I am pretty sure there are not too many car rides quite as boring as travelling across Kansas and eastern Colorado. After moving from Kansas City we’ve made the trip back and forth several times and while nothing on the long trek ever changes, one thought has always crossed my mind. Imagine, coming across these hills and fields in a wagon, with no roads, no signs, no buildings, no civilization. I can not imagine what they would have faced, but I can say that the explorers who set out on this path were courageous and adventurous. Explorers such as Zebulon Pike and Stephen Long are both examples of these brave souls.
In 1806, Zebulon Pike served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and was commissioned to explore a major section of the …show more content…
This time, Major Stephen H. Long set out with on an expedition to explore the same rivers as Pike. He was set to discover the source of the Arkansas River and the Red River. While Pike followed along the Arkansas River for a great deal of his journey, Long followed along the Platte River for a good portion of his journey. During this time Long also discovered a large mountain, appropriately named Long’s Peak. Unfortunately Long’s expedition was more problematic than Pike’s (although Pike had his fair share of trouble). In his journals, Long states “Our three meals were therefore again, by stern necessity, reduced to a single frugal one, and our table, the soil, was set with a few mouldy biscuit crumbs, boiled in a large quantity of water, with the nutritious addition of some grease.” Hindered by hunger and misfortune the crew went on to become lost in Texas and did not have encouraging things to say about the vast lands that they covered. Regardless, what may have seemed worthless at the time turned out to provide a great deal of scientific information about the area that would prove beneficial to outgoing