Last weekend we went to the IMAX theater to see Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West.  The only problem with this movie was that it wasn't detailed enough.  Although we saw everything we had read about, there was more to the adventure.  Of course, they could only squeeze in so much into 45 miniutes.  Nevertheless, it was great to see what we had read about, like the dangerous rapids. 

We read some great books while studying about this great adventure.  How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark  was a colorful, information packed book that gave us the big picture.  My favorite part of Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark was the letter written by Thomas Jefferson, "Of Merriwether Lewis, of courage undaunted..." and then continued to list his qualities for the expedition.  Meriweather Lewis was not only a cousin of Jefferson's but also like minded in goals and attention to detail.  Part of the job of Lewis and Clark was to make maps and meticulously describe the new flora and fauna they would find on their journey west.  I can apprecite this since I've been to Monticello.  When Thomas Jefferson retired from public life, he returned to his beloved Monticello and gave his full attention to details of architecture, gardening, "science" and inventions.  Jefferson had a very specific daily schedule that surrounded the details of his various hobbies.  Therefore, Jefferson's choice of someone like minded and detail oriented to lead this expedition west, to be his eyes and ears, became clear. In fact, Lewis prepared for the expedition by reading from Jefferson's extensive library at Monticello. Additionally, while at Monticello, one can see the Lewis and Clark discoveries in the foyer of the mansion.  If interested, here are some lesson plans from Jefferson's other home, Poplar Forest.

Author Kate McMullan, who wrote My Travels with Captains Lewis and Clark by George Shannon, is a descendant of the youngest member (sixteen years old) of the Lewis and Clark expedition, George Shannon.  My son enjoyed reading this for literature. Additionally, we used Lewis and Clark: Voices from the Trail that has beautiful color photographs of the places they had been to, with excerpts from the journals of Lewis and Clark.  I got this on the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble a few years ago.  It is now out of print, but I often see similar books like this around.  

My son was so taken by the adventure, that he is doing a fun writing project.  He is pretending that he was on the expedition and writing journal entries of some of his favorite events.  I'll print them in old timey font of his choice onto parchment paper and then he'll sketch a drawing underneath each description.  After the entries are done, we'll bind them to look like a journal of the men on the expedition would have carried.  I'll show pictures when he's done!

One lesser known explorer is Lieutenant Zebulon Pike.  In 1806, Pike was commissioned to find the source of the Arkansas and the Red Rivers, which took him into the dangerous Spanish Territory (today's Colorado).  He was amazed by the majestic blue mountains in the distance (the Rockies).  One of those majestic snow capped peaks was closer than the rest. 

 He and his men attempted to climb to the top of the mountain, but failed to do so, since it was November and the snow and frigid winds impeded the ascent. (The top of a 14,000+ foot mountain duplicates conditions of the North Pole.) Pike said that no man would ever be able to climb that mountain.  Well, we have taken 3 vacations to that mountain named after him...Pikes Peak!  We have successfully gone to the top...once in June and again in August. Even in the summer, the peak is 40 degrees on a sunny day!  brrrr In fact, in the late 1800's, Katherine Lee Bates road a wagon to the top of the mountain.  Inspired by the view, she wrote "America the Beautiful."

After Pike descended the mountain, he explored further in Colorado, heading south.  He and his men were captured by the Spanish.  He was accused of spying.  He claimed that he had no idea he was in Spanish territory. The Spaniards traveled with him on El Camino Real (the King's Highway which was the primary Spanish Road through the Spanish provinces from Mexico to Louisiana), through Santa Fe, Mexico and eventually spending time in San Antonio de Bexar (San Antonio), seat of the Spanish province in Tejas. (Texas) Finally arriving at San Antonio de Bexar (pronounced Be-har, today pronounced Bear), the group rested at Mission San Jose  on the San Antonio River. 

Then they proceeded to the Governor's Palace (today in downtown San Antonio) to meet the Spanish Governor.  (Not as fancy as the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, is it?)

Eventually he was taken to Louisiana where he was released.  He died in 1813 as a brigadier general, during the War of 1812.   

Zebulon Pike and the Blue Mountain is an interesting documentary that I got in Colorado a few years ago.  I also got The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike 1806-1807.  (This is a rhetoric level book.)  I had known that he had been to present day Colorado Springs, but until I read this I didn't realize he had been to San Antonio under Spanish guard! 

Zebulon Pike: Soldier-Explorer of the American Southwest is an easier version that my kids have read on trips to Colorado. The link above is to Amazon and quite frankly I am surprised at the expense of the book.  I get most of my extra resources from Half Price Books and my copy was only about $4.  A good children's biography could likely be found in the local library.  I did like this book though as it had great illustrations and simple yet informative text.