A few nights earlier I went to a local police station and asked an officer on duty at the desk whether he knew of a park or other place where I could inconspicuously set up my small tent at dusk with the understanding that I would be gone by the break of dawn. Basically, "he just smiled, shook my hand, 'No' was all he said". Having now had this experience a few times, I've decided that going forward I will beg forgiveness rather than ask permission.
I am a member of an international network of touring bicyclists known as Warm Showers that makes their showers, yards, etc. available to other members. The website says there are over 89,000 of us worldwide and 42,000 of us are active. I have been an active member for many years but no one has ever contacted me about camping in my yard. A few nights ago I camped in the yard of a member in Atcheson, KS, and had a great time with my host. Unfortunately, it is rare that a member happens to live where you want to camp.
In the evenings the Lewis and Clark crew would sometimes sit around a campfire and enjoy their ration of whiskey together. Occasionally a guy would play the fiddle and the men would sing and dance. Given that I tend to travel alone, I seldom have a campfire and I sure don't sing or dance. But if I am camping in or near a town and if I have time and energy, I sometimes find a local bar and have a drink with the locals.
A few nights ago in a small town I found myself seated at a barstool next to a couple of football coaches from the local small college. One guy seemed a bit out of place -- an African American who stood 6'5" tall and weighed 325 lbs. He had been a starting offensive lineman on a nationally prominent college football team and had just finished a brief stint in the NFL. Like me, he was originally from the state of Michigan, and we had a great discussion. He might very well be the biggest defensive secondary coach in college football!
My ride today ended in Sioux City, which celebrates Lewis and Clark's heritage more than any city I have ever visited. That may be because a lot happened there on their trip upstream.
There were three sergeants on the Corps of Discovery, one of whom, the very popular Sgt. Charles Floyd, died in Sioux City from what is now believed to have been a ruptured appendix less than 100 days into the expedition. The crew took his body up to a bluff and had a military funeral for him. They marked the grave with a stripped tree. On the way back they stopped at the gravesite and found it had been disturbed, perhaps by wolves. They reburied him. Over the years his grave was disturbed multiple times by erosion and each time the people of Sioux City re-buried him.
Late in the 20th century, Sgt. Floyd's journal turned up in, of all places, in the Wisconsin state archives in Madison. This generated renewed interest in Floyd and the expedition. Shortly thereafter a statue that looks like a miniature Washington Monument was erected at his burial site. Today it stands as a tribute not just to Floyd but also to the Louisiana Purchase and everyone on the Corps of Discovery.
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