During their trek west along the Missouri River, Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery were fascinated by the seemingly endless sea of prairie. As the party neared what is today Lewis and Clark Park, Captain William Clark described the surroundings as "Some verry handsome high planes & extensive bottoms." Lewis added that there were "many fine leavel extensive and extremely fertile lands." Although the Missouri River has changed since they wrote those words on April 15th, 1805, the handsome high plains and fertile land they saw still exist today.