'Voyage of Discovery' events announced

WARRENTON, Ore. -- It was the kind of weather Lewis and Clark would have recognized. Rain pounded down, and a chilling wind whipped through a crowd that gathered Nov. 11 as Oregon and Washington marked the bicentennial of the explorers' arrival.

The explorers and their expedition spent 106 days at a fort they began building here on Dec. 10, 1805, and it rained on all but 12 of those days.

The structure, Fort Clatsop, was the western terminus of the 1804-1806 Voyage of Discovery led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

A 50-year-old replica of Fort Clatsop that had been the centerpiece of the Lewis and Clark National Park here burned down in October. Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins says an investigation traced the blaze to a small fire that had been built on an open hearth in one of the barracks to add to the ambience of the historic recreation. Apparently the hearth fire was not fully extinguished when the fort closed to visitors at the end of the day. It spread and ignited the building that night.

A replacement structure will be built, and new design elements will include a fire detection system, Jenkins said.

The Warrenton event was among 330 events that have been or will be held commemorating the bicentennial. Four major or "signature" events remain in the commemoration's final months next year. They are:

* June 14-17, Lewiston, Idaho, commemorating their experiences among the Nez Perce Indians.

* July 22-25, Pompeys Pillar National Monument and nearby Billings, Mont., commemorating Clark's travels on the Yellowstone River.

* Aug. 17-20, New Town, N.D., commemorating the return to the homeland of their female Indian guide.

* Sept. 23-24, St. Louis, Mo., commemorating the return to St. Louis, where the expedition launched.

* For details, go to http://www.lewisandclark200.org/index.php?cID39.