Lewis and Clark had also discovered that Sacagawea knew much about the territory they were all traveling through. She knew the safe paths over mountains and down rivers. She knew where her family lived, where they could all get fresh horses and supplies.

Crossing the Continental Divide proved difficult, even in warm weather. Snow was still on some of the paths. But by September, the Corps of Discovery was on the other side of the Rocky Mountains and traveling onward. In fact, they had left the land behind.

They reached the Clearwater River, which would take them to the Columbia River and, eventually, to the Pacific Ocean. And on November 7, 1805, they saw the great ocean. They celebrated their achievement and built a fort, in which they spent the winter.

The next March, they started on the trip home. A few months later, Lewis and Clark split up, in order to cover more territory. Clark and several men went southeast, to the Yellowstone River, and followed it to the Missouri. Lewis took Sacagawea and several men and went northeast. As on the trip west, they kept detailed notes and gathered samples of unfamiliar animal and plant life.

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