Nearly 30 intrepid Platte Countians and The Landmark retraced steps taken by Lewis and Clark as their expedition made its way across the country, navigating a 55-foot keel boat on the Missouri River.

Travelling by air-conditioned coach, tour members were treated to various commemoration activities throughout the county.

The tour was sponsored by the Platte County Visitors Bureau and hosted by Cheryl Thorp, Carol Rudi and Platte County Historical Society President Diane Pepper.

Thorp said the day’s event put a lot of perspective on the work county officials had done to get to the commemoration period.

“The real historical legacy that we’re leaving behind is this river,” Thorp said. “It’s a river of communicating, as opposed to some geographic barrier. All of the river towns have that in common.”

The tour’s guide, Ron Doering of Parkville agreed.

“Whether you talk about this part of Missouri or the other 10 states the expedition, one realizes that this is the great American epic,” Doering remarked. “It made possible the opening of the west as rapidly as it did. To some degree, we all owe something to this expedition. I think it’s a thrill, even in this tiny way to just be a part of it.”