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This is the ninth installment on the Flight of Discovery, an aerial scientific expedition that retraced the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail from Indiana to the Pacific Ocean. It is summarized by Mike Harding, the Expedition Leader. A complete accounting of the 2004 - 2006 expeditions is recounted in his upcoming book, “On the Wings of an Eagle Tragedy and Triumph of the Flight of Discovery”.

June 9, 2004 – Scenes of Visionary Enchantment

As We Passed on it Seemed those Scenes of Visionary Enchantment Would Never Have an End -- Meriwether Lewis, 1805

Wonderful morning flying above the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Over the dam at Fort Peck, we stayed high enough to avoid causing any disturbance in this pristine area of blue water and dramatic geology. With the reservoir level low, it’s fairly easy to trace the submerged river channel of the Missouri.

We hug the left bank of Fort Peck Lake in the Caravan in case we need to make an emergency landing - lots of space for that. The weather is perfect as we make the great northern bend at the Musselshell River: its bed nearly dry but with the river running underground as evidenced by the green sward meandering through the bottom of a steeply etched valley.

River valleys on the north and south sides of the Missouri appear perched and dry, evidence of geologic uplift and prolonged drought. Passing the Sand Creek Wildlife Station, we descend closer to the river, but again, cruise at a safe height, as turbulence swirls over and around the craggy cliffs.

Finally, the White Cliffs of the Missouri River appear in the windscreen, and for the first time we fly above kayaks and canoes – the paddlers waving as we pass above. We must appear relatively strange - this line of aircraft out of the present roaring into an area largely unchanged in the past two hundred years - but we throttle back and pass as quickly and quietly as we can.

We leave the river’s deep fissure and get in line for a forty-five-degree entry into the traffic pattern and a series of perfect landings at Fort Benton, Montana. We’re the only aircraft on the field as we have lunch in the very small but accommodating FBO. This is the first airfield that Julie has found native plants, including Lewis’ Flax. We meet members of the airport commission and give out medallions in appreciation of them coming out to pump fuel for us. Next time we’re here we promise to stay longer and investigate historical opportunities in town.

A short flight later up the series of man-made dams stair-stepping down the Missouri River and we arrive at Great Falls, Montana. Upon landing, we check the weather prognosis, which appears extremely threatening along our route of flight for tomorrow. We put the WACOs in hangers and battened down the other aircraft. Holman Aviation stepped up and arranged transportation and suggested hotels and points of interest, as it became more obvious that we would be staying until the weather cleared.