Day 2 - St. Charles, Missouri

Adventure Caravans - Lewis and Clark- May 23rd, Day 2

This morning we lined up at 9:15 to carpool to the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site in downtown St. Charles.  We arrived shortly after 9:30 and were greeted by our tour guide, Vikki.  She took us to the front of the building (which is now the back of the building) and gave us our initial orientation to the site.  The building now faces Main Street, but back in the 1800's the Missouri River was the main hub of activity for the town, so what we see as the back side of the building was the front then, which faced the river.  

Vikki  getting us ready for our tour

Then we were led into the second story of the Capitol Building for an informative talk by yet another tour guide, Ashlee.  St. Charles was chosen as the Capitol because it was in the center of the state, and the Peck Brothers, who owned the building, offered it to the government for free.  They later tried to charge rent, but it went unpaid by the State.  St. Charles was the Capitol from 1821 to 1826.  The upstairs was where the Senate and House chambers were, as well as an office for the Governor.  Apparently in the 1820's nobody wanted to be Governor.  They had a hard time filling the position, and had a succession of four Governors during the five years St. Charles was the Capitol. William Clark was Governor of the Territory of Missouri from 1813 to 1820 prior to Missouri's statehood.  

Our guide was very interesting.  She surprised us all by telling us that the Senators used "laptops" back then.  We were amused at her comparison of their lap desks to our modern day laptops.  She then took us to see the Peck's family residence and general store on the first floor.  Then we were cut loose to wander the old downtown area on our own.  Several of us had lunch in one of the many, many dining establishments.  

Ashlee showing us a "laptop"

Waiting for lunch in downtown St. Charles

At 2:00 we arrived at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse and Nature Center museum.  Once again, we had a very informative talk given by a gentleman named Bill.  He told us about Lewis and Clark coming to St. Charles and recruiting two Frenchmen who were very adept at river boating.  He told us about them joining the expedition and then told us of their significant roles and adventures along the way.  One thing they did was inform Lewis and Clark that they had packed their boat incorrectly and they had to completely unpack it and re-pack it with heavier items in the front of the boat for stabilization.  Many of us watched a 40 minute film, went downstairs to see the Keelboat replicas and speak with some of the re-enactors that were on site.

keelboat replica

We then headed back to the campground for a relaxing evening, as we have a busy, long day ahead of us tomorrow in St. Louis (and the temperature is going to exceed 90).  Yikes!

All in all a great day.

Your Tailgunners, Spence and Madi Schaaf