Just after the dawn of the 19th Century, President Thomas Jefferson took advantage of France's floundering fortunes, and made a strategic land deal for $15 million with dictator Napoleon Bonaparte. This massive real estate acquisition relinquished French control of the Mississippi River, the commercially important port city of New Orleans, and nearly one million square miles of unexplored land to the west of the great, muddy river.

Shortly after the deal was finalized, Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and his friend William Clark, in 1803, to find out exactly what he had purchased for America. Their objective was to explore the headwaters of the Missouri River in search of an overland route to the Pacific Ocean while mapping and documenting the land they traversed.

Over a century and a half passed before the United States Congress enacted the National Trails System Act in October 1968, and recommended the Lewis and Clark Trail be part of the National Trails System. In 1978, the act was amended to include the new category of National Historic Trails.

The Lewis and Clark Trail was one of four trails to be given this distinction. The primary purpose of a National Historic Trail is commemoration of the historic events that form the Trail's central theme through historic interpretation, preservation, and public use. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is administered by the National Park Service in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private landowners. These cooperating interests manage existing retracement routes, recreation sites, interpretive facilities, and visitor centers along the route.

The trail retraces the 3,700-mile-path taken by the Corps from Wood River, Illinois to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon, and back to St. Louis, Missouri through a series of waterways, foot-paths and motor routes. The trail passes through portions of Missouri., Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The bicentennial of this pioneering journey that opened the American West to European domination is only two years away.

On May 14, 1804 the Lewis and Clark with their 33 member "Corps of Discovery," left Camp DuBois, near Wood River in a keel boat and two piroques. In 1805 the expedition crossed the Bitterroot Mountains in Western Montana along Lolo Pass on their way to the Pacific Ocean. In November the Corps built Fort Clatsop on the south side of the Columbia River near present- day Astoria, Oregon to weather out the winter.

On their way back to the Missouri River and St. Louis in the spring and summer of 1806, the Corps explored several major rivers in present day Montana. During this return trip through Montana the expedition split up into two parties, one led by Lewis and the other led by Clark.

Clark and his small group, including the Shoshone native Sacagawea with her husband and son, walked and rode over the pass into the Yellowstone River valley on July 15. During the 16th they traveled an estimated 26 miles along the north bank of the river. After a rain filled night they broke camp early and passed by an area they called "Rivers Across." This was the confluence of two ribbons of water that Sweet Grass County residents now call Big Timber Creek and the Boulder River.

The Treasure State is commemorating the explorer's journey from 2003 until 2006 in conjunction with a national celebration of the Corps of Discovery, which will include a traveling exhibit and educational center highlighting the journey and the native tribes they met along the way. The local ceremonies and events are being coordinated and planned by the Montana Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission.

The Commission recently completed a master plan to interconnect the various elements from the private, public, government, and tribal communities critical for the state's bicentennial celebrations. This initial bureaucracy is intended to guide the overall planning and preparation efforts.

The progress and composition of the Montana Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission can be tracked on their website located at www.montanalewisandclark.org.