Missoula

We've made a two night stop in Missoula, MT. Missoula sits in a nice little valley in the mountains where the Blackfoot and Bitteroot rivers enter the Clark Fork of the Columbia River. Not only did the students get a chance to warm up (after Butte and Yellowstone...brrrrr) and stretch their legs along the river and mountain trails, but we had a great visit to the new Traveler's Rest site. Traveler's Rest is the location of Lewis and Clark's stop in the Bitteroot Valley recently discovered by modern archaeology. We discussed exploration, Native American migration, women as translators in world history, liminality and borderland theory, and then discussed books about prostitution and saloons. In short, we got recharged to get back on the road but still hit some great topics in world and US West history.