Above is a life-size display demonstrating the arduous nature of the 18 mile portage the expedition was forced to make in this area to avoid the 5 sets of waterfalls on the Upper Missouri River.
The Interpretive Center offers wonderful displays portraying events and locales in Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition 200 years ago which explored and documented the lands, flora, fauna, geology, and indigenous cultures of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase lands. The purchase was engineered by President Thomas Jefferson and he envisioned and commissioned the expedition, which lasted 3 years.
Above you see a sample interpretive sign detailing the return journey and how the expedition, taking 5 different routes, explored 1800 miles of new territory in 40 days before reuniting.
Through movies, ranger talks, signs, and life-size displays, the story unfolds as you move from section to section, presented in the order of their journey from Cincinnati to the Pacific Ocean and back. Clothing, weapons, tools, implements of all sorts, food, storage containers, replica watercraft, maps, journals, and abundant hands-on displays all told the captivating story of this amazing adventure. Below you see Gator and Sam enjoying one of the hands-on educational exhibits.
The Pflugs appear before a display showing the inside of a Hidatsa (Native American) home, replete with implements of their daily life.
Great Falls is an appropriate location for this center since the expedition wintered near here and also had to make an 18 mile portage around the 5 impassible falls which blocked their passage on the Upper Missouri River. Below you see Sam and Gator , who are avid shoppers, enjoying all the available goodies in the gift shop. (I'm not sure how much they talked their folks into buying for them.)
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