I was very humbled watching this documentary. I was actually very surprised how LITTLE I knew about Lewis and Clark - especially since I live in a state that can stake a claim on the fact that Lewis and Clark stopped HERE on their search for the Northwest Passage.
The thing is, when I was in school, it was basically hammered into my head that Sacajawea was the one who did all the work in getting Lewis and Clark here. I guess I just pictured three people in a canoe - two men and the smarter and more capable Indian woman taking them around and showing them things. As a young person, that was my view of how the Northwest was traversed. Apparently, I was wrong.
I was surprised to learn that when Lewis and Clark headed this direction, it was AT the direction of the president - and they selected a group of soldiers and mountain men who were carefully chosen based on their sturdiness and ability to withstand a great deal of elements and stress. I also never realized that these men were basically headed where few had been before - and it never occurred to me that they were basically traveling through places that (at the time) were actually property of Russia, England and Mexico.
I guess one of the reasons I most enjoyed this documentary was that it was really approached from the historical and FACTUAL account - it allowed me to take a step back and imagine what the country was like before it was built up - and even property of the USA. Any documentary that encourages me to think outside my little box makes the short-list of AWESOMENESS. This documentary definitely did that.
The National Geographic Link
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