by Tom Shafer
Back in 2009, Richard and I (son-in-law, driver extraordinaire) embarked on an epic journey that followed the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery route from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean, near present-day Astoria, Oregon. This was a bucket list item for both of us, and since neither of us were getting any younger, we felt that time was of the essence, so off we went. Family, especially Richard’s sister, wanted us to regale them with our own exploits, so we decided that we would journal from the road. Originally, Richard was going to do the writing, but each day’s activities were pretty taxing on his eighty+ year old body, so I took on the duties instead. What follows are slightly edited versions (to protect the innocent) of the original documentary – except now with pictures! Because of its length, we have chosen to present just a couple of days of entries at a time . . . well, we’re trying to avoid the “Hey, we spent two weeks at the Grand Canyon, took 4,367 pictures, and we’d like you to see them all” awkwardness. So, without further ado (oh, and little fanfare), follow the Corps of Toyota Four-Runner (okay, so much for originality) as we stalk the Corps of Discovery across the country (and the ages . . . we are only 205 years behind them!).
Special Note: If you haven’t looked at the ABOUT Signal Hill menu, the format of the following pages might confuse you. Richard had maintained his Signal Hill Musings in written form until an unknown illness in 2017 set him back and sent him to a rehab facility in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Richard wanted me to continue the Musings, so I decided to reintroduce them with this Lewis & Clark journal I transmitted from the road back in 2009. Ultimately, this became the impetus for the Signal Hill Musings blog you are now reading. Enjoy!
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