Learning about the Oregon Trail at the Whitman Mission

As part of the terms of us taking the kids out of school for a term, Paul and I've got to make sure that the boys keep up with their reading and maths and find enrichment activities along the way.

Given that Grumpy lives so close to the Oregon Trail and the route that Lewis and Clark took, it made sense to teach the boys about the pioneers who first came to the Northwest. And there's no better place to go to learn about that than the Whitman Mission which was set up to save the souls of the local Cayuse Indians and ended up being a favourite stop off for thousands of pioneers who needed a blacksmith or a doctor on their journey to the Pacific.

One of the things that I didn't remember from when I visited the Mission as a kid, was that Narcissa Whitman was the first non-Native American woman in the Oregon territory. She must have been one tough lady.

Aside from learning all about the Oregon Trail, Elliot and Oliver earned their first junior ranger badges.