DISPATCHES FROM THE ROAD
Where the American West Begins — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, October 08 2024
Clay stops on the banks of the mighty Missouri River, the boundary of America’s east and west. It is here that John Steinbeck noted, “The two sides of the river might well be one thousand miles apart.”
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Steinbeck Meets an Itinerant Actor Along North Dakota’s Maple River — Video Dispatch
Saturday, September 28 2024
In October 1960, traveling through eastern North Dakota, John Steinbeck stopped along the lonely Maple River. Here, the author had a remarkable encounter with an itinerant Shakespearean actor.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Another Amazing Roadside Attraction! Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe — Video Dispatch
Sunday, September 15 2024
Never one to pass up one of America’s “World's Largest” roadside attractions, our intrepid traveler makes a pilgrimage to the site of the midwest’s legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his blue ox “Babe.”
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Grapes of Wrath on Route 66 — Video Dispatch
Friday, September 13 2024
It was one of the hottest days of the summer of 2024. I was on Route 66, somewhere east of Needles, California.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Looking Forward to My Zoom Call With Lindsay
Tuesday, September 10 2024
I’ve read Lindsay Chervinsky’s new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic. It’s outstanding.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Fear and Loathing in Northern Colorado
Tuesday, September 03 2024
After grueling weeks on the road, our weary, and perhaps delirious, wayfarer visits the “Last Resting Place” RV park in the northern Colorado Rockies.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Uniquely American Concord, Massachusetts — Video Dispatch
Monday, August 19 2024
Clay spent a morning in Concord, Massachusetts, while traveling through New England this spring. Located northeast of Boston, Concord has deep roots in American history and culture.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Thoughts on Airstream Life — Living in Miniature
Monday, August 19 2024
Clay shares his thoughts on life on the road and living in a 184 square-foot portable home.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Salinas, California: Home to the Famous Author and the National Steinbeck Center
Tuesday, August 13 2024
Clay arrives in Salinas and Monterey, California, the home turf of a young John Steinbeck.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Last Stoplight on the Interstate Highway System — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, August 06 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road