Sharon Hudson

The Passageway to the Pacific is the Snake River but Lewis and Clark Didn't Know That! the Opening Up and Settling of the West Sharon Hudson

I've discovered the Passageway to the Pacific! It's the Snake River-the North Fork! But Lewis and Clark didn't know that. They took the wrong fork at Three Forks, Montana. They should have taken the Madison River, not the Jefferson. The Madison takes you south into the Snake River which is in Island Park, Idaho. The Snake is a wide, deep-flowing river that flows into the Columbia River-which was Lewis and Clark's destination in 1805. The book describes the unique country where these three states meet-Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. This area includes Yellowstone, the Tetons and Island Park. The headwaters of the Snake River starts at Big Springs, Idaho. That area was discovered by Andrew Henry and his trappers in 1810. How many Native Americans must have camped at that beautiful spot over the centuries?It was the trappers who opened up the West-after Lewis and Clark. They went everywhere! Then came the settlers, Mormons, miners, Mormon Battalions' road and the Mexican War ('46?48). Included is the early Spanish Southwest and California history. That's how the United States was born-in just 40 years-from 1806 to 1848, from the East to the West! It's amazing!