The Meriwether Lewis and William Clark expedition wintered here from December 7, 1805 to March 23, 1806 in a stockade they named Fort Clatsop, after the local Indians. Exhibits in the visitor center cover the entire expedition and the events that led up to it. Some of the artifacts, such as a 1795 musket and a bear-hide quiver, merit more than a glance, as do the journal entries that have been reproduced. Following an encounter with a grizzly, which was still charging after being shot eight times, one explorer wrote, "These bears...rather intimidate us all." The visitor center shows a 32min video detailing the entire expedition, a 17min slide show on the winter at Fort Clatsop, and shorter laser disk programs on subjects from canoe building to elk hunting. Outside, visitors can wander through a full-size replica of Fort Clatsop and imagine how life must have been that winter. All 33 members of the expedition stayed in this crude fort, which is little bigger than a typical house, and endured an infestation of fleas, a spotty diet, and rain on 94 of the 106 days they stayed here.