Wandering up to Lewis & Clark State Park seemed a good way to waste an afternoon when others were mired in the usual Labor Day activities. There is not a lot to see there beyond a huge compass and a mostly dried up and overgrown lake bed. Google Maps displays much more water in their aerial view, labeled as having been taken in 2024. Where did it all go? The Missouri State Parks web site indicates the water has disappeared entirely due to prolonged drought conditions in the area.
The lake was not even a high point in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, excepting that they named it Gosling Lake and that they explored it on the 4th of July in 1804. Beyond that, it is little more than a note in their long adventure. It was an equally interesting distraction for us, with typical wetland growth in full depth, though beginning to wind down for the season.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark would have enjoyed the nice paved path representing the Interpretive Trail out to the compass overlook. Connecting with the Gosling Lake Trail, it turns to gravel and completely gives up on anything but a mowed path for the Independence Trail, bordered by sunflowers reaching as high as 5 meters.. This latter is not even listed on the Missouri State Parks web site, so must be a late addition.
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