They had just been through this incredible year.

1805 was the year of discovery for Lewis and Clark.

Every day.

Every single day.

It was something new.

Places that no white people had ever been before.

It was discover after discovery after discovery.

And now they know in ways that no Americans could know at that time that there was a continent between them and home.

In a spruce forest near a small river several miles from the coast south of what is now Astoria, Oregon.

The Corps of Discovery built their winter quarters.

December 25th, 1805.

Rainy and wet.

Disagreeable weather.

We all moved into our new fort.

What's your officer's name?

Fort Clatsop.

After the name of the Clatsop Nation of Indians who live nearest to us.

The party saluted our officers by each man firing a gun at daybreak this morning.

They divided out the last of their tobacco among the men that used it, and the rest.

They gave each a sil handkerchief as a Christmas gift to keep us in remembrance of it.

As we have no ardent spirits.

But all are in good health, which we esteem more than all the ardent spirits in the world.

We have nothing to eat but poor elk meat, and no salt to season that with, but still keep in good spirits, as we expect this to be the last winter that we will have to pass in this way.

John Ordway.

Rained every day.

Sometimes just a light drizzle, but a constant rain.

They were always wet.

They had buil this small fort for themselves.

They had a smokehouse, which was very difficult to keep fires going because the wood was wet all the time, and they had nothing but elk to eat elk for breakfast, Elk at noon, Elk in the evening.

January 1st, 1806.

A repast of this day, no better than that of Christmas, consiste principally in the anticipation of the first day of January, 1807, when, in the bosom of our friends, we hope to enjoy the repast which the hand of civilization has prepared for us.

At present we were content with eating our boiled elk and soliciting our thirst with our only beverage, pure water.

Meriwether Lewis.

He had been in the white House for more than two years as the president's secretary.

He had met all the leading peopl in Washington and Philadelphia.

He had become accustomed to dinner with Jefferson.

He hadn't previously eve confessed this in his journal.

But on January 1st, 1806, it's obvious that he misses the life that he had had.