Hoping to be the first annual event that will continue for years to come, Lolo Hot Springs Resort and Lodge is hosting Lewis and Clark Expedition Days from June 20 to 22. The three days feature a number of different events and activities focused on the area’s history.
Since Brent Olson purchased Lolo Hot Springs Resort in 2006, a history-themed event has been on his mind. This year, the event became a reality for the first time.
Larry Patterson, left, and Mickala Gillispie, right, are hosting the first annual Lewis and Clark Expedition Days at Lolo Hot Springs on Thursday, June 20 through Saturday, June 22.
Mostly, the event finally started this year due to the staff’s love for the area’s past.
“There was always something that the wheels wouldn’t turn,” Olson said. “So finally we got the wheels oiled by some of the other people here. We really want to keep it going and it’s something we want to do. Next year it will be 220 years since (Lewis and Clark) came through.”
Lolo Hot Springs had been well known to the Native Americans long before the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in the fall of 1805 and then their return in 1806. The excursionists stayed in an area named “Travelers Rest” before continuing their journey across the Bitterroot Mountains along the Lolo Trail.
People are also reading…
“We’re hoping to bring the community back here to kind of show them the history of this place,” Mickala Gillispie, the event coordinator, said. “To show them their backyard of the rich history that they’re standing on. You can’t know how to appreciate something until you learn about it.”
