DISPATCHES FROM THE ROAD

Earlier this week, Clay made a pilgrimage to the site called Dismal Nitch, where Lewis and Clark were marooned for six miserable days in November 1805. There is a somewhat confusing academic debate about which of the three or four identical nitches within a two-mile stretch of the Columbia River estuary is the actual, official, certified Dismal Nitch. This seems to have sent Clay into a bit of a spin.

Ode to Dismal Nitch

Has our friend Clay Jenkinson been too long alone on the Lewis and Clark Trail?
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Meriwether Lewis was ignobly shot in the buttocks by his visually impaired hunting companion, Pierre Cruzatte, on their return to civilization in 1806

How Meriwether Lewis’ Unfortunate Hunting Mishap Brought to Mind the Bounty of American Consumer Capitalism

On the 221st anniversary of Meriwether Lewis’ hunting calamity, Clay ponders salt, macrobiotics, and an earlier extended personal journey on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
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My Montana Summer

Clay Jenkinson reports on his month-long adventure crisscrossing Montana in the long-since-passed footsteps of Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery.
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Clay Reads and Riffs on Huckleberry Finn While Sitting Beside the Mighty Mississippi — Video Dispatch

Earlier this summer, Clay Jenkinson traveled to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, Illinois. Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi, Clay read from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and talked about the novel and its author, Mark Twain, who enshrined this mighty river deep in American mythology. 
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Clay Checks in From Missoula — Video Dispatch

Clay reports in on his adventures at the conclusion of his recent Montana Lewis and Clark Cultural Tour.
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A statute of Lewis and Clark and the expedition's

Lewis, Clark and Their Dog Seaman — Video Dispatch

Clay checks in from St. Charles, Missouri, near the mouth of the Missouri River, at Frontier Park, on one of the finest Lewis and Clark statue groups in America.
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Clay wrestling with his leaky RV shower. (Image courtesy of Clay and ChatGPT)

My Saga of the Leaky Shower in the Montana Back Country

Thanks to YouTube, persistence, and bloody knuckles, a hot shower gets pretty close to paradise.
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Screenshot of Clay, Frank, Dennis

Celebrating July 4th On The Lewis and Clark Trail — Video Dispatch

Clay and his Listening to America “Corps of Discovery” celebrate the 4th of July along the Lewis and Clark Trail.
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Clay at the Missouri River just east of Great Falls, MT. In the background is Belt Creek, where the Lewis and Clark Expedition began their 18.5-mile, one-month portage around the five falls of the Missouri River in June/July of 1805.

At Great Falls, Montana

I’m spending the 4th of July at the Great Falls of the Missouri River in north-central Montana, where Lewis and Clark visited on the same day in 1805.
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Ryan Dam, one of five hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana. (Photo Visit Great Falls)

Clay’s “Must See” Stops in Great Falls, Montana

Our Lewis and Clark explorer, Clay Jenkinson, says that Great Falls’ reputation for being one of the less attractive places to visit in Montana is highly unfair. He shares his “must see” stops.
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