Who were some of the early explorers to first see Yellowstone National Park?
President Thomas Jefferson envisioned creating an American Empire stretching from coast-to coast. His dream began to bear fruition with the acquisition of Louisiana from France in 1803. The Discovery Corps led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark would pave the way for the opening of the Pacific Northwest and begin the building of Jefferson’s American Empire. Captain William Clark’s party canoed down the Yellowstone River Valley, a short distance from today’s Yellowstone Park, en route to their rendezvous with Meriwether Lewis at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. Yyoung, athletic and strong person of mind, John Colter, who was a member of the Discovery Corps, would encounter two trappers somewhere near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. The trappers named Joseph Dixon and Forrest Hancock would become John Colter’s partners. The date of their meeting, August 12, 1806, was an important day in John Colter’s life for shortly after that he
