Our free-flowing Missouri River remains the lasting legacy of Lewis and Clark. Along the KATY Trail near Rocheport one can still see the ancient Native American pictographs and a pierced rock formation noted in the journals. Further downstream is the rock formation William Clark climbed that he called Lead Mine Hill. Near the mouth of the Osage is another hill WilliamClark climbed – Clark’s Hill. There are scenic overlooks in Jefferson City’s Riverside (Ellis-Porter) Park, on the State Capitol grounds, at the Missouri National Guard’s Training Center, and at Bonnots Mill, as well as many access points beckoning river seekers. Our most visible man-made asset is the Missouri State Capitol Building in Jefferson City. The view of the Capitol as seen at river level from his boat “Nikawa” was noted by author William Least-Heat Moon in his recent book River Horse: “Then atop a long limestone bluff in Jefferson City, rose a veritable image of the United States Capitol, the Missouri statehouse, perhaps the most eminently situated one in America.” Nearby stands the 19th century Jefferson Landing (where steamboats brought immigrants primarily from Germany to settle Jefferson City and the surrounding area) and the Governor’s Mansion and Gardens. A bit further down river is the oldest operating penitentiary west of the Mississippi – to be decommissioned in 2004, and offering exciting options for historic preservation and recreational uses in the future. There are many ways to experience the River: by barge or boat; by the rail route from Jefferson City to Hermann and Washington, Missouri; by the KATY Trail, offering a hiking or biking alternative; or driving the family car on a self-guided tour along one of the scenic “driving loops” through small, picturesque Missouri River communities.