Inspiration and Nostalgia on Visiting My Alma Mater — Video Dispatch
Monday, July 10 2023
A short video I recorded recently on the campus of my alma mater, the University of Minnesota. I was a student there in the early 1970s and after class I often found myself at the base of Northrup Auditorium, incised with what I still regard as the perfect mission statement.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America
Sunday, July 09 2023
In 1994 San Francisco journalist Mike McIntyre got it into his head to try to cross the county with no money. No money whatsoever. With a borrowed 50-70 pound backpack, he traveled literally penniless for 4,223 miles from San Francisco to Cape Fear, North Carolina. That's fourteen states, 82 rides, five laundry loads, and one golf round.
- Published in Books
Artificial Intelligence: A Collision of Opportunity and Challenge
Tuesday, July 04 2023
Machines, it turns out, think and learn in pretty much the same ways that humans do. They also possess some of the same weaknesses. Clay explores the topic of artificial intelligence with futurist, David Horton.
- Published in Features
With the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
Tuesday, July 04 2023
As the editor of the Lewis and Clark quarterly journal, We Proceeded On, I attended the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation annual meeting in Missoula at the end of June.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Reflections on A Colorado River Journey
Sunday, July 02 2023
Conditions are changing so fast in the Colorado River watershed that it is impossible now to keep up. I write this on April 14, 2023. In two successive days since I returned to North Dakota, my news feed has served up stories on Great Salt Lake.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Circumnavigating the Great Salt Lake in a Kayak
Monday, June 26 2023
Days 12 and 13, Tuesday/Wednesday: Salt Lake City
Clay visits Salt Lake City to talk with Scott Baxter a passionate advocate and student of the Great Salt Lake.…
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Farewell to Our Intrepid Guide and a Water in the West Reading List
Friday, June 23 2023
Days 10 and 11, Sunday/Monday: U.S. 89 to Utah 20; Utah 20 to I-15; I-15 to Salt Lake City.
A sad farewell as Frank, our scout and chief raconteur for the last 10 days, heads home to Escalante, Utah, and Clay and Dennis continue north to visit the Great Salt Lake.…
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
A Day on Lake Powell — A Colorado River Journey
Saturday, June 17 2023
Clay and colleagues spend a glorious day on Lake Powell, a popular recreation destination with over 2,000 miles of shoreline, which hosts over 3 million visitors annually.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
A Quest for an Ancient Tree
Friday, June 16 2023
I co-led a hike in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park recently. There were about a dozen of us. Our goal was a very old cottonwood tree in an obscure corner of the park down by the Little Missouri River. The tree is said to date to 1641.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
A Different View of Glen Canyon and the Colorado River
Monday, June 12 2023
I’ve read about Lee’s Ferry all my life. Among other things, it is the portal for float trips in the Grand Canyon. Countless stories feature Lee’s Ferry or originate there. I watched several groups tuck their gear into rafts as they embarked on the great adventure. I was filled with envy and a kind of apprehension.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road