DISPATCHES FROM THE ROAD

Clay arrives in Salinas and Monterey, California, the home turf of a young John Steinbeck.
Last stoplight on the interstate highway
The last stoplight on the entire interstate highway system was located in Wallace, Idaho. When the elegant latticework of the I-90 viaduct was completed in 1991, Wallace held a funeral for the last stoplight, now safely protected in the Wallace Mining Museum.
Clay visits the grave of Jack Kerouac, “pioneer of the Beat generation,” in Lowell, Massachusetts. 
Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts where Thoreau lived
As he travels through New England, Clay stops at Walden Pond outside of Concord, Massachusetts, to visit the original site of the 10 by 15 foot cabin immortalized in Henry David Thoreau’s American classic Walden.
On a beautiful spring day, Clay and his Airstream board the ferry from Long Island to New London, Connecticut, launching his trek, tracing John Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile Travels with Charley journey.
Clay visits Pompeys Pillar National Monument along the Yellowstone River east of Billings, Montana.
illustration: Steinbeck and Charley with bears in Yellowstone
Steinbeck and his dog Charley have an eventful visit at Yellowstone National Park.
John Steinbeck’s French poodle Charley is the star of Travels with Charley. The dog must have been remarkable because he steals the show in every scene he’s in. Steinbeck wrote about him with great grace, affection, and humor.
Clay reflects on the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. He's been here many times and made this visit because Steinbeck did, on October 13, 1960.
This morning I crossed the great Yellowstone River 27 miles west of Glendive on old Highway 10. There are not many places on the John Steinbeck Travels with Charley tour where you know you are PRECISELY where Steinbeck was, because so much has changed.