When William Clark, Sacajawea and her baby “Pomp” and other members of the Corps of Discovery came upon the River Rochejhone in 1806, they found “great numbers of beaver ... encamped in the upper part of a large bottom.”

Today the Rochejhone is known as the Yellowstone River, and beaver and cutthroat trout still roam through the river and its tributaries.

Clark described the area — now present-day Park County — in his July 15, 1806 journal entry:

“I had Mockersons made of green Buffalow Skin and put on the horses feet ... the current of the Rochejhone is too rapid to depend on Skinn canoes. no other alternative for me but to proceed on down untill I can find a tree Sufficently large to make a canoe. Encamped on the river a little below it’s enterence.”

The area he camped in was about three miles east of one of the Yellowstone’s tributaries — the Shields River.

Clark, Sacajawea, and the rest of Clark’s crew then followed the Yellowstone River east out of Montana, where they rejoined Meriwether Lewis and his men.

With the Lewis and Clark return-trip bicentennial this year, events commemorating the journey are taking place across Park County this summer.

For those wishing to see Park County’s beautiful countryside while learning about Clark in Park County, try a driving tour of new interpretive signs discussing the Corps of Discovery’s journey.

A dozen signs in places such as the top of the Bozeman Pass, Livingston’s Sacajawea Park, Old Clyde Park Road, and Sheep Mountain offer interpretive facts of Lewis and Clark’s journey, such as the vegetation they saw, native peoples met on the way, and animals and other wildlife that still roam Park County.

A sign and statue at Sacajawea Park — named in the Shoshone woman’s honor — gives details of her life and her role during the epic journey.

The location for the Sacajawea statue is appropriate: Clark and his party stopped in present-day Livingston for a few hours rest on their way through here.

For a driving tour map, stop by the Chamber of Commerce at 303 E. Park St.

Also, just west of Livingston on Interstate 90, is a Lewis and Clark information display sponsored by the Great Bend of the Yellowstone Lewis and Clark Heritage Commission.

The display includes a map of the Corps’ journey through Park County as well as quotes from their journals describing the area. The display also includes Park County’s history after the Corps’ trip, and features notable historical figures like John Colter and Jim Bridger.

If you want to retrace the Lewis and Clark Expedition route by water, consider Livingston’s annual boat float, set to take place Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 9.

The float starts at Livingston and follows the Expedition route all the way to Laurel. There are two overnight stops — one in Big Timber and one in Reed Point. Some local communities provide entertainment along the way.

The Montana Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission has posted a complete list of Montana Lewis and Clark events in Montana with overviews, agendas and online registration (when possible).

The Web site http://montanalewisandclark.org also lists national and regional events.

For more information about the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, call the Commission at (406) 443-2109.

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