traveled to the Dakota and Lakota Indian reservations of South Dakota from 2009 to 2012, doing helps ministry, and prayer/fund-raising "Ride Across the Rez" bicycle rides. Still photos were taken all three years (plus our trip to Russia in 1997), and video was shot during the 2010 and '11 Rides Across the Rez. Music by a local Native American Christian group, "Risen Warrior" from Wagner, SD, on the Yankton Dakota Reservation, with permission.

First Ever Lewis and Clark Expo!

 And we'll be there...if nothing prevents!

The National Park Service's Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail presents to you the first, Lewis and Clark Expo! This expo is a FREE family friendly event that will host several organizations. Highlighting this event, the Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition of Saint Charles, Missouri is bringing a one-of-a-kind replica Keelboat and their team of dedicated reenactors to the Omaha Riverfront. This full-scale replica Keelboat is based on the drawings by Captain William Clark and has been showcased in several films, documentaries, and televised miniseries. The reenactors will be teaching heritage through living history, recreating the buckskin and uniform dress of 1804, sleeping under canvas, cooking over campfires, and so many more educational demonstrations. This fun and educational event will include several free exhibits, demonstrations, and entertainment from a number of organizations including the National Park Service.

Ride the River: The Candidates

 The Candidates

When you Ride the River, a relationship with God the Father, with Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit can be clearly established, maintained, and deepened. What is missing or deficient can be made up.

Lewis and Clark had no lack of candidates for the Voyage of Discovery. According to Stephen Ambrose, a sense of sheer excitement spread through the country west of the Allegheny Mountains when the news of the expedition became known: “what young frontiersman could resist such an opportunity? It was the ultimate adventure.”

Before the two captains met in the Indiana territory, each of them began to interview candidates for the expedition, subject to the approval of the other. At one point Clark wrote Lewis that several “gentlemen sons” had applied to him. He declined to accept them; they were not prepared for the discipline that the journey would require. Lewis wrote back, “I am well pleased that you have not admitted or encouraged the young gentleman you mentioned. We must set our faces against all such applications.” This was no expedition for dabblers thinking to add a touch of adventure to their lives.

The men chosen for the Voyage of Discovery came with a variety of talents and skills, but they had one thing in common: they were ready to follow Lewis and Clark into an unexplored wilderness.

The call to become a Christian has never changed, it is the same today as it was when Jesus walked the roads of Galilee. To any who would become his disciples, he says “Follow me.”

 

Luke 9:23-27 FNV

“If you want to walk the road with me, each day you must also be ready to give up your own life and carry your own crossbeam with me to the place of ultimate sacrifice. The ones who hold on to their lives will lose them, but the ones who are willing to lay down their lives for me and my message will live. How will it help you to get everything you want but lose what it means to be who Creator made you to be? Is there anything in this world worth trading for that?

If anyone is ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the True Human Being will be ashamed of them when he comes in his bright-shining greatness to be honored by the Father above and all of his Holy Spirit-messengers.

I speak from my heart, there are some of you standing here with me today who, before you cross over to death, will see Creator’s could road.”

Riding the River is Hard Work!

Riding the River is Hard Work!

Riding the River requires discipline, courage, and persistence. It is no accident that the Bible speaks often of the need for endurance. The temptation is always at hand to stop, build a cabin by the Riverside, and settle down, rather than follow the river to its headwaters.

How do we overcome this temptation? More than anything, it depends on the presence and leadership of our divine Captains. Our own resolve and good intentions might get us part way up the river. For the expedition to fully succeed, the captains must be in charge.

As Christians today, we need to be on guard that the forceful experience of the early church does not shrivel into a historical memory or a lifeless system of intellectual beliefs. That would be like members of the Corps of Discovery Heading upriver with nothing more than anecdotes and lecture notes from Lewis and Clark. In the day-to-day business of riding the river their captains would be a memory rather than a presence.

 Ephesians 3:11-13, 16-17 FNV

This good story gives full meaning to the ancient purpose he planned before he created all things. This purpose has now been made clear through the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus). Our trust in him opens the way and gives a strong heart to move close to the Great Spirit. So do not become weak of heart when you hear about how much I am suffering for you, which is proof of your great worth.

My prayer for you is that from the great treasures of his beauty, Creator will gift you with the Spirit’s mighty power and strengthen you in your inner being. In this way, the Chosen One will make his home in your heart.

 

"We Proceeded On..."

 

 “We proceeded on.”

Before Lewis and Clark launched their expedition, there had been considerable talk about exploring the Louisiana territory and even a few attempts, but none successful. Lewis and Clark turned talk and speculation into a victorious experience. Their expedition replaced the “pipedream” of a northwest passage with firsthand knowledge of the vast new territory that had been added to the United States.

For the 4 months (after leaving Fort Mandan, near the current location of Bismarck, North Dakota) the Corps of Discovery traveled through country of breathtaking beauty, teeming with game. Lewis wrote, “the country on both sides of the Missouri continues to be open, level, fertile, and beautiful as far as the eye can reach.” They encountered herds of buffalo numbering in the tens of thousands. They had some encounters, and a few close scrapes with grizzly bears. They managed an exhausting portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri.

In much of contemporary Christianity the focus is locked in on people and their needs. Churches are encouraged to be user-friendly; “Tell us your needs. Bring us your problems. Let us show you how God can bless you.”

Having one’s immediate needs taken care of, however, is not the primary focus of Christian discipleship. Jesus said, “To walk the road with me,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, “you must turn away from your own path, and always be ready to carry your cross with me to the place of ultimate sacrifice.” (Matthew 16:24 FNV) when Jesus took up his cross, he followed his Father’s will, unto death.

Under the leadership of Lewis and Clark, personal needs and concerns never detracted from the primary focus of the expedition, which was to complete the journey assigned by President Jefferson. In the summer of 1805, Clark wrote, “All appear perfectly to have made up their minds to succeed in the expedition or parish in the attempt. We all believe that we are about to enter on the most perilous and difficult part of our voyage, yet I see no one repainting; all appear ready to meet those difficulties which await us with resolution and admirable fortitude.”

Similarly, you are to discover – and to follow with determination – the plan that God has set out for your life: to become the person he has created you to become and to do what he calls you to do personal needs and problems find their place in relation to this central purpose.

One remarkable phrase, recurring over and over in the Lewis and Clark journals, tells perhaps as well as anything why the voyage of discovery succeeded: “We proceeded on.”

 

The Message of the Good Road: Mark 1:14-15 FNV

Then later, after Gift of Goodwill (John) was arrested, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) traveled to the territory of the Circle of Nations (Galilee) to tell the good story.

“The time has now come!” He said to the people. “Creators could road is right in front of you. It is time to return to the right ways of thinking and doing! Put your trust in this good story I am bringing to you.”

The Plan; Our Life Journey

The Plan; Our Life Journey

In our life journey, the unexplored wilderness of Western America in the early 19^th century represents the undiscovered possibilities that lie before us in life. With the Louisiana Purchase, at least on paper half of the West belonged officially to the United States, though no one knew for sure exactly what President Jefferson had bought.

In our life journey, the Louisiana Purchase represents the life of an individual person and God’s claim upon that life. Jefferson named Meriwether Lewis, together with another experienced military officer, William Clark, to head up an exploration of the Louisiana Purchase.

In our life journey, Jefferson, Lewis, and Clark represent divine leadership: the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ the son, and the Holy Spirit. The commission of President Jefferson represents life plan that God has for each person. Each one of us has a particular River to Ride.

In our life journey, the experiences dangers, and adventures that the Corps of Discovery encountered along the way represents challenges, difficulties, opportunities, decisions, joys, and sorrows that we meet along the river of God’s will for our life. The Indians that they met represent people or situations we encounter that play a role in God’s plan for our life. Sacagawea and Charbonneau, like fellow members of the Corps of Discovery represent people to whom we are more closely drawn who share significantly in our life journey.

 

Matthew 10:5-13 FNV

Instructing His Message Bearers

Before Creator sets free (Jesus) sent out his twelve message bearers to represent him, he gave them these instructions:

“It is not the time to go to the outside nations or to the villages of the people of the high place (Samaria). Instead go to your own people-the lost sheep of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).

“This is what I want you to say to them: Creators’ good road from above is close. Reach out and take hold of it! Heal all who are sick, cleanse the ones with skin diseases, raise the dead, and force evil spirit out of people. Give away the things I have given to you and ask no price for your service. Take no trading goods with you or coins for your money pouches. Take no traveling bundle, moccasins, or extra clothes to wear, not even a walking stick, because the ones who work hard and the harvest fields deserved to be fed and cared for.”

“Whenever you enter a camp or village, find an honorable person who will give you lodging. When you come to their dwelling, greet the family with respect. If they are people of honor, your greeting of peace will rest on them.”

Ride the River, Day Two - The Plan

God has a specific plan for your life journey.

A Voyage of Discovery

The Christian life, from beginning to end, is a voyage of discovery.

        The destination is known: the Bible calls it the kingdom of heaven, or eternal life;

        The route is certain: it is the “River of God’s will,” a life plan that God has for you;

        The way is not yet charted: every day you push forward into the unexplored territory of God’s plan for   your life.

Every person has a river to ride the basic direction is clear at the onset. God has laid out a plan for your life, a river that you are to follow. You are like a person who was signed on with the Corps of Discovery. As I said yesterday, “You are to Ride the River.”

FNV Matthew 19:23-26

“I speak from my heart,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then said to his followers, “finding the way onto the good road from above is a hard thing for the ones who have many possessions. It would be easier for a moose to squeeze through the eye of a beading needle.”

His followers could not believe what they were hearing. “How then can anyone find and walk the good road?” they asked.

Creator Sets Free set his eyes firmly on them and said, “With two-leggeds this is impossible, but all things are possible with the help of the Great Spirit. Nothing is impossible for him.”

30 Days on the Trail: Readings from "Ride the River" and the "First Nations Version" for the Adventurous Christian

 

 

For the next month, until the end of August, I will be posting quotes and suggested readings from Pastor Larry Christenson's "Ride the River" and the "First Nations Version (FNV) An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament," starting with the quote found below. The FNV can be found on Audible, Kindle, and purchased on Amazon. I am communicating with Baker Book House, successor to Bethany Book House which published "Ride the River" in hopes of getting it on Kindle as well. Welcome aboard the keelboat Discovery, as we Ride the River together into uncharted territory.

2024 Lewis & Clark 5K: A Tale of Two Rides

 

I made a big mistake.  I attempted to do both the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation 5K and go bikefishing within a time crunch, riding the paved Gitchee-Gami State Trail from the Split Rock River back to the Split Rock River State Park Trail Center, all at the same time, on the Cogburn with it's wide, dirt and gravel tires. Did I mention, the first 1.5 miles is primarily UPHILL? And, I left my water bottle in the car, which Ellen took? By the time I reached the top of Day Hill, I was almost ready to call an ambulance. Fortunately, the rest of the trail was downhill! Oh well, here's a "before" picture of me with the "Big Lake They Call Gitchee-Gumi" in the background. I made it in time for our Mothers Day dinner date reservation in Duluth! Ellen was happy.

Two days later: I am proceeding on... The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation 5K is in the history books! After Saturday's near-horror show, I decided to start over on more friendly trails, on my bike I bought specifically to ride thel Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, my 2006 Bianchi Volpe touring bike, "Discovery II." I got it done!

This is the third year in a row that I have started my "official" biking season with the L&C5K, only this year I started riding earlier. Just not hard enough for the Saturday attempt.

GREAT EXPLOITS

 

I’ve changed the name of this blog, based on the Scripture verse from Daniel displayed in the photograph above. The picture is from a GREAT EXPLOIT of my own, one inspired by the journey of Lewis and Clark.

Tales of exploration have always fascinated me, be it on or under the sea, on land, or in the sky, or beyond. But none have grabbed my attention or inspired me as much as the journey of the Corps of Discovery “to travel from St. Louis to the Western Sea.” I may never travel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea like Captain Nemo, or “Boldly go where no man has gone before,” like the Starship Enterprise, but the trail left behind by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark is more than just doable; it is something that I can touch, feel, and experience for myself. It is something I can DO, and, in fact, have already started doing.

The journey of Lewis and Clark interested me long before the Bicentennial happened in 2003 to 2005. Two events sharpened my interest several years before the nation commemorated the expedition. The first was the establishment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and the corresponding Lewis and Clark Bicycle Trail. I first became a member of Adventure Cycling, a nonprofit group that promotes bicycle travel, while preparing for B.I.K.E.Russia, the mountain biking missions trip that I would co-lead across northwestern Russia in 1997. When Adventure Cycling announced the establishment and mapping of the Lewis and Clark Bicycle Trail, with its completion timed to coincide with the Bicentennial, I knew that it was something I wanted to do right from the start.

Two books, one based in part on the other, also played an incredibly significant part in my decision. I discovered “Ride the River,” by Pastor Larry Christenson at a conference in 2003. Pastor Larry’s book is based on “Undaunted Courage,” by Stephen Ambrose. Both books would play a significant role in my life, but “Ride the River” would change it. Eventually, I would come to own every available copy of the book when it went out of print. I consider it the ultimate devotional for the adventurous Christian. Those two books started a collection that continues to grow even today. I have two shelves in a bookcase in my study devoted to Lewis and Clark, and they are almost full. I have no doubt that they will fill up soon.

To “Ride the River” from “St. Louis to the Western Sea” has become my single greatest “bucket list” item. I’ve already started. I have ridden my bicycle, Discovery II, from St. Louis to Augusta, Missouri, and from Yankton to Pierre, South Dakota. Already I’ve met some fascinating people on the Trail and connected with it. That’s why I’ve also changed the title of the narrative that I’m writing, to “Great Exploits: The Travels of the Two-Wheeled Explorer on the Trail of Lewis and Clark.”

This has been a very peculiar winter in central Minnesota where I live. With the exception of a few inches here and there, it has been a largely snowless winter, whereas last year we had more than double our average snowfall. (I believe that’s how averages are formed.) It has been warm enough that I’ve actually ridden Discovery II in shorts, and yet, when snowshoeing for the first time this year only yesterday. I’m getting ready for the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail Foundation 5K that I have participated in for the past few years. This year, it won’t be my first ride of the year.

Technically, the Lewis and Clark Trail now stretches from Washington DC, through the Cumberland Gap in Maryland, to Pittsburgh, and then down the Ohio River to its confluence with the Mississippi, before proceeding up the Missouri on the way to the Pacific. Wherever my travels take me, I have a River to ride. It’s going to be a Great Exploit and I invite you to come along.

To Ride the River

Pastor Larry Christenson's book, "Ride the River" changed my entire walk with God. It inspired me to reach out beyond my comfort zone; to "journey with Captain Lewis and Captain Clark from St. Louis to the Western Sea... if nothing prevents." I've only just started despite it being fourteen years on this journey, but it's been fascinating. I've seen amazing things, and met amazing, wonderful people. Now I'm setting out to tell you about them. Look for "To Ride the River" in time for Christmas, 2024, "if nothing prevents."

2023 Lewis and Clark Trail 5K

Active

On May 21st in 1804 Meriwether Lewis joined William Clark and the Corps of Discovery in St. Charles, Missouri, and the expedition began in earnest. To commemorate the event, I started the day with excellent Lewis and Clark Northwest Passage Coffee from @frontiercoffeecompany in my Lewis and Clark coffee mug. After church, I did the L&C5K on my Bianchi Volpe touring bike, which has carried me on so many adventures including three of my four Ride Across the Rez fundraisers. The two water bottles have also made those trips, including the "famous" green LCMC water bottle. (Seen below in the company of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and me, Marty, SD, 2012) In the now famous words of Sgt. John Ordway of the original Corps, "I am well, thank God, and in high spirits." Proceeding on...