Journal of Discovery: On the Trails of Lewis & Clark and the Native Americans of the West

Lets hop in the car and take a trip along the Lewis and Clark trail. Lets go back in time and see the country as our forefathers saw it. Lets get a clear perspective on our great country at a time when things were not so complex. Maybe by looking through eyes of Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and others, we can get a grip on those things that are most important to our country; which policies were positive, and which were mistakes; so we can learn from history and make better choices today. So in the summer of 2016, we began a two year Journey of Discovery that would take us to many parts of this great country. We learned that the Lewis and Clark expedition created a spirit of perseverance and adventure that would become central to the psyche of American people. We also witnessed the impact of that great exploration on the lives of Native Americans and the lands they traversed for the next two hundred years. We learned that in a much more complex world, we still find many of the same issues that Thomas Jefferson, his great explorers and other leaders faced in 1803. And we faced the paramount issue: were there unavoidable tradeoffs in building the great and prosperous country that resulted from our continental expansion? Or could we have developed the country in a way less injurious to those who stood in the way of westward expansion and manifest destiny?

When not traveling Doug Goepfert resides in Northeast Ohio with his wife Laura. Anxious to hit the road and start writing again, they are researching a trip through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Oregon. Plenty of history there. Doug is a Vietnam Veteran, a graduate of Emory and Baldwin Wallace Universities. He is an honorary member of the National American Indian Veterans Association.