My day at Lewis and Clark Caverns was quite an educational experience. I learned quite a bit.Before I get into what I learned, a brief description is needed. Lewis and Clark Caverns is a state park located along The Jefferson River. The caverns sit on top of a mountain top road built by none other than the Civilian Conservation Corps (more on that later). The park offers guided tours of these caverns, offers cabins and campgrounds for overnight use, and has a multitude of hiking trails, many of which The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) manage or develop.
The Montana Conservation Corps was awarded a $1,000 grants for building a new trail and tree planting along the top of the ridge adjacent to the caverns. This organization is a decendent of the Civilian Conservation Corps and strives to educate the members as well as the public about the rich history of the CCC in Montana, and in this case Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. The MCC and Montana State Parks have a strong partnership is carrying on this educational message.
According to The Montana Conservation Corps promotional materials, the MCC teaches the rewards of service and instills values that carry throughout life. The MCC seeks to achieve its mission by fulfilling two complimentary goals of member development – equipping young people with skills and values – and project completion – performing service projects which have a lasting and beneficial impact on our natural environment and communities.
During my visit at Lewis and Clark Caverns I learned that the CCC had built the road leading up to the caverns as well as work on the caverns themselves. I took the two hour tour of the caverns where the guide laced many CCC stories into the program. The CCC spent six years in the caverns blasting tunnels, and creating paths. One story the ranger included was about a CCC worker who decided to go into the caverns late on a Friday to break off some stalagmites to sell to the black market (no names were given). To his shigrin, his lantern blew out and he was stuck in the cavern all weekend in the pitch black, most likely thinking of an excuse on why he was in there in the first place!
Stalagmite or Stalagmite?
I also was given a tour of the trail the MCC is working on and will hopefully finish on National Public Lands Day. I have hiked many miles of trails and the both the quality of the trailwork and the layout of the trail were superb. I did mention to the Executive Director that good names for the trail could be 'The Robb Hampton Trail' or 'The NPLD Trail' or 'The Toyota Trail'. He said he'll see what he can do. Yeah, right!
Views from the uncompleted 'Robb Hampton' Trail
After the tour, I camped out at the park. To my suprise, ranger Tom showed up and gave a campfire history lesson on the area, including information on the natural history, Native American history, and of course history on Lewis and Clark's visit a stone's throw away from the park. The most important thing is...Lewis and Clark DIDN'T discover the caverns!This has been my rolling home for 3 weeks now!
No comments:
Post a Comment