(Lewis and Clark trip journal entry … July 15: Worrisome thunderstorm in middle of night. Concerned we wouldn't be able to continue on. But morning weather calm with cloud cover, no mosquitoes anywhere. East of Missouri River, flowing hills that are surprisingly green, picturesque. Brought adequate provisions. But it will take a lot of balls to do it, already lost a couple. Became disoriented, lost, but received help from a tan man riding a mowing machine who guided us to the 18th hole. Saw rabbit, many birds. Made some good shots. Food found last night was satisfying, a couple of steaks at East 40 restaurant in Bismarck, not far from our hotel.)

A couple of discovery, Don and Patty Range, of Palos Verde Estates, Calif., arrived in Bismarck on Wednesday with the necessary survival supplies -clean clothes, clubs, 70 little white balls and mosquito spray.

Their goal is to find a viable continuous passage from one golf hole to the next on the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Golf Trail.

Where Lewis and Clark possibly once puttered around, the Ranges were putting - on the green hills of Hawktree Golf Course north of Bismarck on Thursday morning.

The golf trail, promoted by Gov. John Hoeven and others, is a way for golfers to hit two balls at about the same time. They can play golf on the golf trail's 24 courses and, when not doing that, can use the comprehensive printed material provided to play tourist at various Lewis and Clark historic sites.

Don Range, 69, retired engineer, and Patty Range, 67, homemaker, have taken golf vacations in about 15 states and three countries. When Patty Range, looking for North Carolina golfing information on the Internet veered into some North Dakota information, she liked what she saw. The golf courses intrigued her.

Golf Digest magazine has Hawktree ranked 19th in its 100 top public courses list. The Links of North Dakota, formerly Red Mike, east of Williston, is ranked 57th in Golfweek 2003's "100 Best Modern Courses" ranking.

Don Range's initial reaction to coming to North Dakota - a place he had visited on business years ago in the dead of winter in Grand Forks - was an incredulous "What?" Patty remembers.

That reaction is behind him, now.

The couple, after a 31/2 hour, 18-hole experience at Hawktree ranks it "right up there" when compared to courses played in the U.S. and abroad. It's what the Ranges, who have golfed for a dozen years, like to see: a course that's open - "you can see a long way" - and hilly, Don Range said.

Today, the couple has a morning tee time at Riverwood Golf Course, then it's off to Dickinson's Heart River Golf Course; two days of Medora's Bully Pulpit; then up north to the Links of North Dakota for two days; Minot's Minot Country Club and Souris Valley courses for two days; and then it's back to this area. They will play Riverwood, Prairie West, back to Hawktree, and then the final day, July 27, will be spent at Apple Creek Country Club.

When the decision was made to make such a journey, the golf explorers did get help - Bob Kalberer, who helped to create this golf trail idea in 2001, set up their tee times. But financially, the federal government and the gravely silenced Thomas Jefferson aren't in on this one. "If you know of a way to get some funding, let us know," Patty Range said, laughing.

The couple of discovery's scariest moment so far: Running for their golfing lives from Gates 25 to 57 at Denver International Airport. A vomiting passenger in California caused a 40-minute clean-up delay that resulted in the Ranges, grandparents of five, only having three minutes in Denver to get to their connecting flight.

Thursday morning, uncharted-territory type exploration began anew as the wide-eyed couple in a rented Taurus searched for Hawktree after taking a wrong turn on Burnt Creek Loop.

The Ranges' last day here is July 27 - a better day than Capt. William Clark's, it's hoped.

A portion of Clark's journal entry for July 27, 1804: "…I killed a Deer in the Prarie and found the Misquitors So thick & troublesom that it was disagreeable and painfull to Continue a moment Still."

Poor deer … If only Clark had yelled, "Fore, deer."