2015-07-16 Day 18: Following Lewis & Clark, Virginia City to Dillion, MT

We picked up the trail of Lewis and Clark at Twin Bridges, MT today. They found themselves at the confluence of three rivers at this spot in early August, 1805. The three rivers (today known as the Bighole, the Ruby, and the Beaverhead) all carried the same water volume. They chose to follow the Beaverhead. This proved to be a very fortunate choice; Just 15 miles up river, a remarkable event occurred. Sacagawea recognized a rock formation along the river she knew as the Beaverhead. It overlooked a meadow where her tribe spent summers when she was a young girl. This had to be an emotional moment. She had not seen her family since she was 12 when she was taken captive by a warring tribe then taken far to the east. She told Lewis and Clark her tribe would be either somewhere along the Beaverhead River or the next river to the west. Knowing they had reached the headwaters of the rivers that could take them west, they needed horses to cross the mountains ahead. So, the Corp of Discovery began to look for Sacagawea's tribe. This effort would result in one of the most fortunate, emotional, and lucky moments of their entire journey.