Generated by All in One SEO Pro v4.9.10, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Listening To America ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://ltamerica.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Blog](https://ltamerica.org/?page_id=303) - [Views of the American Dream From Milan, Italy ](https://ltamerica.org/views-of-the-american-dream-from-milan-italy/) - Surprisingly, I did not spend the Fourth of July in America this year. But being thousands of miles away made the promise of our exceptional nation clear. - [Happy 250th Birthday, America](https://ltamerica.org/happy-250th-birthday-america/) - As much as the United States confronts monumental challenges, there is much to celebrate as the nation turns 250. - [History in Context: Thomas Jefferson on War](https://ltamerica.org/history-in-context-thomas-jefferson-on-war/) - Thomas Jefferson’s view of war was shaped by a deep study of history and hope for a new path for a young American nation. - [Crazy Horse and His Massive Memorial in South Dakota's Black Hills](https://ltamerica.org/crazy-horse-and-his-massive-memorial-in-south-dakotas-black-hills/) - Clay shares his thoughts on the Crazy Horse Memorial begun in 1948, a privately funded monument under construction in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The monument depicts Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse on horseback, pointing toward his tribal lands. Once completed, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world, at 641 feet long, 563 feet high — larger than nearby Mount Rushmore. - [Planning America’s 25th Anniversary Celebration — Long Lost Document Discovered?](https://ltamerica.org/planning-americas-25th-anniversary-celebration-long-lost-document-discovered/) - Researchers at the National Archives recently made a startling discovery, uncovering a portion of a document that appears to discuss event planning for America’s 25th Anniversary. - [In a Far Corner of Colorado: One Chapter in the Great Dispossession](https://ltamerica.org/in-a-far-corner-of-colorado-one-chapter-in-the-great-dispossession/) - A recent visit to northwest Colorado reminds me of the paradox of Manifest Destiny and our American history. - [My Close Encounter With Devils Tower](https://ltamerica.org/my-close-encounter-with-devils-tower/) - I’ve loved Devils Tower since I first close encountered it four decades ago. President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower as the nation's first National Monument in September 1906. Roosevelt would establish 18 National Monuments during his two terms. Today we have 138. - [Wind Cave National Park](https://ltamerica.org/wind-cave-national-park/) - Our roving humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson is typically dedicated to the truth and nothing but the truth, but his visit to Wind Cave National Park seems to have addled his brain. No other visitor on his recent tour reported meeting Dante and Virgil at the Seventh Circle of the cave. - [On the Road! Westward With Teddy Roosevelt](https://ltamerica.org/on-the-road-westward-with-teddy-roosevelt/) - Memorial Day weekend 2026, Clay and the LTA Airstream hit the trail, following Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy in the American West. - [Homer and Hubris in a Turkish Rental Car](https://ltamerica.org/homer-and-hubris-in-a-turkish-rental-car/) - After a rental car odyssey, trekking 215-miles southwest of Istanbul, Clay spends a magical afternoon at the site of Homer’s epic, the Iliad. - [Dispatch from the Coast of Turkey](https://ltamerica.org/dispatch-from-the-coast-of-turkey/) - Clay and his daughter make a long-planned pilgrimage to Troy, the site of the ancient epic the Iliad. - [Who Knows What to Believe (Or Rule Out) These Days?](https://ltamerica.org/who-knows-what-to-believe-or-rule-out-these-days/) - The Destabilization of Truth may be the epitaph of the American republic. - [Who Was the Indispensable President?](https://ltamerica.org/who-was-the-indispensable-president/) - How would you answer the question of which U.S. president was indispensable to the Republic? - [Edward Abbey — Now More Than Ever, Even With All His Faults](https://ltamerica.org/edward-abbey-now-more-than-ever-even-with-all-his-faults/) - A recent visit to Arizona had me thinking about the legacy and prescience of Edward Abbey. With warts and all, he’s a kind of modern-day Henry David Thoreau. - [The Torch Has Been Passed —  A New Era of Space Exploration ](https://ltamerica.org/the-torch-has-been-passed-a-new-era-of-space-exploration/) - It felt like old times on Friday night as we all watched the splashdown of the Artemis II Moon mission. - [What Might Theodore Roosevelt Say About America’s Current War in Iran?](https://ltamerica.org/what-might-theodore-roosevelt-say-about-americas-current-war-in-iran/) - As a longtime student of President Theodore Roosevelt, historian Clay Jenkinson considers how TR might have approached current events in Iran. - [Artemis II Reflections: To the Moon and Beyond](https://ltamerica.org/artemis-ii-reflections-to-the-moon-and-beyond/) - It felt like 1965. I sat looking at a small screen TV last week as Artemis II was launched on America’s first moon mission in over 50 years. - [10 Insights Into Henry David Thoreau](https://ltamerica.org/10-insights-into-henry-david-thoreau/) - With the new Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau premiering at the end of March, Clay will be sharing 10 essential insights into one of America’s most original thinkers. Introduction #1 To Live Deliberately #2 Obscure Passages #3 Thoreau and the Laundry Controversy #4 What Did He Mean by Quiet Desperation? #5 Determining Our - [A Constitutional Quiz in 7 Questions](https://ltamerica.org/a-constitutional-quiz-in-7-questions/) - What is the Health of the U.S. Constitution and what can we do about it? - [A Lament for the Innocent in Four Acts](https://ltamerica.org/a-lament-for-the-innocent-in-four-acts/) - Why is it that the innocent are always the ones to suffer? - [Thomas Jefferson at the Brink of Immortality](https://ltamerica.org/thomas-jefferson-at-the-brink-of-immortality/) - As the country approaches its 250th birthday, Clay profiles the 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson, the youngest member of the Virginia delegation, as he made his way to the Second Continental Congress and his date with immortality. - [What Can You Say About Lewis and Clark in 30 Minutes?](https://ltamerica.org/what-can-you-say-about-lewis-and-clark-in-30-minutes/) - Oh my, it would be infinitely easier for me to give a three-hour lecture than one of just half an hour. - [A Republic, if You Can Keep It: War and America in Iran](https://ltamerica.org/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it-war-and-america-in-iran/) - When the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to craft a new constitution, they worked strenuously to cage the “dogs of war” by way of constitutional restraints. - [Notes for Our Next Book Club Meeting](https://ltamerica.org/listening-to-america-book-club/) - Our next Book Club meeting is Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 6:30 pm Central. Contact Liz to Register and she will send you a Zoom link the week of the meeting. Hello, Listening to America Book Club Members! Time for the next Book Club meeting. We’ve looked at Lewis and Clark day by day, and - [Encounters With Those Inescapable AI Generated "10 Best Lists"](https://ltamerica.org/encounters-with-those-inescapable-ai-generated-10-best-lists/) - Can Artificial Intelligence reliably rank the 10 greatest poems of all time? - [America at 250: Echoes of the Roman Republic?](https://ltamerica.org/america-at-250-echoes-of-the-roman-republic/) - America’s Founding Fathers drew heavily on the last years of the Roman Republic in crafting our nation’s founding documents, foreseeing both the promise and the frailties of a Republic. - [Book Review — Volga Blues: A Journey Into the Heart of Russia](https://ltamerica.org/book-review-volga-blues-a-journey-into-the-heart-of-russia/) - My friend, the Italian journalist Marzio Mian, has just published a remarkable book on his monthlong underground journey along Russia’s sacred Volga River. Part travelogue, part Russian history, and part exploration of the dense, tragic Russian soul in a time of brutal war, the book is a powerful read when America’s place in world affairs is significantly unsettled. - [Downsizing Pays off Big — With a Trip Down Abbey Road](https://ltamerica.org/downsizing-pays-off-big-with-a-trip-down-abbey-road/) - I don’t know exactly what I expected from my personal downsizing campaign, but something really interesting is happening to me. - [An Age of Disillusionment](https://ltamerica.org/an-age-of-disillusionment/) - What Is our American Story as the Nation’s 250th Birthday Approaches? - [Reading Thoreau Again](https://ltamerica.org/reading-thoreau-again/) - One of my friends contacted me not long ago and said, “Hey, you’re going to be in the Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau in March. I just saw you in the trailer. Are you going to do anything to be ready for when it comes out?” Truth told, I knew there was a Thoreau documentary coming sometime in 2026, but I wasn’t sure when. - [Solitude & Loneliness: Pondering Steinbeck While Reading Thoreau](https://ltamerica.org/solitude-loneliness-pondering-steinbeck-while-reading-thoreau/) - One of the great things about reading a lot is that it gives you the insights of triangulation. One book illuminates, interprets, and perhaps even disagrees with another, though the authors never met. - [When is Enough Enough?](https://ltamerica.org/when-is-enough-enough/) - Do Jefferson's 27 indictments of King George III and the Parliament of Great Britain in his Declaration of Independence have application today? - [A Struggle for the Public Commons: Buffalo, the Department of Interior & American Prairie Reserve](https://ltamerica.org/a-struggle-for-the-public-commons-buffalo-the-department-of-interior-american-prairie-reserve/) - Clay reflects on a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior to revoke bison grazing leases from American Prairie, an organization that has long been working to establish a buffalo wildlife reservation in Northern Montana. - [Thoughts for a New Constitutional Beginning](https://ltamerica.org/thoughts-for-a-new-constitutional-beginning/) - As the nation approaches its 250th birthday this July 2026, Clay suggests it might serve the country well to revisit details of our Constitution. - [America at 250: Our Stuck Constitution](https://ltamerica.org/america-at-250-our-stuck-constitution/) - Clay has debated constitutional scholars and historical impersonators in and out of costume across the United States; addressed 27 state legislatures; Supreme Court summer conferences; and humanities conferences across America. After reading Jill Lepore’s new book, We the People, and following the third of four weekly online classroom sessions, he stepped back to write this week’s essay. - [My Year in Review](https://ltamerica.org/my-year-in-review/) - Last week, I reviewed the year 2025 by way of Time magazine’s Year in Review issue. Today I want to review my year as the traveling editor of Listening to America. - [The Great Downsizing Campaign](https://ltamerica.org/the-great-downsizing-campaign/) - “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” — Thoreau - [Remembering My Beloved Oxford University Mentor](https://ltamerica.org/remembering-my-beloved-oxford-university-mentor/) - Clay remembers an early and influential mentor, Professor John Carey of Oxford University. - [A Review of 2025 at Year’s End](https://ltamerica.org/a-review-of-2025-at-years-end/) - Amid Christmas grocery shopping, Clay reflects on the year that was. - [Running Out of Gas (And the Value of the Humanities)](https://ltamerica.org/running-out-of-gas-and-the-value-of-the-humanities/) - I nearly ran out of gas yesterday on a remote highway in the Bitterroot Mountains. It was a winding, narrow road with no shoulder to pull off onto ... but more of this crisis later in the story. - [The End of Camelot at Last](https://ltamerica.org/the-end-of-camelot-at-last/) - Clay contemplates the enduring JFK Camelot myth and our longing for a Kennedyesque savior to restore constitutional order, norms, and mutual respect in our current state of the republic. - [The Best Laid Plans (er, Bags) of Mice and Men](https://ltamerica.org/the-best-laid-plans-er-bags-of-mice-and-men/) - Clay laments a rare failing in German baggage-transfer efficiency and plans a few interim wardrobe additions — while awaiting his bag’s return — and sticks close to his flat lest he miss the improbable delivery window. - [The Most Famous Painting in the World](https://ltamerica.org/the-most-famous-painting-in-the-world/) - On a recent trip to Rome Clay contemplates art in its many forms and why the Mona Lisa is considered the most famous painting in the world. There are so many instantly recognizable paintings yet none of them is as widely recognized or parodied as the Mona Lisa. - [Are We Rome?](https://ltamerica.org/are-we-rome/) - Answer: we are Rome … but are we doomed to suffer the Republic's fate? Clay parallels the Republics (Rome's and our own) considering ways to avoid Rome's calamitous end. - [Jefferson and Slavery: Ken Burns on MS-NOW](https://ltamerica.org/jefferson-and-slavery-ken-burns-on-ms-now/) - Clay considers Ken Burns' recent portrayal of Thomas Jefferson in a recent interview, where Burns suggests the Declaration's "all men are created equal" applied only to propertied white males, urging a more nuanced look at Jefferson's universal ideals, racial suspicions, and his own contradictions as a slaveholder. - [For Whom the Bell Tolls](https://ltamerica.org/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/) - Seeing flags at half-mast last week brought to mind the immortal passage from the great poet and scholar John Donne. - [America at 250: The Racial Divide](https://ltamerica.org/america-at-250-the-racial-divide/) - Last week, I spoke at a symposium on race and the American Revolution. This essay is the result of my deliberations for that event and is one in a series of essays I’m writing reflecting on a range of issues as America approaches its 250th birthday. - [There Will Always Be an England (I Hope)](https://ltamerica.org/there-will-always-be-an-england-i-hope/) - Clay traveled to England last week to attend his daughter's graduation ceremony, where she received her PhD from Oxford University. I had the joy yesterday, Friday, November 7, 2025, of seeing my beloved daughter take her degree at the seventeenth-century Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. My daughter wrote her doctoral dissertation on the Tower of London - [The Wrecking Ball Presidency](https://ltamerica.org/the-wrecking-ball-presidency/) - The demolition of the East Wing of the White House is a clear metaphor for our “CEO” president. - [The Latest in My Great 2025 Downsizing Campaign](https://ltamerica.org/the-latest-in-my-great-2025-downsizing-campaign/) - Friends have encouraged me to downsize for well more than a decade. I’m making progress! - [UPDATE: Two Brits and a Wee Paddle From Montana to New Orleans](https://ltamerica.org/update-two-brits-and-a-wee-paddle-from-montana-to-new-orleans/) - Featured on our podcast last week, LTA followers have asked for an update in the saga of Nat and Mikey, a couple of Brits currently paddling from Montana to New Orleans. - [The World of Error in a Galaxy of Facts](https://ltamerica.org/the-world-of-error-in-a-galaxy-of-facts/) - Clay ponders the “Truth Taser.” The best invention since the Veg-O-Matic? - [Visiting Meriwether Lewis’ Grave on the Natchez — The End of the Trail](https://ltamerica.org/visiting-meriwether-lewis-grave-on-the-natchez-the-end-of-the-trail/) - Completing a year following the Lewis and Clark Trail, Clay visits the lonely gravesite where the 35-year-old Meriwether Lewis is buried. - [My Adventures in Downsizing](https://ltamerica.org/my-adventures-in-downsizing/) - After spending five or six decades buying books, an enormous number of books, I have begun to downsize. - [Where Steinbeck Said Goodbye to His California Home — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/where-steinbeck-said-goodbye-to-his-california-home-video-dispatch/) - Clay and Russ Eagle recently visited Fremont Peak, which overlooks California’s Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay. It was an especially important spot for John Steinbeck and deeply tied to his youth. Russ reads a passage from Travels with Charley, where the famous author writes about his last visit to there. - [You Don't End up Here By Accident: Rediscovering Steinbeck's California Beneath a Lone Valley Oak.](https://ltamerica.org/you-dont-end-up-here-by-accident-rediscovering-steinbecks-california-beneath-a-lone-valley-oak/) - Inspired by an image of the famous author in an old poster, and after years of searching, Listening to America’s Russ Eagle, with the help of intrepid friends, discovers the remote spot in the hills near Salinas, California, that John Steinbeck, his dog Charley, and the truck camper, Rocinante, visited on their 1960 journey. - [Steinbeck: A Life of Moral Courage](https://ltamerica.org/steinbeck-a-life-of-moral-courage/) - While he avoided the public spotlight, John Steinbeck spent a life "in the arena" exhibiting great moral courage both in his writing and deeds. - [Were They Dreaming? A Rare Visit Inside John Steinbeck's Iconic Rocinante](https://ltamerica.org/were-they-dreaming-a-rare-visit-inside-john-steinbecks-iconic-rocinante/) - Clay and sidekick, Russ Eagle, spend time hanging out in John Steinbeck's historic truck camper, Rocinante. - [Reopening the Wounds of Wounded Knee](https://ltamerica.org/reopening-the-wounds-of-wounded-knee/) - Wounded Knee, really? - [The Stubborn Enigmas of Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/the-stubborn-enigmas-of-lewis-and-clark/) - After decades of close study and a year following their trail, Clay remains dogged by the many unknowables surrounding the famous American expedition. - [Notes for Our Next Book Club Meeting](https://ltamerica.org/notes-for-our-next-book-club-meeting/) - Our next Book Club meeting is Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 6:30 pm Central. Contact Liz to Register and she will send you a Zoom link the week of the meeting. Hello everyone, Just a note to welcome you to our second book in the 2025 explorations book club. As you know, we read Gary - [Humor on Trial in an Age of Disruption](https://ltamerica.org/humor-on-trial-in-an-age-of-disruption/) - Free speech and the future in context. - [A Lewis and Clark Report Card: The Phases of a Journey](https://ltamerica.org/a-lewis-and-clark-report-card-the-phases-of-a-journey/) - How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition stack up against the model for the classic journey? Clay makes his assessment. - [Four Perfect Days](https://ltamerica.org/four-perfect-days/) - Clay and friends are just off four perfect days canoeing remote sections of the Missouri River in central Montana. - [Drowning the Missouri River — Lewis and Clark on the Reservoirs!](https://ltamerica.org/drowning-the-missouri-river-lewis-and-clark-on-the-reservoirs/) - The Missouri was a wild, free-flowing river when Lewis and Clark began their epic western journey in 1804. Today, much of that river is a series of reservoirs. - [Assessing Two Years on the Road in My Airstream ](https://ltamerica.org/assessing-two-years-on-the-road-in-my-airstream/) - Clay assesses the good and bad as he wraps up his second season traveling America's byways in his 23' Airstream. - [Sacagawea and the Blue Whale](https://ltamerica.org/sacagawea-and-the-blue-whale/) - Sacagawea’s insistence that she be allowed to join the reconnaissance team heading to see the great beached whale is one of the rarest instances in the entire Lewis and Clark journey where we hear her voice. - [How Meriwether Lewis’ Unfortunate Hunting Mishap Brought to Mind the Bounty of American Consumer Capitalism](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [On the Missouri River With Two Rapscallions](https://ltamerica.org/on-the-missouri-river-with-two-rapscallions/) - When I began to plan for my 2025 retracing of the Lewis and Clark expedition, hauling an Airstream from Jefferson’s Virginia across the country to Astoria, Oregon, I realized I was planning a paradox. - [Ode to Dismal Nitch](https://ltamerica.org/ode-to-dismal-nitch/) - Has our friend Clay Jenkinson been too long alone on the Lewis and Clark Trail? - [My Montana Summer](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [Clay Reads and Riffs on Huckleberry Finn While Sitting Beside the Mighty Mississippi — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [Clay Checks in From Missoula — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [Hunting Rivers' Sources on the Upper Missouri](https://ltamerica.org/hunting-rivers-sources-on-the-upper-missouri/) - Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and Clay Jenkinson all share a fascination with the origins of rivers. - [Celebrating July 4th On The Lewis and Clark Trail — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [The Quest for the Authentic on the Lewis and Clark Trail](https://ltamerica.org/the-quest-for-the-authentic-on-the-lewis-and-clark-trail/) - As Clay Jenkinson leads his annual canoe trip through a remote section of the Missouri River, a sudden thunderstorm makes for dramatic challenges - [Lewis, Clark and Their Dog Seaman — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [Meriwether Lewis' Deadly Encounter](https://ltamerica.org/meriwether-lewis-deadly-encounter/) - Clay reports on his visit to the remote Montana site where Lewis and Clark had their only fatal encounter with Native Americans on their historic 1804-1806 expedition. - [My Saga of the Leaky Shower in the Montana Back Country](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [At Great Falls, Montana](https://ltamerica.org/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. - [Clay's "Must See" Stops in Great Falls, Montana](https://ltamerica.org/clays-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. - [Best Books On the Lewis and Clark Expedition](https://ltamerica.org/best-books-on-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/) - Clay’s recommendations on the best books on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. - [What Does It Mean to Listen to America?](https://ltamerica.org/what-does-it-mean-to-listen-to-america/) - The art of listening and genuine communication to a thriving democracy. - [More About Our Book Club - Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/more-about-our-book-club-video-dispatch/) - You can learn more about our LTA Book Club in this short video dispatch from Clay. Be sure to join our first zoom meeting for book club members on July 10, 2025. 4:30 Pacific. 5:30 Mountain. 6:30 Central. 7:30 Eastern. To register or if you have any questions contact Liz Eagle. - [Exploring the Ohio River with Captain Lewis](https://ltamerica.org/exploring-the-ohio-river-with-captain-lewis/) - Following the path of Meriwether Lewis, Clay notes that while the famous explorer could be an outstanding journal writer, he was frustratingly unreliable in keeping a daily account of his transcontinental travels. No known journals exist for about half of the 28-month expedition. - [Fear and Loathing at the DOT](https://ltamerica.org/fear-and-loathing-at-the-dot/) - Registering the new pickup truck. This, too, is America. - [Reading America's Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/reading-americas-rivers/) - Tracing America’s great rivers this summer along the Lewis and Clark Trail, Clay rediscovers the power and beauty of William Least Heat-Moon’s forgotten classic, River-Horse: A Voyage Across America. - [Launching This July - The Listening to America Book Club](https://ltamerica.org/launching-this-july-the-listening-to-america-book-club/) - The Listening to America Book Club is coming soon. - [Launch point for the Lewis and Clark expedition.](https://ltamerica.org/launch-point-for-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/) - Launch point for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Camp Wood (Camp Dubois) at Alton, Illinois - [Following the Ohio River on the Lewis and Clark Trail](https://ltamerica.org/following-the-ohio-river-on-the-lewis-and-clark-trail/) - One of America’s truly grand rivers, The Ohio ranks eighth in length in the United States but second in volume. - [A Few Reflections on RV Life](https://ltamerica.org/a-few-reflections-on-rv-life/) - A short report on the RV Life. - [Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at University of Virginia — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/memorial-to-enslaved-laborers-at-university-of-virginia-video-dispatch/) - On his recent visit to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Clay visited the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers on campus. Dedicated in 2021, the memorial commemorates the estimated 4,000 enslaved people who worked on the University between 1817 and 1865. - [The Peaks of Otter — Thomas Jefferson Speculated America's Tallest Mountains — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-peaks-of-otter-thomas-jefferson-speculated-americas-tallest-mountains-video-dispatch/) - Clay checks out The Peaks of Otter in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which Thomas Jefferson speculated were the country’s tallest mountains. - [Clay Tours Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Estate — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/clay-tours-thomas-jeffersons-monticello-estate-video-dispatch/) - As a kickoff for his 2025 Lewis and Clark trek, Clay visited and toured Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s primary home and plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia. - [University of Virginia: The Architecture of Education and Democracy — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/university-of-virginia-the-architecture-of-education-and-democracy-video-dispatch/) - Thomas Jefferson conceived and designed the University of Virginia as a unique “Academic Village” where students and professors would live and learn together. - [Lewis and Clark's Traveling Magic Show](https://ltamerica.org/lewis-and-clarks-traveling-magic-show/) - Attending a magic show by my friend Joshua Jay in Pittsburgh got me pondering the “magic” of the Lewis and Clark expedition. - [The Spot That Made Thomas Jefferson Swoon: A Visit to Natural Bridge — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-spot-that-made-thomas-jefferson-swoon-a-visit-to-natural-bridge-video-dispatch/) - Clay stopped by Natural Bridge State Park in the Shenandoah Valley. The site so captivated Thomas Jefferson that he purchased it from King of England in 1774. - [The Ten Young Men From Kentucky — History, Old and New](https://ltamerica.org/the-ten-young-men-from-kentucky-history-old-and-new/) - Clay reflects on the historical dynamics of the “Ten Young Men” who made up the original core of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery. - [John Steinbeck's Childhood Home — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbecks-childhood-home-video-dispatch/) - Earlier last summer Clay visited Steinbeck’s childhood home in Salinas, California. - [Visiting Thomas Jefferson's Private Personal Retreat — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/visiting-thomas-jeffersons-private-personal-retreat-video-dispatch/) - Kicking off his 2025 transcontinental Lewis and Clark trek, Clay spends the day at Poplar Forest, the beloved personal retreat of Thomas Jefferson, the mastermind behind the famous Corps of Discovery. - [Delightful Ignorance: Jefferson and the American West](https://ltamerica.org/delightful-ignorance-jefferson-and-the-american-west/) - Clay begins his 2025 Lewis and Clark transcontinental journey in the land of Thomas Jefferson, the patron saint of the famous 1804-1806 expedition. - [Racing the Southern Interstates Across America](https://ltamerica.org/racing-the-southern-interstates-across-america/) - About three days and 2,870 miles: Clay makes a rapid dash across the continent. - [Leaving Home](https://ltamerica.org/leaving-home/) - Spring is here. It’s time to pack the bags, load the truck, and get on the trail of Lewis and Clark. - [A Word About Dictionaries](https://ltamerica.org/a-word-about-dictionaries/) - A short dissertation on my infatuation with dictionaries. - [While Passing Through a Small South Dakota Town](https://ltamerica.org/while-passing-through-a-small-south-dakota-town/) - This will sound like a parable, and it may be. But I’m going to describe it exactly as it happened. - [Join Clay at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Home and Help Kick Off LTA's 2025 Lewis and Clark Adventure](https://ltamerica.org/join-clay-at-thomas-jeffersons-poplar-forest-home-and-help-kick-off-ltas-2025-lewis-and-clark-adventure/) - Clay will lecture at 2:00 p.m., May 6, 2025 on Thomas Jefferson’s vision for Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery.” - [Reflections on America and the Open Road](https://ltamerica.org/reflections-on-america-and-the-open-road/) - In a few weeks, Clay will embark on an 11,000-mile trek following the Lewis and Clark trail across the continent and back. As he loads his pickup and prepares to hit the road, Clay ponders what he has learned so far in his multi-year project to Listen to America. - [My New American Friend From Ghana](https://ltamerica.org/my-new-american-friend-from-ghana/) - On a recent Uber drive to the Bismarck airport, Clay met Isaac, a North Dakota emigre from Ghana and a proud, brand-new U.S. citizen. - [LTA Exclusive: Historic Portraits of Native American Activist Leonard Peltier](https://ltamerica.org/lta-exclusive-historic-portraits-of-native-american-activist-leonard-peltier/) - Earlier this year, President Biden commuted the prison sentence of Leonard Peltier. This week, noted “wet plate” photographer Shane Balkowitsch visited Peltier at Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota, where he took a series of historical portraits of the 80-year-old Native American activist. Balkowitsch’s portraits of Peliter are published here for the first time. - [Clay Announces Cultural Tour of John Steinbeck's California](https://ltamerica.org/clay-announces-cultural-tour-of-john-steinbecks-california/) - An exciting new addition to Clay’s slate of LTA Cultural Tours for 2025! We’re headed to Steinbeck Country — California's Central Coast. On this tour we’ll visit Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, and just across the Santa Lucia mountains, the author’s hometown of Salinas. These California landscapes stayed close to Steinbeck’s heart throughout his life and shaped the Nobel Prize-winning author’s indelible literary legacy. - [The Enduring Appeal of Louis L'Amour and American Western Fiction](https://ltamerica.org/the-enduring-appeal-of-louis-lamour-and-american-western-fiction/) - Louis L’Amour is widely considered the best-selling author of Western fiction of all time. Still highly popular with readers around the globe, L’Amour has sold over 320 million books, with numerous film and TV adaptations of his work. - [My Melting Hour at San Juan Hill](https://ltamerica.org/my-melting-hour-at-san-juan-hill/) - A not-so-rough rider, Clay gave a historical presentation as Teddy Roosevelt during a recent visit to Santiago, Cuba. - [Visions of John Wesley Powell and the Great Canyons of the Southwest](https://ltamerica.org/visions-of-john-wesley-powell-and-the-great-canyons-of-the-southwest/) - John Wesley Powell, the extraordinary one-armed Civil War veteran, was the first to explore the canyons of the Colorado Plateau by river. His remarkable story still fascinates and inspires me. - [Catching the Tune in Havana](https://ltamerica.org/catching-the-tune-in-havana/) - Now on a cultural tour of Cuba, outside a street-side cafe in Havana, Clay and his guests stumble into a magical, transcendent moment. - [A Modest Proposal for U.S.-Cuban Relations](https://ltamerica.org/a-modest-proposal-for-us-cuban-relations/) - Returning from leading a cultural tour of Cuba, the second in four years, Clay offers a new approach to U.S./Cuban relations. - [Fidel Castro's Boyhood Home in Biran, Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/fidel-castros-boyhood-home-in-biran-cuba/) - Fidel Castro’s birthplace, now a museum, is one of the initial stops for Clay and his companions as he leads a cultural tour of Cuba. - [Shakespeare, Thoreau, and Ed Abbey in the Bitterroot Mountains](https://ltamerica.org/shakespeare-thoreau-and-ed-abbey-in-the-bitterroot-mountains/) - Clay reports from his annual humanities retreat near the Montana-Idaho border in the Northern Rockies. - [A Visit to Little Havana's Bay of Pigs Museum](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-little-havanas-bay-of-pigs-museum/) - Before setting off for Cuba this week on a cultural tour of the island nation, Clay and his guests stopped in at the Bay of Pigs Museum in Little Havana, Miami. - [Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. Annexation of Cuba (And More)](https://ltamerica.org/thomas-jefferson-the-u-s-annexation-of-cuba-and-more/) - The United States has a long, tortured relationship with Cuba, including Thomas Jefferson’s imperial designs on the island. As Clay travels to Cuba this week to lead a cultural tour, he reflects on a bit of forgotten history between the U.S. and the island nation 90 miles from Key West, Florida. - [On the Trail of Lewis and Clark — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/following-lewis-and-clark-trail-video-dispatch/) - Clay details plans for his upcoming cross-country journey following Lewis and Clark’s celebrated 1805 -1806 expedition across the continent. - [Pushing "Send" From Somewhere Under the English Channel](https://ltamerica.org/pushing-send-from-somewhere-under-the-english-channel/) - Amazing Engineering Grace: The Brave New World we take for granted. Clay reports from “The Chunnel” traveling between England and France. - [Word From Our European Friends, February 2025](https://ltamerica.org/word-from-our-european-friends-february-2025/) - Clay Jenkinson spent 10 days in Europe in early February, read the English language magazines and newspapers, conferred with old friends and new in England, France, and Switzerland, and attempted to assess the mood of Europe as the second Trump administration began. Here is his report. - [Shakespeare and Company, the Legendary Bookshop in the Heart of Paris — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/shakespeare-and-company-the-legendary-bookshop-in-the-heart-of-paris-video-dispatch/) - In Paris, France, this week Clay stops in at Shakespeare and Company, a legendary English-language bookshop in the heart of Paris. - [The Cuban Missile Crisis, John Steinbeck, and the Nobel Prize — October 1962](https://ltamerica.org/the-cuban-missile-crisis-john-steinbeck-and-the-nobel-prize-october-1962/) - In preparation for a cultural tour of Cuba Clay will lead later this month, he came across a surprising connection between John Steinbeck, Adlai Stevenson, and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. - [Why I’m Changing The Channel](https://ltamerica.org/why-im-changing-the-channel/) - Clay details how cable news has long failed to reliably serve Americans, why he is tuning out, and what he’ll do instead. - [Sneak Peek: The 2026 Winter Retreats — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/sneak-peek-the-2026-winter-retreats-video-dispatch/) - Clay with a look at what's coming for the 2026 Winter Retreats at beautiful Lochsa Lodge. - [21,000 Miles Around America — Why I Did It and What I Learned](https://ltamerica.org/21000-miles-around-america-why-i-did-it-and-what-i-learned/) - Clay sat down with editors at LTA to answer questions and discuss his recent 41 State, 21,000 mile journey around America. - [How to Consult Your Destiny Via Thoreau's Walden](https://ltamerica.org/how-to-consult-your-destiny-via-thoreaus-walden/) - During a long life of hard reading, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is the book that helps me understand what it is to be human. - [Reading Walden and Wrestling With Thoreau](https://ltamerica.org/reading-walden-and-wrestling-with-thoreau/) - As I look to the start of the new year, Thoreau’s 1854 classic, Walden, still deeply challenges and inspires me. - [Coast to Coast with Clay Jenkinson: Nolan's 2024 Highlight Reel — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/coast-to-coast-with-clay-jenkinson-nolans-2024-highlight-reel-video-dispatch/) - Nolan Johnson, Listening to America’s intrepid videographer and podcast editor, shares highlights of his adventures with Clay while traversing the country from Long Island, New York, to the source of the Mississippi River to Monterey, California, on LTA’s 2024 Travels with Charley/Steinbeck Tour. - [Family Favorites: Christmas Cookie Recipes](https://ltamerica.org/family-favorites-christmas-cookie-recipes/) - Clay and his good friend David Horton share their favorite family cookie recipes in this week’s special Christmas edition of the LTA podcast. - [Traveling With Charley: 1960 in the American South](https://ltamerica.org/traveling-with-charley-1960-in-the-american-south/) - Road-weary and keen to return home to New York, the final leg of Steinbeck’s cross-country journey took him through the troubled South of 1960. - [Reading Charles Dickens for Christmas — Have Desk Will Travel](https://ltamerica.org/reading-charles-dickens-for-christmas-have-desk-will-travel/) - Clay does a special public reading from the works of his favorite English Novelist, Charles Dickens. - [A Visit to Ed Ricketts' Pacific Biological Laboratories — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-ed-ricketts-pacific-biological-laboratories-video-dispatch/) - Clay talks about John Steinbeck’s friendship with marine biologist Ed Ricketts and visits Ricketts’ Pacific Biological Laboratories on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. - [My John Steinbeck Tour: A Preliminary Report — What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been](https://ltamerica.org/my-john-steinbeck-tour-a-preliminary-report-what-a-long-strange-trip-its-been/) - Beginning in April 2024 and concluding just before Thanksgiving, Clay traveled over 21,000 miles and visited 41 states, roughly following John Steinbeck’s route as chronicled in Travels with Charley. Clay notes he undertook the cross-country journey partly to gain his own appraisal of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. - [My Quest for the Ultimate Gumbo and Other Culinary Misadventures South of the Mason-Dixon Line](https://ltamerica.org/my-quest-for-the-ultimate-gumbo-and-other-culinary-misadventures-south-of-the-mason-dixon-line/) - A lighter report on heavier cuisine as Clay takes a gastronomic excursion through the American South. - [The Great but Forgotten Conservationist John F. Lacey](https://ltamerica.org/the-great-but-forgotten-conservationist-john-f-lacey/) - While John Steinbeck was not much interested in National Parks, he traveled through a nation whose conservation footprint was indelibly shaped by visionary Iowa Congressman John Lacey. - [Home Again and Happy Thanksgiving](https://ltamerica.org/home-again-and-happy-thanksgiving/) - My John Steinbeck Travels with Charley tour is now over: 210 days, 21,114 miles, 1,407 gallons of gas, 41 states. - [Route 66 and The Grapes of Wrath](https://ltamerica.org/route-66-and-the-grapes-of-wrath/) - I’ve been at both ends of U.S. Route 66 this year, the highway we associate with John Steinbeck and the Joad family of The Grapes of Wrath. - [A Visit to Medgar Evers’ Home — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-medgar-evers-home-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits Medgar Evers’ home, now a national monument. Medgar Evers was killed by a white supremacist here, in front of his house, on June 12, 1963. - [The Majestic Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/the-majestic-confluence-of-the-green-and-colorado-rivers/) - John Wesley Powell, Edward Abbey and hiking Canyonlands National Park. - [Clay Visits Thoreau's Walden Cabin — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/clay-visits-waldens-cabin-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [John Steinbeck's Beloved Monterey Bay — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbecks-beloved-monterey-bay-video-dispatch/) - As Clay traveled across the country, he stopped at John Steinbeck’s beloved Monterey Bay, home of the author’s great friend Ed Ricketts and the inspiration for many unforgettable characters immortalized in his novels. - [Touring Glendive, Montana's "Biblical History" Dinosaur and Fossil Museum — Video Dispatch ](https://ltamerica.org/touring-glendive-montanas-biblical-history-dinosaur-and-fossil-museum-video-dispatch/) - The Dinosaur and Fossil Museum in eastern Montana presents its detailed fossil displays in the context of “Biblical history.” - [Autumn and Joy on the Open Road](https://ltamerica.org/autumn-and-joy-on-the-open-road/) - There is nothing quite like the magic of traveling America in the fall. - [Recollections in Dallas: A Pivot of American History](https://ltamerica.org/recollections-in-dallas-a-pivot-of-american-history/) - While in Dallas, Texas, on his Steinbeck Travels with Charley Tour, Clay revisits places and memories connected with President John Kennedy’s tragic assassination on November 22, 1963. - [A Second Encounter at The End of Life RV Park](https://ltamerica.org/a-second-encounter-at-the-end-of-life-rv-park/) - It was getting close to Halloween as I pulled in. The sign at the gate said, “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” - [The Story of Red Lake Nation — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-story-of-red-lake-nation-video-dispatch/) - Clay shares some of the unique history of the Red Lake Indian Reservation, which covers 1,260 square miles in Northern Minnesota. - [Reports of the Book's Demise are Greatly Exaggerated](https://ltamerica.org/reports-of-the-books-demise-are-greatly-exaggerated/) - A stop at a West Texas Barnes & Noble persuades Clay that books remain alive and kicking. - [What Britain Thinks of the U.S. These Days](https://ltamerica.org/what-britain-thinks-of-the-u-s-these-days/) - After leading a 10 day cultural tour through England, Clay assesses how Brits view America in the Fall of 2024. - [The Source of the Mighty Mississippi — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-source-of-the-mighty-mississippi-video-dispatch/) - Our intrepid traveler courageously wades the waters at the source of the Mississippi, America’s second-longest river. It flows 2,350 miles from its source at Lake Itasca in Minnesota through the heart of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico. - [Reflections at the Little Bighorn Battlefield — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/reflections-at-the-little-bighorn-battlefield-video-dispatch/) - Listening to America’s “Chief Scout,” Frank Lister and Clay visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, where George Custer’s 7th Cavalry met its fate against Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors in June 1876. - [Visiting Giant Meteor Crater, Arizona ](https://ltamerica.org/visiting-giant-meteor-crater-arizona/) - Giant Meteor Crater, about a half mile in diameter sits in the northern Arizona desert. - [John Steinbeck: The Journals of a Novelist](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbeck-the-journals-of-a-novelist/) - Two journals John Steinbeck kept while writing his two most famous novels provide an intimate look into the author’s creative process. - [Where the American West Begins — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/where-the-american-west-begins-video-dispatch/) - 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.” - [The Last Stoplight on the Interstate Highway System — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-last-stoplight-on-the-interstate-highway-system-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [Steinbeck Meets an Itinerant Actor Along North Dakota's Maple River — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/steinbeck-meets-an-itinerant-actor-along-north-dakotas-maple-river-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [Looking for America in London](https://ltamerica.org/looking-for-america-in-london/) - Clay shares impressions from a recent visit to England, where he led a cultural tour. - [Uniquely American Concord, Massachusetts — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/uniquely-american-concord-massachusetts-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [The Grapes of Wrath on Route 66 — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-grapes-of-wrath-on-route-66-video-dispatch/) - It was one of the hottest days of the summer of 2024. I was on Route 66, somewhere east of Needles, California. - [Another Amazing Roadside Attraction! Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/another-amazing-roadside-attraction-paul-bunyan-and-his-blue-ox-babe-video-dispatch/) - 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.” - [Looking Forward to My Zoom Call With Lindsay](https://ltamerica.org/looking-forward-to-my-zoom-call-with-lindsay/) - I’ve read Lindsay Chervinsky’s new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic. It’s outstanding. - [To the Desert With Edward Abbey](https://ltamerica.org/to-the-desert-with-edward-abbey/) - Clay visits with Edward Abbey, the colorful, eloquent, and passionate advocate of the American West. - [Theodore Roosevelt's Unmatched Conservation Footprint and Eight Reasons He Got Away With It](https://ltamerica.org/theodore-roosevelts-unmatched-conservation-footprint-and-eight-reasons-he-got-away-with-it/) - Imagine America if Theodore Roosevelt had never been president. During his tenure, the “Cowboy President” set aside an astounding 230 million acres of U.S. public land as National Parks, National Monuments, National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, and National Game Preserves. - [Open Roads, Like Rivers, Invite Us to Muse About the Trajectory of Life](https://ltamerica.org/open-roads-like-rivers-invite-us-to-muse-about-the-trajectory-of-life/) - Just as rivers serve as an automatic and compelling metaphor for our life journeys, so roads invite us to muse about the trajectory of our lives. - [The Tortuous Trail to Publish Lewis and Clark’s Journals](https://ltamerica.org/the-tortuous-trail-to-publication-of-lewis-and-clarks-journals/) - President Thomas Jefferson entrusted Meriwether Lewis with the first great exploration of the American West. At the journey’s successful completion, both men held high expectations for a book worthy of the singular accomplishment and the Age of Enlightenment of which it was a part. - [Peaceful Transfer of Power: Then and Now](https://ltamerica.org/peaceful-transfer-of-power-then-and-now/) - Lindsay Chervinsky’s new book closely examines the dramatic events that shaped America’s pattern for the peaceful transfer of power. - [Fear and Loathing in Northern Colorado](https://ltamerica.org/fear-and-loathing-in-northern-colorado/) - After grueling weeks on the road, our weary, and perhaps delirious, wayfarer visits the “Last Resting Place” RV park in the northern Colorado Rockies. - [Interstellar News From NASA](https://ltamerica.org/interstellar-news-from-nasa/) - Apparently lost and 15 billion miles from Earth, NASA’s Voyager 1 calls home. - [Happy Birthday Meriwether Lewis](https://ltamerica.org/happy-birthday-meriwether-lewis/) - August 18 was Meriwether Lewis’ 250th birthday. Clay reflects on the short life of this protégée to President Jefferson and one of the nation’s most well-known explorers. - [Thoughts on Airstream Life — Living in Miniature](https://ltamerica.org/thoughts-on-airstream-life-living-in-miniature/) - Clay shares his thoughts on life on the road and living in a 184 square-foot portable home. - [Salinas, California: Home to the Famous Author and the National Steinbeck Center](https://ltamerica.org/salinas-california-home-to-the-famous-author-and-the-national-steinbeck-center/) - Clay arrives in Salinas and Monterey, California, the home turf of a young John Steinbeck. - [Patricia Limerick and George Orwell on Stage!](https://ltamerica.org/patricia-limerick-and-george-orwell-on-stage/) - Clay will join noted author and MacArthur Awardee Patricia Limerick at the Vail Symposium in Colorado on August 21 to discuss George Orwell’s novel 1984. - [Falling In Love With Montana All Over Again](https://ltamerica.org/falling-in-love-with-montana-all-over-again/) - John Steinbeck loved Montana — actually, he fell in love with it. So far as we know, he had never been there before 1960. His travels across the country had all been at lower latitudes. - [A Stop at Thoreau's Walden Pond Near Concord, Massachusetts](https://ltamerica.org/a-stop-at-thoreaus-walden-pond-near-concord-massachusetts/) - Clay stops to visit Thoreau’s Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts as part of his Travels with Charley road trip. - [Jack Kerouac's Final Resting Place — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/jack-kerouacs-final-resting-place-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits the grave of Jack Kerouac, “pioneer of the Beat generation,” in Lowell, Massachusetts. - [Aboard the Long Island Ferry — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/aboard-the-long-island-ferry-video-dispatch/) - 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 — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/clay-visits-pompeys-pillar-national-monument-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits Pompeys Pillar National Monument along the Yellowstone River east of Billings, Montana. - [It’s a Dog’s Life — Billings, Montana](https://ltamerica.org/its-a-dogs-life-billings-montana/) - 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. - [Steinbeck, Charley, a Stop in Yellowstone, and the Call of the Wild](https://ltamerica.org/steinbeck-charley-a-stop-in-yellowstone-and-the-call-of-the-wild/) - Steinbeck and his dog Charley have an eventful visit at Yellowstone National Park. - [John Steinbeck's Evening With a Father and Son in Idaho](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbecks-evening-with-a-father-and-son-in-idaho/) - John Steinbeck stumbles into an uneasy father-son relationship during a quiet stopover near Coeur d’Alene. - [Clay Visits Glendive, Montana's Dinosaur and Fossil Museum](https://ltamerica.org/clay-visits-glendive-montanas-dinosaur-and-fossil-museum/) - Clay visits the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum which presents its exhibits in the context of biblical history. - [The Best John Steinbeck Biographies, Part II](https://ltamerica.org/the-best-john-steinbeck-biographies-part-ii/) - Russ Eagle builds on his previous list of John Steinbeck biographies by looking at works that focus on specific relationships and periods in the author’s life. - [The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-little-bighorn-battlefield-national-monument-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [John Steinbeck and Me in Beach, North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbeck-and-me-in-beach-north-dakota/) - John Steinbeck spent the night of October 12, 1960, in Beach, North Dakota, just a few miles from the Montana border. He was about to fall in love with Montana. - [From the Eastern Heart of Montana — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/from-the-eastern-heart-of-montana-video-dispatch/) - 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. - [Grasslands Renaissance on the Great Plains](https://ltamerica.org/grasslands-renaissance-on-the-great-plains/) - A visit with author, falconer and pioneering regenerative rancher Dan O’Brien on his remarkable Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch. - [Sag Harbor to Bismarck: What I'm Learning About John Steinbeck and His "Search of America"](https://ltamerica.org/sag-harbor-to-bismarck-what-im-learning-about-john-steinbeck-and-his-search-of-america/) - This spring, Clay departed Sag Harbor, New York, on an expedition to follow John Steinbeck's 1960 cross-country trek immortalized in Travels with Charley. Recently, after completing the first phase of the trip, Clay reflects on what he's learned about Steinbeck and how he now sees the story behind the classic travelogue. - [Encounters in Yellowstone National Park](https://ltamerica.org/encounters-in-yellowstone-national-park/) - On my way back to North Dakota I visited my modest cabin 2 miles from Yellowstone National Park I wanted to make a pilgrimage to Old Faithful. - [Literary Time Travel — Step Into Carl Sandburg's World in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains](https://ltamerica.org/literary-time-travel-step-into-carl-sandburgs-world-in-north-carolinas-blue-ridge-mountains/) - A visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains home of America’s beloved poet, Carl Sandburg. - [John Brown: A Remarkable American Story](https://ltamerica.org/john-brown-a-remarkable-american-story/) - Hero, terrorist, martyr or madman? Clay examines the dramatic life of John Brown. - [The Death of Astronaut William Anders and the Promise and Challenge of Earthrise](https://ltamerica.org/the-death-of-astronaut-william-anders-and-the-promise-and-challenge-of-earthrise/) - Astronaut William Anders, died on June 7, 2024 at the age of 90. Anders, a member of the Apollo 8 team, will always be remembered as the man who took the famous Earthrise photograph on Christmas Eve 1968. - [My Romance With the Little Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/my-romance-with-the-little-missouri-river/) - I have a special claim on the Little Missouri — or rather it has had a special claim on me. If I had to spend eternity in a single landscape, it would be about 10 miles north of Marmarth, North Dakota, where the Little Missouri just begins to carve up the viewshed. - [Back Home and Planning Phase Two of the Great John Steinbeck Tour of America](https://ltamerica.org/back-home-and-planning-phase-two-of-the-great-john-steinbeck-tour-of-america/) - Well, I’m home now for a few weeks, writing up my travels and planning Phase Two of the great John Steinbeck Travels with Charley tour of America, which begins in the second week of July. - [The Best John Steinbeck Biographies, Part I](https://ltamerica.org/the-best-john-steinbeck-biographies-part-i/) - As Clay prepares for the second leg of his Travels with Charley journey, Russ Eagle calls out the best John Steinbeck biographies. - [The Heroic and Problematic Legacy of Joseph Banks](https://ltamerica.org/the-heroic-and-problematic-legacy-of-joseph-banks/) - I was listening to an audio biography of Joseph Banks, the great British naturalist who sailed with Captain James Cook, who made Kew Gardens in Britain, and who was the president of the Royal Society — among much else, not all so admirable it turns out. - [The Age of Exploration Meets the Era of Disillusionment](https://ltamerica.org/the-age-of-exploration-meets-the-era-of-disillusionment/) - I have been reading Hampton Sides’ excellent new study of Captain James Cook’s third voyage (1776-1779), The Wide, Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact, and The Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook. - [John Steinbeck Among the French Canadian Harvest Gypsies](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbeck-among-the-french-canadian-harvest-gypsies/) - In my second week of travels, I drove up much of the length of Maine, because in 1960 John Steinbeck was determined to touch the roof of the United States before turning west, and I reckoned you aren’t really fulfilling the mission unless you follow his path. - [Tortilla Flat: Steinbeck's Early Years](https://ltamerica.org/tortilla-flat-steinbecks-early-years/) - Steinbeck struggles against poverty, but the publication of Tortilla Flat changes everything. - [Clay drops in at Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt's Beloved Home on Long Island — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/clay-drops-in-at-sagamore-hill-theodore-roosevelts-beloved-home-on-long-island-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt’s home on Long Island. - [Two Views of the Nightmare Road to Athens, Ohio](https://ltamerica.org/two-views-of-the-nightmare-road-to-athens-ohio/) - Was it Google Maps that led me astray? Last week, on the way to Athens, Ohio, I took a wrong turn. - [Pondering Thomas Jefferson at Niagara Falls](https://ltamerica.org/pondering-thomas-jefferson-at-niagara-falls/) - Thomas Jefferson said it is worth a trip across the Atlantic to see Niagara Falls. Although he never got there. - [The Age of Acrimony](https://ltamerica.org/the-age-of-acrimony/) - Lindsay Chervinsky reviews “… the dirty tale of how democracy got clean” in Jon Grinspan’s The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915. - [Assessing My Steinbeck Trip at Week Four](https://ltamerica.org/assessing-my-steinbeck-trip-at-week-four/) - It has been about four weeks since Clay began retracing John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley Tour, shadowing the famous author’s 10,000-mile trek around the USA. Clay makes some observations on the difference between his trip in 2024 and Steinbeck’s 1960 journey. - [The Romance of America's Greatest Game: An Emotional Visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame](https://ltamerica.org/the-romance-of-americas-greatest-game-an-emotional-visit-to-the-baseball-hall-of-fame/) - I don’t know what I expected when I drove my Airstream into Cooperstown, New York to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It was an emotional day. - [Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at Montauk Point, New York — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/theodore-roosevelt-and-the-rough-riders-at-montauk-point-new-york-video-dispatch/) - When Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders returned from their heroics in Cuba in August 1898, they were quarantined at Montauk Point at the tip of Long Island. - [Sports, Lawn Care and Fishing at Karen's Diner — Calais, Maine](https://ltamerica.org/sports-lawn-care-and-fishing-at-karens-diner-waterville-maine/) - It’s too early to draw conclusions about the country’s mood, but this is what I have heard in two weeks on the road. - [Clay's Personal Cartographic Detail of the Steinbeck Journey Through New England](https://ltamerica.org/clays-personal-cartographic-detail-of-the-steinbeck-journey-through-new-england/) - Over the next few months, Clay is shadowing Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile trek around the USA (and making a few detours of his own). Clay’s expedition is a central part of LTA’s big initiative to explore the country and take the pulse of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. Be sure to follow Clay’s adventures and subscribe to - [A Visit With Author Jay Parini of Middlebury, Vermont](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-with-author-jay-parini-of-middlebury-vermont/) - Sitting in the Airstream, Rocinante. I had a delightful interview with Steinbeck biographer Jay Parini of Middlebury College in Vermont. - [Mount Katahdin — Maine's Tallest Mountain](https://ltamerica.org/mount-katahdin-maines-tallest-mountain/) - Mt. Katahdin, which translates to “Greatest Mountain” in Penobscot, is the highest mountain in the state of Maine at 5,269 feet. - [Visiting John Steinbeck's Home in Sag Harbor, New York — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/visiting-john-steinbecks-home-in-sag-harbor-new-york/) - Clay visits John Steinbeck’s Sag Harbor home where the noted author began his 1960 cross-country journey, immortalized in Travels With Charley. - [Resilience and Heart in Lewiston, Maine](https://ltamerica.org/resilience-and-heart-in-lewiston-maine/) - Clay’s visits the recently reopened Just-In-Time recreation center in Lewiston, Maine. - [Across Iowa](https://ltamerica.org/across-iowa/) - Clay, on his way to Sag Harbor, N.Y., travels through Iowa, home to the famous American painter Grant Wood and journalist William L. Shirer. - [Reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich While Traveling With Charley](https://ltamerica.org/reading-emthe-rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich-em-while-traveling-with-charley/) - Clay visits Cedar Rapids, Iowa, boyhood home of pioneering journalist and author William Shirer, who later became friends with John Steinbeck. - [Shakedown Cruise: The Great Adventure Begins](https://ltamerica.org/shakedown-cruise-the-great-adventure-begins/) - April is the cruelest month, says T.S. Eliot, perhaps because it brings you some false spring that often enough is put in its place by late blasts of winter. This is certainly true on the Great Plains. But I am leaving on my big John Steinbeck Travels with Charley Tour on April 27 … - [Underway! Sag Harbor, New York or Bust](https://ltamerica.org/underway-sag-harbor-new-york-or-bust/) - Clay leaves his home in Bismarck, North Dakota, and heads east on a circuitous route to Sag Harbor, New York, where John Steinbeck began his famous 1960 cross-country journey. - [John Steinbeck's True Motivations for Hitting the Road in 1960](https://ltamerica.org/john-steinbecks-true-motivations-for-hitting-the-road-in-1960/) - As Clay begins his great Travels With Charley journey, our resident Steinbeck specialist, Russ Eagle, weighs in on what spurred the Nobel Prize-winning author to take to the road in a custom truck camper and his dog in 1960. - [Wild Horses in the Badlands: Wildlife or Livestock?](https://ltamerica.org/wild-horses-in-national-park/) - There’s horse trouble in Theodore Roosevelt National Park which is home to a feral herd of about 200 equines. - [The Unnamed, Unheralded Falls of North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/the-unnamed-unheralded-falls-of-north-dakota/) - Geographers say North Dakota has only one waterfall. It’s a waterfall without a name, over in Ransom County, near the Minnesota border. For twenty years I have wanted to go see it. - [Inspiration and Nostalgia on Visiting My Alma Mater — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/inspiration-on-visiting-my-alma-matter/) - 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. - [Labor Day on the Glorious Little Missouri River — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/labor-day-on-the-glorious-little-missouri-river/) - I visited the Little Missouri River in the Badlands of North Dakota over the Labor Day weekend. Of all the rivers I know, the Little Missouri is the most sacred to me. - [The American Buffalo: Past and Future — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-american-buffalo/) - A video dispatch from my visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit, where buffalo roam the Great Plains today. - [Sancho Panza and Rocinante Ride Again! Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/sancho-panza-and-rocinante-ride-again/) - Next spring Clay will begin a two-year journey following John Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley trek across America. - [A Trek to the Summit of Black Elk Peak, South Dakota — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/a-trek-to-the-summit-of-black-elk-peak-south-dakota/) - Clay hikes to the top of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota and shares a bit of its history. At 7,242 feet the summit is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains in the western U.S. and the Pyrenees Mountains in France. - [The Heroism of SuAnne Big Crow — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/the-heroism-of-suanne-big-crow-video-dispatch/) - On a visit to the Black Hills and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Clay happened upon the youth center dedicated to the memory of SuAnne Big Crow, the Oglala basketball star. Clay shares a little of her heroic story in this short video. - [Wounded Knee Creek — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/wounded-knee-creek-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits the site of the tragic Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota where nearly 300 Lakota were slaughtered by soldiers of the U.S. Army on December 29, 1890. - [A Visit to Bear Butte, South Dakota — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-bear-butte-south-dakota-video-dispatch/) - Clay reports from Bear Butte in South Dakota, a site sacred to the Lakota, Cheyenne and other Native American tribes. It’s near Sturgis, S.D., home of the famous annual motorcycle rally. - [On Oppenheimer — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/on-oppenheimer-video-dispatch/) - Clay reads from an essay about Robert Oppenheimer by the author Richard Rhodes. - [Fort Dilts, North Dakota — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/fort-dilts-north-dakota-video-dispatch/) - Clay takes us to Fort Dilts, North Dakota, a hastily-made sod fort built in 1864 by a party of would-be gold miners to fend off attacks by the Lakota. However more perspectives to the story should be considered. - [Chicago, Launch Point for Historic Route 66 — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/clay-jenkinson-chicago-launch-point-for-historic-route-66-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits the eastern takeoff point for historic Route 66 in downtown Chicago. Now largely superseded by the Interstate Highway system, Route 66 still looms large in American history and mythology. - [Site of the World’s First Atomic Chain Reaction — Video Dispatch](https://ltamerica.org/site-of-the-worlds-first-atomic-chain-reaction-video-dispatch/) - Clay visits the site of the world’s first atomic chain reaction on the campus of the University of Chicago. - [Exclusive! Inside John Steinbeck's famous Travels with Charley Truck Camper, Rocinante](https://ltamerica.org/exclusive-inside-john-steinbecks-famous-travels-with-charley-truck-camper-rocinante/) - Clay, was the featured speaker at The National Steinbeck Center’s 25th anniversary and wrangled a rare visit inside the writer’s famous rig. - [The Solar Eclipse of 2024: A View From Chaco Canyon](https://ltamerica.org/the-solar-eclipse-of-2024-a-view-from-chaco-canyon/) - My friend Dennis and I had the good fortune to experience the solar eclipse of 2024 at Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. We could not have chosen a better place to observe the eclipse. Chaco Canyon is more than just another example of what used to be called Anasazi sites. It was designed from the beginning to serve as a lunar and solar “clock.” - [Rereading Blue Highways — An Enduring Backroads Journal](https://ltamerica.org/rereading-blue-highways-an-enduring-backroads-journal/) - Originally published is 1982, Clay says William Least Heat Moon’s Blue Highways is still our best backroads manifesto. - [Witnessing the Astounding Diversity of America in 24 Hours](https://ltamerica.org/witnessing-the-astounding-diversity-of-america-in-24-hours/) - A whirlwind journey takes Clay from Bismarck, N.D., to Brooklyn, N.Y., to Farmington, N.M. and a view of America’s extraordinary multiplicity. - [Reading Orwell's 1984 In 2024](https://ltamerica.org/reading-orwells-1984-in-2024/) - The question is: how prophetic was Orwell? What does he say to us in the age of “fake news” and “alternative facts”? - [A Beached Whale: Then and Now](https://ltamerica.org/a-beached-whale-then-and-now/) - Recently a humpback whale washed ashore at Virginia Beach. Even in death, it’s a magnificent creature. The beached whale reminded me of an incident during the winter of 1805-1806 at Fort Clatsop on the Pacific Ocean. - [Notes on Geert Mak's In America: Travels with John Steinbeck](https://ltamerica.org/notes-on-geert-maks-in-america-travels-with-john-steinbeck/) - Mak’s In America: Travels with John Steinbeck is without question the best book written about retracing the 1960 Travels with Charley journey. - [Printed Maps and an Atlas: Old School, Indeed!](https://ltamerica.org/printed-maps-and-an-atlas-old-school-indeed/) - We’re hard at work detailing plans to follow in the footsteps of John Steinbeck’s journey chronicled in Travels With Charley. - [My Life as a Space Junkie](https://ltamerica.org/my-life-as-a-space-junkie/) - I’ve been captivated by humanity’s exploration of the heavens since I was a boy growing up on the plains of western North Dakota. - [Space: The Final and Unforgiving Frontier ](https://ltamerica.org/space-the-final-and-unforgiving-frontier/) - The inverted landing of the $125 million Japan Space Agency lunar probe makes us realize not what can go wrong but how many things must go exactly right for one of these incredibly complicated space missions to succeed. - [The Glamorous Life of the On-Camera Talent](https://ltamerica.org/the-glamorous-life-of-the-on-camera-talent/) - Ken Burns once told me: You want to know the key to being in my documentaries, all other things being equal? Stick the landings. - [Sports as American Metaphor](https://ltamerica.org/sports-as-american-metaphor/) - The Super Bowl has become an unofficial American holiday. Though it may not be as important as Christmas or the Fourth of July it fixes everyone in the country on a single monumental event. - [Seeing America Through the Eyes of a Visitor](https://ltamerica.org/seeing-america-through-the-eyes-of-a-visitor/) - My daughter Catherine, now living in Great Britain, brought her boyfriend Simon to America for the holidays. He’s French-Swiss. - [The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future](https://ltamerica.org/the-spymasters-how-the-cia-directors-shape-history-and-the-future/) - We are excited to welcome Lindsay Chervinsky, a regular guest of Clay’s weekly podcast as an ongoing contributor to Listening to America. In her first installment she reviews The Spymasters. - [Don't Touch That Dial: Tuning in to America](https://ltamerica.org/dont-touch-that-dial-tuning-in-to-america/) - Over a lifetime of travel, I have learned that one of the best ways to examine the pulse of America is to listen to local broadcasting. - [America’s Unrelenting Love Affair With the Automobile](https://ltamerica.org/americas-unrelenting-love-affair-with-the-automobile/) - The American automobile is one of the most revolutionary (and liberating) technologies in human history. - [Holiday Special: Clay Reads "Mr. Ingalls Meets Santa Claus" From Little House on the Prairie](https://ltamerica.org/holiday-special-clay-reads-mr-ingalls-meets-santa-claus-from-little-house-on-the-prairie/) - Holiday Special: Clay reads “Mr. Ingalls Meets Santa Claus” from Little House on the Prairie - [Snow Blowers, Walleye and Failing North Dakota 101](https://ltamerica.org/snow-blowers-walleye-and-failing-north-dakota-101/) - It’s not easy being a North Dakotan ... - [Henry Kissinger](https://ltamerica.org/henry-kissinger/) - Adviser to half a dozen presidents, especially Nixon, Kissinger was the only individual ever to serve as secretary of state (1973-77) and national security adviser (1969-75) at the same time. - [Rosalynn Carter](https://ltamerica.org/rosalynn-carter/) - Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter didn’t possess the glamour of the Kennedys, or the charisma and ambition of the Clintons, yet Rosalynn Carter stood out as one of the strongest first ladies in American history. Assertive and impactful, she rightfully takes her place alongside Eleanor Roosevelt. - [On the Anniversary of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy](https://ltamerica.org/on-the-anniversary-of-the-assassination-of-president-john-f-kennedy/) - On the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, are we any closer to answers? And how might things be different in our country were it not for that fateful event? - [The Western Flyer: Steinbeck's Boat, The Sea of Cortez, and the Saga of Pacific Fisheries](https://ltamerica.org/the-western-flyer-steinbecks-boat-the-sea-of-cortez-and-the-saga-of-pacific-fisheries/) - Russ Eagle reviews Kevin Bailey’s book about the legendary boat made famous by Steinbeck. - [While Driving Across North Dakota on a Recent Sunday ...](https://ltamerica.org/while-driving-across-north-dakota-on-a-recent-sunday/) - Clay recently drove the back roads from Thompson to Bismarck, North Dakota. Far from interstates, he was intensely reminded about what he loves about the state he’s long called home. - [And Then There Were Six: A Tribute to Frank Borman](https://ltamerica.org/and-then-there-were-six-a-tribute-to-frank-borman/) - I was saddened to learn of the death (November 7) of Frank Borman, the American astronaut who commanded the astonishing 1968 Apollo 8 mission to the moon. He was the oldest living astronaut. - [Listening to America as It Approaches its 250th Anniversary](https://ltamerica.org/listening-to-america-as-it-approaches-its-250th-anniversary/) - I’m taking this winter to plan details for my quest next spring to explore the country in the shadow of John Steinbeck’s classic book Travels With Charley in Search of America. I’ll write about our plans from time to time and would love to hear your thoughts about what we have in the works. - [75 Years Later, Steinbeck's Western Flyer Returns to Monterey](https://ltamerica.org/75-years-later-steinbecks-western-flyer-returns-to-monterey/) - The fishing boat that took the author and his friend Ed Ricketts on their famous expedition to the Gulf of California in 1940 was pulled literally from the ocean floor for an eight-year, $7 million makeover. Recently, it returned to Monterey Harbor, ready to return to work. Listening to America's special Steinbeck correspondent, Russ Eagle, was there to cover the event. - [The US Presidency and What Can Be Lost Between Administrations](https://ltamerica.org/the-us-presidency-and-what-can-be-lost-between-administrations/) - What happens in the gap between one administration and the next, especially when the outgoing president is unavailable? This “leadership gap” has had an intriguing influence on U.S. History. - [My Father: A Reminiscence at 30 Years](https://ltamerica.org/my-father-a-reminiscence-at-30-years/) - My father’s birthday was November 1st. He died at 67, 30 years ago. But he has not faded in my heart and soul. - [Winter Arrives in North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/winter-arrives-in-north-dakota/) - Well, I put the Airstream away for the winter. And just in time, too. It went into storage here in Bismarck on Monday, and it snowed for the first time Wednesday night. - [The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World](https://ltamerica.org/the-accidental-president-harry-s-truman-and-the-four-months-that-changed-the-world/) - With the death of Franklin Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, Harry S. Truman became one of the nation’s most unlikely presidents. Truman, with little preparation, was thrust into the presidency amid the most tumultuous four months in world history. - [The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After 60 Years](https://ltamerica.org/the-final-witness-a-kennedy-secret-service-agent-breaks-his-silence-after-60-years/) - The minute I heard that former Secret Service Agent Paul Landis was publishing a book entitled The Final Witness, I pre-ordered it. It arrived yesterday, and I read it in a single evening. - [Clay's Reading List: The Buffalo and American West](https://ltamerica.org/clays-reading-list-the-buffalo-and-american-west/) - With Ken Burns’ new film The American Buffalo airing October 16 on PBS, Clay recommends a few books on the bison, Great Plains and American West. - [The Great Buffalo Roundup](https://ltamerica.org/the-great-buffalo-roundup/) - On September 29th over 1,400 bison were rounded up at Custer State Park in western South Dakota. The remarkable event, now in its 58th year, drew over 20,000 visitors from around the world - [Beyond the Apocalypse and Bathtub Ring — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/beyond-the-apocalypse-and-bathtub-rig-a-colorado-river-journey-we-begin-2/) - This is the first in a series of about a dozen dispatches from Clay Jenkinson we’ll publish over the next several weeks chronicling his recent journey following the Colorado River and neighboring region. - [Thunderstorms, Cottonwoods on the Great Plains](https://ltamerica.org/thunderstorms-cottonwoods-on-the-great-plains/) - Typically we don’t get genuine punishing thunderstorms until after Memorial Day. I sat in a camp chair on the porch and studied the sky. - [A Day With Three Extraordinary Missile Men](https://ltamerica.org/a-day-with-three-extraordinary-missile-men/) - I spent the day with three extraordinary men at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site learning the “on the ground” operations of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles during the Cold War. - [Jackalopes, Black-Footed Ferrets and Big, Big Sky](https://ltamerica.org/jackalopes-black-footed-ferrets-and-big-big-sky/) - On Clay’s third day from Bismarck to Vail, he travels through Wall, South Dakota and visits the U.S. National Grasslands Visitor Center and Badlands National Park. - [At Gate A6 on 22nd Anniversary of September 11](https://ltamerica.org/at-gate-a6-on-22nd-anniversary-of-september-11/) - I’m sitting at gate A6 at Jacksonville International Airport in Florida. Today is the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. - [Jefferson and Marshall: Two Very Different Virginians ](https://ltamerica.org/jefferson-and-marshall-two-very-different-virginians/) - John Marshall’s service with George Washington at Valley Forge helped shape his very different view of America’s new republic than that of Thomas Jefferson. - [The Story Behind a Famous White House Dinner](https://ltamerica.org/the-story-behind-a-famous-white-house-dinner/) - Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed new film has ignited a fascination with Robert Oppenheimer. Clay reflects on a surprising connection between Oppenheimer, John F. Kennedy, and “America’s da Vinci,” Thomas Jefferson. - [President Jefferson and the Big Cheese](https://ltamerica.org/president-jefferson-and-the-big-cheese/) - The recent record-setting auction of a $32,000 Spanish cheese reminds Clay of the curious tale of Thomas Jefferson’s 1,235-pound Mammoth Cheese. - [Some Thoughts on the Near-Extinction of the Buffalo](https://ltamerica.org/some-thoughts-on-the-near-extinction-of-the-buffalo/) - Ken Burns’ new documentary The American Buffalo airs this week on PBS. Like everyone I’m eager to see how he explores the history surrounding this iconic creature. - [Theodore Roosevelt's Literary Mastery](https://ltamerica.org/theodore-roosevelts-literary-mastery/) - Roosevelt was a serious writer and one of America’s great readers — in addition to being the 26th president of the United States, the Governor of New York, Police Commissioner of New York, a U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, and the hero of San Juan Hill. - [A Visit to the Center(s) of the Nation](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-the-centers-of-the-nation/) - Clay files a video report from the geographic center of the USA on the wind-swept plains outside of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. - [A Detour to the Home of American Writer Hamlin Garland](https://ltamerica.org/a-detour-to-the-home-of-american-writer-hamlin-garland/) - As I continued my drive and not far into South Dakota, I visited the homestead of the Pulitzer Prize winning author Hamlin Garland. - [Visiting the Cabin Where Crazy Horse Was Killed](https://ltamerica.org/visiting-the-cabin-where-crazy-horse-was-killed/) - Leaving South Dakota, I drove south to Fort Robinson in Nebraska, the site where the great Oglala leader Crazy Horse died. He was killed unnecessarily on September 5, 1877, at about 33. - [Nuking the Rocky Mountains](https://ltamerica.org/nuking-the-rocky-mountains/) - Clay and two colleagues met near the town of Rifle in western Colorado to visit the spot where the federal government set off a nuclear device in 1969 to test the feasibility of using atomic bombs in oil “fracking.” - [The Tragic History of Sand Creek, Colorado](https://ltamerica.org/the-tragic-history-of-sand-creek-colorado/) - Clay drives into eastern Colorado to spend time at the site of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and then to Denver to see an exhibit on the tragic event at the History Colorado Center. . - [At Lake Powell, a "Lost National Park" is Being Slowly Revealed ](https://ltamerica.org/at-lake-powell-a-lost-national-park-is-being-slowly-revealed/) - Like it or not, says the Executive Director at Glen Canyon Institute, Lake Powell is dying. But we can take advantage of the opportunities provided by its demise. - [Artificial Intelligence: A Collision of Opportunity and Challenge](https://ltamerica.org/artificial-intelligence-a-collision-of-opportunity-and-challenge-2/) - 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. - [Remembering the Great Charles Wilkinson](https://ltamerica.org/remembering-the-great-charles-wilkinson/) - A beloved educator and leader in environmental and Native American law, Professor Charles Wilkinson of Colorado University, Boulder had a profound impact throughout the American West and beyond. The death of the great Charles Wilkinson has come as a terrible blow to the environmental and Native American law community. Wilkinson died in Boulder, Colorado, on June 6, - [My Favorite Photographs of Robert Oppenheimer](https://ltamerica.org/my-favorite-photographs-of-robert-oppenheimer/) - Inspired by the new Oppenheimer film here are a few of my favorite photographs of the noted physicist. - [The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America](https://ltamerica.org/the-kindness-of-strangers-penniless-across-america/) - 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. - [Lands of Lost Borders](https://ltamerica.org/lands-of-lost-borders/) - Because I am gearing up for years of travel across America, especially the West, I am reading books of adventure travel. I have reread Travels with Charley of course, and the published journal of John Wesley Powell’s 1869 descent of the Green and Colorado Rivers. - [Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water](https://ltamerica.org/cadillac-desert-the-american-west-and-its-disappearing-water/) - Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert has been around for a long time — since 1986 — but it continues to be the best introduction to the subject of Water in the West. - [The Life and Times of Sitting Bull](https://ltamerica.org/the-life-and-times-of-sitting-bull/) - Bismarck, N.D. — I’m reading a biography of Sitting Bull (1831 - 1890). Among other things, I am ashamed I know so little about him. He’s an amazing man, at once a superb warrior who won distinction in the warrior societies among the Hunkpapa, a Lakota holy man who had prophetic dreams, and a generous - [Why Read Moby Dick?](https://ltamerica.org/why-read-moby-dick/) - Bismarck, N.D. — I’m reading Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. I’ll be teaching it at one of my literary retreats come next January, but I wanted to read it anyway. It has been maybe fifteen years since I read it through. This is a matter of some shame to me. While I was scouring for something else - [Book Review — Our Story of Eagle Woman, Sacagawea: They Got It Wrong](https://ltamerica.org/our-story-of-eagle-woman-sacagawea-they-got-it-wrong/) - Over several decades, when I have encountered my friend Gerard Baker of the Mandan-Hidatsa, he has invariably said, “You know Sacagawea was Hidatsa.” The Hidatsa (Lewis and Clark’s Minnetarees) believe that Sacagawea was always Hidatsa, that she had an important relationship with the Shoshone, but that she was not genetically Shoshone. The Hidatsa believe that Lewis and - [Down the Salmon: A River Journal](https://ltamerica.org/down-the-salmon-a-river-journal/) - Every summer I lead a cultural tour on the Lewis and Clark Trail in Montana and Idaho. Usually, we canoe through the White Cliffs section of the Missouri for a couple of days, regroup, head west, and then climb up to the ancient Lolo Trail. But occasionally we switch things up by floating the Salmon, the “River of No Return.” This was such a summer. - [What Tree Rings Can Tell Us About Climate Change and the Future of the West](https://ltamerica.org/what-tree-rings-can-tell-us-about-climate-change-and-the-future-of-the-west/) - In an effort to predict the future, scientists are piecing together an astonishingly precise and far-reaching record of the past. - [Crow Canyon Archaeological Center — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/crow-canyon-archaeological-center-a-colorado-river-journey/) - This is the fifth in a series of dispatches from Clay Jenkinson chronicling his recent journey with two compatriots following the Colorado River and neighboring region. The day was spent at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center - [Deep in Canyon Country — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/deep-in-canyon-country-a-colorado-river-journey/) - Today we get officially underway. Frank’s wife Georgie dropped him off around 9 a.m. As we began the great adventure, she handed us a Ziplock bag full of homemade chocolate chip cookies. - [Boulder, Utah — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/boulder-utah-a-colorado-river-journey/) - This is the third in a series of dispatches from Clay Jenkinson chronicling his recent journey with two compatriots following the Colorado River and neighboring region. The day was spent in and around Boulder, Utah (population, 248; elevation 6700’). - [On the Open Road — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/on-the-open-road-a-colorado-river-journey/) - Dennis and I left Vail, Colorado, at 9:30 a.m. We drove Interstate 70 to Grand Junction, where Dennis wanted some healthy groceries. I’m from North Dakota — the land of Velveeta — so I am just along for the ride. Dennis and I have known each other for 25 years and our life dreams have found their confluence in Listening to America. - [Following the Ghost of John Wesley Powell](https://ltamerica.org/following-the-ghost-of-john-wesley-powell/) - A recent journey following the Colorado River has Clay and his colleagues tracing a trail first mapped by the great American explorer and scientist John Wesley Powell between 1869 and 1875. - [Salvaging History with the "Yukon Paleontologist"](https://ltamerica.org/salvaging-history-with-the-yukon-paleontologist/) - In the harsh conditions of the Arctic, Dr. Grant Zazula leads an ongoing race against time and nature to save the rich paleontological treasures relinquished by thawing permafrost. Gold mining operations have been blasting away at the Yukon permafrost since the late 19th century, and global climate change has now joined in that assault. This one-two punch unearths - [A Visit to Camp Disappointment](https://ltamerica.org/redeeming-camp-disappointment/) - Browning, Mont. — Wandering about what is called the “Hi-Line,” U.S. 2 and the tracks of the Great Northern Railway, I came upon this obelisk monument to Lewis and Clark. - [The Luxury of Reading the Lewis and Clark Journals](https://ltamerica.org/the-luxury-of-reading-the-lewis-and-clark-journals/) - Over the Christmas holidays, because I was alone this year, I decided to read all the journals of Lewis and Clark, John Ordway, and Patrick Gass for the return journey of the Corps of Discovery, from March 23 to September 23, 1806. If Whitehouse kept a journal for this portion of the trek (probably), it has been lost. I read - [Just Who Is Buried on the Wind River Reservation?](https://ltamerica.org/just-who-is-buried-on-the-wind-river-reservation/) - Sacagawea has become a giant figure in American memory and mythology. There are more statues of her than any other woman in America. But we know little about the facts of her actual life. - [Happy Birthday John Steinbeck](https://ltamerica.org/1797-2/) - Bismarck, N.D. — Normally I don’t observe the birthdays of my literary and historical heroes. I know Jefferson’s birthday (April 13, 1743) and Shakespeare’s (April 23, 1564), and Bertrand Russell’s (May 18, 1872), and Samuel Johnson’s (September 18, 1709), and not many more, at least by day of month. Today is John Steinbeck’s birthday. I - [To Be or Not To Be On I-94](https://ltamerica.org/to-be-or-not-to-be-on-i-94/) - Bismarck, N.D. — I was having a conversation about death and the afterlife with a friend the other day. The question: is death the end — oblivion and complete disintegration — or is it the portal to something else? And if something else, what does that something else entail? - [32,000 Feet Over the Pine Ridge](https://ltamerica.org/32000-feet-over-the-pine-ridge/) - EDWARDS, Colo. — I flew from Bismarck, N.D., to Denver the other day to give a lecture. After the usual delays, the plane left Bismarck at about 10:30 a.m. - [Missing McCullough and a Rich Immersion in the Humanities](https://ltamerica.org/missing-mccullough-and-a-rich-immersion-in-the-humanities/) - BISMARCK, N.D. — The death of David McCullough on Aug. 7, 2022, at the age of 89 is a terrible loss. It seems almost fitting that as the American republic totters near the edge of the abyss, our most civil of public historians has taken his exit. McCullough seems like a creature from an earlier, - [Slings and Arrows of Teaching Shakespeare](https://ltamerica.org/slings-and-arrows-of-teaching-shakespeare/) - One Florida school system will only allow classroom study of excerpts from some Shakespeare plays in its high school curriculum because it is afraid they will violate the new state laws forbidding the inclusion of taboo issues in the curriculum. - [The Professor Who Changed My Life](https://ltamerica.org/the-professor-who-changed-my-life/) - I was leaving Three Forks, Montana, when I got the call. My beloved English professor Thomas Clayton died this morning, August 9, 2023. He was 90 years old and an exceptional educator who made all the difference. - [The Long Dreamed Airstream Joins the Listening to America Team](https://ltamerica.org/the-long-dreamed-airstream-joins-the-listening-to-america-team/) - A new chapter in my life begins. For the next several years, I plan to spend about half of the year on the road with my new Airstream trailer for our big humanities initiative, Listening to America. My plan is to get out on the open road, see the vastness of America and report my findings to you. - [India's First Lunar Landing and America's Sense of Wonder](https://ltamerica.org/indias-lunar-landing-and-americas-sense-of-wonder/) - Today, I read in my news feed that India has successfully landed a probe on the south pole of the moon. Chandrayaan-3 touched down at 8:30 a.m. EDT, August, 23, 2023. U.S. news of the event seemed decidedly matter-of-fact. - [Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne](https://ltamerica.org/super-infinite-the-transformations-of-john-donne/) - Katherine Rundell’s new book on the great English writer and cleric, John Donne is, among other things, a work of evangelism. Rundell says one of her goals is to get everyone to read some of Donne’s poetry. I could not agree more. - [The Forgotten Battle of Whitestone Hill, North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/the-forgotten-battle-of-whitestone-hill-north-dakota-2/) - My first stop was the lonely Whitestone Hill, a grass hill in south central, North Dakota. It is the site of the bloodiest battle in North Dakota history in 1863. - [Mother’s Day](https://ltamerica.org/mothers-day/) - My mother has been dead for five years now. She died at 86, without spending a single night in a hospital. - [A Visit to Ute Mountain, a Detour to the Holy Grail: Four Corners!](https://ltamerica.org/a-visit-to-ute-mountain-a-detour-and-the-four-corners-controversy/) - This is six in a series of dispatches from Clay Jenkinson chronicling his recent journey with two compatriots following the Colorado River and neighboring region. - [Navajo Nation and Canyon de Chelly — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/navajo-nation-and-canyon-de-chelly-a-colorado-river-journey/) - Day Six, Wednesday: Canyon de Chelly; U.S. 191 to Burnside; Arizona 264 to Second Mesa. This is the seventh in a series of dispatches from Clay Jenkinson chronicling his recent journey with two compatriots following the Colorado River and neighboring region. The day was spent at Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Nation. The two-week - [The Way of the Hopi — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/the-way-of-the-hopi-a-colorado-river-journey/) - Snow was on the ground when we awoke on the second Hopi mesa. We feared a snowstorm, possibly a blizzard. We slipped and lurched to a remote coffee house that Dennis and Frank had scoped out the previous evening and then drove back to the Hopi Cultural Center, where we met Donald Dawahongnewa. - [A Different View of Glen Canyon and the Colorado River](https://ltamerica.org/a-different-view-of-glen-canyon-and-the-colorado-river/) - 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. - [A Quest for an Ancient Tree](https://ltamerica.org/a-quest-for-an-ancient-tree/) - 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. - [A Day on Lake Powell — A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/a-day-on-lake-powell-a-colorado-river-journey/) - 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. - [Farewell to Our Intrepid Guide and a Water in the West Reading List](https://ltamerica.org/farewell-to-our-intrepid-guide-a-water-in-the-west-reading-list/) - 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. This is the 11th - [Circumnavigating the Great Salt Lake in a Kayak](https://ltamerica.org/circumnavigating-the-great-salt-lake-in-a-kayak/) - 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. Not long ago, Scott and a colleague circumnavigated the 180-mile lake in handmade kayaks, perhaps the first two to make such a journey. Scott shares his long - [Sorting Myth From Fact: Can We Truly Know Sacagawea? ](https://ltamerica.org/sorting-myth-from-fact-can-we-truly-know-sacagawea/) - You cannot think about the Lewis and Clark story without trying to come to terms with Sacagawea. She is the most statued woman in American history. And she is one of the two most prominent Native American women in American memory. And yet, to borrow Winston Churchill’s famous description of the Soviet Union, “she is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” - [I Was First in Line To See the New Oppenheimer Film](https://ltamerica.org/i-was-first-in-line-to-see-the-new-oppenheimer-film/) - I sat in the theater Friday for three hours and was mesmerized. The film is historically accurate. Oppenheimer is one of the best movies I have ever seen. - [With the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation](https://ltamerica.org/with-the-lewis-and-clark-trail-heritage-foundation/) - 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. - [Reflections on A Colorado River Journey](https://ltamerica.org/reflections-on-a-colorado-river-journey/) - 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. ## Pages - [Home](https://ltamerica.org/) - LTA aims to light out for the territories listening to voices of America’s past & present to share a humanities-based perspective on this great nation - [WEEKLY PODCAST](https://ltamerica.org/listen-2/) - Subscribe to Listening to America on your favorite podcast player. #1711 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian Joe Ellis on America at 250 July 6, 2026 Clay welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joe Ellis to the program to discuss America at 250. Ellis is the author of more than a dozen books about the Early National Period. He has - [Cultural Tours](https://ltamerica.org/cultural-tours/) - Online Classes Rewriting the Constitution: A More Perfect Union — registration for this class is closed.May 23 – June 13, 2026learn more Tours Cultural Tour: Lewis & Clark Trail — This tour is now closed.July 25–August 3, 2026learn more Cultural Tour: Crow Canyon / Monumental Decisions: Antiquities Act of 1906 — OPEN FOR REGISTRATIONSeptember 13–19, - [Crow Canyon Tour](https://ltamerica.org/crow-canyon-tour/) - Monumental Decisions: Antiquities Act of 1906 LTA is pleased to announce a special tour through our partnership with the Crow Canyon Archaeological CenterSeptember 13–19, 20267 days, 6 nights Book Now! In the mid-to-late 1800s, archaeology played a significant role in shaping the development of the Antiquities Act of 1906, one of the first major pieces - [2026 Lewis & Clark Trail](https://ltamerica.org/2026-lewis-clark-trail/) - Cultural Tour Lewis & Clark Trail With Clay Jenkinson July 25 – August 3, 2026 This Tour is booked to capacity Join humanities scholar and author Clay Jenkinson on an exploration of the two remaining pristine portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail — the stunning White Cliffs region of the Missouri River in Montana, - [10 Insights Into Henry David Thoreau](https://ltamerica.org/10-insights-into-henry-david-thoreau/) - With the new Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau now airing on PBS, Clay will be sharing 10 essential insights into one of America’s most original thinkers. Introduction #1 To Live Deliberately #2 Obscure Passages #3 Thoreau and the Laundry Controversy #4 What Did He Mean by Quiet Desperation? #5 Determining Our Grossest Groceries - [Team Bios](https://ltamerica.org/team-bios/) - Meet the Listening to America Team Clay Jenkinson — Editor-in-Chief and RingleaderClay is a public humanities scholar, writer, master interviewer and moderator, documentary filmmaker, and historical impersonator (a Chautauquan). He is the author of 13 books spanning topics from Thomas Jefferson, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Theodore Roosevelt, and his beloved North Dakota. He is - [Friends of LTA Zoom Archive 2](https://ltamerica.org/friends-of-lta-zoom-archive-2/) - Friends of LTA Zoom Archive We’ll be posting all of the Zoom meetings here so you can watch them any time! Friends of LTA Members Meetings Book Club Meetings Book Club Meeting: May 21,2026 Members Meeting: March 11, 2026 Book Club Meeting: March 17, 2026 Members Meeting: November 20, 2025 Book Club Meeting: October 15, - [Member Section](https://ltamerica.org/member-section/) - [2026 Online Class — Rewriting the Constitution: A More Perfect Union](https://ltamerica.org/2026-online-class-rewriting-the-constitution-a-more-perfect-union/) - Rewriting the Constitution: A More Perfect Union Online class with Clay Jenkinson Rewriting the Constitution: A More Perfect UnionMay 23 – June 13, 2026$400 per personThere is no need to have attended any previous class. Scholarships are available to practitioners, historians, and students of the U.S. Constitution. For more information or to request a scholarship - [2027 Winter Retreat — The Novels of Jane Austen](https://ltamerica.org/2027-winter-retreat-the-novels-of-jane-austen/) - Winter Retreat The Novels of Jane Austen January 17–22, 2027Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Contact us to register! The Novels of Jane Austen We’ll read them all! There are only six, and they are accessible and relatively short. The focus will be on the novels, of course, but we will also talk about the background to her - [2027 Winter Retreat — Thoreau and the American Dream](https://ltamerica.org/2027-winter-retreat-thoreau-and-the-american-dream/) - Winter Retreat Thoreau and the American Dream January 10–15, 2027Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Contact us to register! Thoreau and the American Dream Thoreau’s Walden is one of America’s greatest books, but it needs to be read in the context of his role as philosophical gadfly in the mid-19th century Concord, Massachusetts, and his status as one of the - [2027 Winter Retreat — The Beatles in Four Albums](https://ltamerica.org/2027-winter-retreat-the-beatles-in-four-albums/) - Winter Retreat The Beatles in Four Albums January 3–8, 2027Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Contact us to register! The Beatles in Four Albums We’ll explore the life and work of the Beatles by way of four albums: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, and Abbey Road. Inevitably, we’ll listen to and discuss songs from the - [Jefferson's France — Cultural Tour](https://ltamerica.org/jeffersons-france-cultural-tour/) - Jefferson's FranceCultural Tour With Clay Jenkinson Jefferson's FranceSeptember 20 - October 2, 2026Paris — Loire Valley — Dijon — Nimes — Carcassonne 13 days, 12 nights$7,699 / person, double occupancy$2,100 single room supplement (single rooms are limited and must be requested)Price does not include airfare.NOTE: Your passport MUST be valid for 6 months AFTER the end - [Payment](https://ltamerica.org/payment/) - You don’t need a PayPal account to pay!(If you have a PayPal account you may need to log out first.) On the PayPal screen, simply click “Pay with a debit or credit card.” Questions? Contact Us Please contact us with any questions that might arise.We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. - [Listening to America Book Club](https://ltamerica.org/book-club/) - [Retreat payment page 2027](https://ltamerica.org/retreat-payment-page-2027/) - [Make A Payment](https://ltamerica.org/make-a-payment/) - Make a Payment Please use the Payment Information box below to tell us what you’re making a payment towards. Then, click the Pay Now button to follow the link to PayPal, where you’ll be able to enter the amount you’ll be paying in the “Price per Item” field. You don’t need a PayPal account to - [Membership Signup](https://ltamerica.org/membership-2/) - [Charitable](https://ltamerica.org/charitable/) - [Payment Tours Page](https://ltamerica.org/payment-page/) - [2025 Online Class — Constitution Vulnerabilities & Flashpoints](https://ltamerica.org/2025-online-class-constitution-vulnerabilities-flashpoints/) - The U.S. Constitution: Vulnerabilities and Flashpoints Online class with Clay Jenkinson The U.S. Constitution: Vulnerabilities and FlashpointsNovember 22 – December 20, 2025$400 per person Thomas Jefferson expected the Constitution to be revised or replaced once every generation. George Washington thought it would be effective for a quarter of a century, perhaps a bit longer. We - [Payment Page Online Class](https://ltamerica.org/payment-page-online-class/) - [Friends of LTA Zoom Archive](https://ltamerica.org/friends-of-lta-zoom-archive/) - [members preview](https://ltamerica.org/members-preview/) - Friends of LTA Special Members Section Welcome new Friends of Listening to America!We are excited to launch our new Book Club and meet with you in person on our Zoom calls. We will be adding new Members-Only content regularly — see Clay’s Notebook for written articles, Videos for Behind the Scenes and travel extras, Book - [Podcast Archive](https://ltamerica.org/podcast-archive/) - [Clay’s Notebook](https://ltamerica.org/clays-notebook/) - You’ll find Members-Only content here — articles. - [Newsletter Archives](https://ltamerica.org/newsletter-archives/) - [Forum](https://ltamerica.org/community/) - [Ask Clay](https://ltamerica.org/ask-clay/) - Submit questions for Clay and the LTA Team. We look forward to hearing from you! - [ABOUT CLAY](https://ltamerica.org/about-clay-jenkinson/) - About Clay Clay Jenkinson is a public humanities scholar, a writer, a master interviewer and moderator, documentary filmmaker, and a historical impersonator (a Chautauquan). He is the author of 13 books spanning topics from Thomas Jefferson, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Theodore Roosevelt, the literature of pandemics, and his beloved North Dakota. He is frequently - [2026 Winter Retreat — The Novels of Cormac McCarthy](https://ltamerica.org/2026-winter-retreat-cormac-mccarthy/) - Winter Retreat The Novels of Cormac McCarthy January 11-16, 2026Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Contact us to be added to the waiting list A note from Clay: Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) is one of the best regarded novelists of our time. His books are written in an uncanny style, without the kind of punctuation we count on in - [Podcasts](https://ltamerica.org/podcasts/) - Special podcasts clips, cutting room floor, extra content and more! - [Video](https://ltamerica.org/video/) - Welcome to our Members-Only Video section. You’ll find videos, behind the scenes clips, photos, and more! - [Travels With Charley Road Trip](https://ltamerica.org/travels-with-charley-road-trip/) - Beginning in May 2024, noted historian and humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson will trace John Steinbeck's 10,000-mile trek around the USA. Steinbeck immortalized his 1960 cross-country excursion in his classic book Travels with Charley. You can follow Clay's adventures here at LTAmerica.org, on our Facebook page, and by subscribing to our newsletter. Traveling in a 23 - [Lewis & Clark Cultural Tour](https://ltamerica.org/lewis-clark-cultural-tour/) - Cultural Tour Lewis & Clark Trail With Clay Jenkinson July 20 – 29, 2025 Add me to the waiting list This Tour is SOLD OUT. Join humanities scholar and author Clay Jenkinson on an exploration of the two remaining pristine portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail — the stunning White Cliffs region of the - [2026 Winter Retreat — The West of Thomas Jefferson](https://ltamerica.org/2026-winter-retreat-jefferson/) - Winter Retreat The West of Thomas Jefferson January 18–23, 2026Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Add me to the waiting list This Retreat is Filled to Capacity Thomas Jefferson's "footprint" on the American West can hardly be exaggerated. The portico at Monticello faced westward. He purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, calling it "an empire for liberty such - [Missouri Breaks Canoe Adventure trip](https://ltamerica.org/missouri-breaks-canoe-adventure-trip/) - [Cuban-American History Tour](https://ltamerica.org/cuba-historical-cultural-tour/) - Cuban-American History Tour Ernest Hemingway — Theodore Roosevelt — The Bay of PigsFebruary 23 – March 6, 2025Miami's Little Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Camaguey, Trinidad, Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs), Playa Larga, Havana12 days / 11 nights$6,695 per person, double occupancy $1,200 single room supplement Add me to the waiting list THIS TOUR IS NOW - [Thank You](https://ltamerica.org/thank-you/) - Your subscription has been set up successfully. - [Account](https://ltamerica.org/account/) - [Login](https://ltamerica.org/login/) - [Online Class — John Donne](https://ltamerica.org/online-class-john-donne/) - John Donne and the English Renaissance Online class with Clay Jenkinson November 16 – December 7, 2024$350 per person Register Now! John Donne (1572–1631) is one of the greatest English poets. He was also the greatest preacher of his era. His poems and sermons have been called “metaphysical,” in that he employs highly unusual similes - [NEWSLETTER](https://ltamerica.org/newsletter/) - Listening to America weekly e-newsletter — sign up today! Follow Clay Jenkinson and the LTA crew on their journey of listening to America by signing up for our free weekly e-newsletter. No spam, just a weekly email with humanities-based viewpoints on this great nation of ours. Subscribe * indicates required Email Address *First Name Last - [Join a Live Zoom Call With Lindsay and Clay!](https://ltamerica.org/join-a-live-zoom-call-with-lindsay-and-clay/) - Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2024Time: 5 p.m. Pacific, 6 p.m. Mountain, 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. EasternThe first half hour of the call will be devoted to those of you who have already purchased Lindsay's book. Register below to participate in this Zoom call! 1. Fill in your name and email address2. Give our team - [Literary England Cultural Tour With Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/literary-england-cultural-tour-with-clay-jenkinson/) - Literary EnglandCultural Tour With Clay Jenkinson Literary EnglandSeptember 22–29, 2024London — Bath — Stratford Upon Avon — Oxford Eight days and seven nights$4,772/person, double occupancy$1,371 single room supplement (single rooms are limited and must be requested) Registration is closed This tour is now filled to capacity. Join Clay and Catherine Jenkinson on a guided tour through - [Winter Retreat: Thoreau’s Walden and Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire](https://ltamerica.org/winter-retreat-thoreaus-walden-and-edward-abbeys-desert-solitaire/) - Winter Retreat Thoreau’s Walden andEdward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire January 5–10, 2025Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Booked to capacity This tour is currently booked to capacity.To be added to the waiting list, please contact us at: tjhourtours@gmail.com. Back by popular demand, Clay Jenkinson’s Walden retreat, not so much for the excellent nature writing, but for Thoreau’s challenge to each of us to live - [SUPPORT](https://ltamerica.org/support/) - Donate to Listening to America Ongoing listener support through regular contributions is essential to our funding for Listening to America. We are deeply grateful to all who have and do support this endeavor. Thank You! You can make a one-time or recurring donation by clicking the PayPal button below. You don’t need a PayPal account - [Lewis & Clark Trail](https://ltamerica.org/cultural-tour-lewis-clark-trail/) - Cultural Tour Lewis & Clark Trail With Clay Jenkinson July 21 – 30, 2024 Join humanities scholar and author Clay Jenkinson on an exploration of the two remaining pristine portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail — the stunning White Cliffs region of the Missouri River in Montana, and the Lolo (Nez Perce) Trail in - [America at 250](https://ltamerica.org/america-at-250/) - America at 250: How Did We Get Here? Where Are We Headed? Online class with Clay Jenkinson March 9–30, 2024$300 per person Registration is now closed America will observe its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. How can we employ the humanities to think about this important milestone in the history of the United States? During - [Retreat payment page](https://ltamerica.org/retreat-payment-page/) - [Winter Retreat: Classic Shakespeare: King Lear and As You Like It](https://ltamerica.org/winter-retreat-classic-shakespeare-king-lear-and-as-you-like-it/) - Winter Retreat Classic Shakespeare: King Lear and As You Like It January 12–17, 2025Lochsa Lodge, Idaho Contact us to reserve your seat! Two of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, the tragedy of King Lear (ca. 1605), and the mature comedy As You Like It (ca. 1599). In addition to being among Shakespeare’s greatest plays, exhibiting his literary genius at its best, these two plays - [Oppenheimer's New Mexico Cultural Tour](https://ltamerica.org/oppenheimers-new-mexico-cultural-tour/) - Oppenheimer's New MexicoCultural Tour with Clay Jenkinson Oppenheimer's New MexicoApril 11-15, 2024Albuquerque — Santa Fe — Los AlamosFive days and four nights$2,295 per person This tour is filled to capacity Please email us if you would like to be added to the waitlist. Join Clay Jenkinson as he travels to the heart of New Mexico, - [Religion and the Space Program](https://ltamerica.org/religion-and-the-space-program/) - Religion and the Space Program Online class with Clay Jenkinson January 27 – February 17, 2024$300 per person Registration is closed for this class The crew of Apollo 8 read the first 10 verses of the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve in lunar orbit. Buzz Aldrin took communion on the Moon! Edgar Mitchell conducted - [Special projects 2](https://ltamerica.org/special-projects-2-2/) - [Register Your Interest](https://ltamerica.org/register-your-interest/) - [Contact Us](https://ltamerica.org/contact-us/) - If you are sending a donation, please follow this link or mail your contribution to: The Thomas Jefferson Hour1900 Burnt Boat Dr. STE 102Bismarck, ND 58503 The Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization under tax ID #46-5726534. - [WINTER RETREAT: LEWIS & CLARK](https://ltamerica.org/winter-retreat-lewis-clark/) - Winter Retreat The Return Journey of Lewis and Clark January 8 – 13, 2023 Lochsa Lodge, Idaho This retreat is currently booked to capacity.To add yourself to the waiting list, please fill out our online contact formor email us at tjhourtours@gmail.com The Return Journey of Lewis and Clark The outbound journey of Meriwether Lewis & - [About Listening to America](https://ltamerica.org/about-listening-to-america/) - About Listening to America Listening to America aims to “light out for the territories,” traveling less visited byways and taking time to see this immense, extraordinary country with fresh eyes while listening to the many voices of America’s past, present, and future. We invite you to join us on this journey. Listening to America is - [WINTER RETREAT: DOSTOEVSKY](https://ltamerica.org/winter-retreat-dostoevsky/) - Winter Retreat Two by Dostoevsky January 15 – 20, 2023 Lochsa Lodge, Idaho This retreat is currently booked to capacity.To add yourself to the waiting list, please fill out our online contact formor email us at tjhourtours@gmail.com Some say Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is the greatest of all novels. Others say The Brothers Karamazov. Clay’s nomination - [Quotes](https://ltamerica.org/quotes/) - QUOTES FROM THE ROAD - [J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Making of the Atomic Bomb](https://ltamerica.org/j-robert-oppenheimer-and-the-making-of-the-atomic-bomb/) - Q: How do I know I won’t feel intimidated by all those gathered intellectuals? Clay: Most of the people who come to these retreats are Jefferson Hour listeners. The group conversations are informal, entertaining, playful, and serious without being pretentious. One of the things I do is pass out a “Conversation Bill of Rights” during - [Gilgamesh and Moby Dick: Two Epics Just 4,000 Years Apart](https://ltamerica.org/gilgamesh-and-moby-dick-two-epics-just-4000-years-apart/) - Q: How do I know I won't feel intimidated by all those gathered intellectuals? Clay: Most of the people who come to these retreats are Jefferson Hour listeners. The group conversations are informal, entertaining, playful, and serious without being pretentious. One of the things I do is pass out a “Conversation Bill of Rights” during - [FAQs](https://ltamerica.org/faqs/) - [Online Courses](https://ltamerica.org/online-classes-2/) - Thank you for your interest in our online courses. When the next course becomes available, we will update this page. - [ONLINE CLASSES](https://ltamerica.org/online-classes/) - Thoreau and the Quest to Live Deliberately An Online Humanities Course with Clay Jenkinson January 28 – February 11 Registration for this online class is now closed. January 28 – February 11, 2023$250/person Henry David Thoreau's Walden is one of the most important books ever written in America. It's an anthem for those who march to - [Ancient and Homeric Greece](https://ltamerica.org/ancient-and-homeric-greece/) ## Legal Pages - [Terms and Conditions](https://ltamerica.org/termsfeed/terms-and-conditions/) - Terms and Conditions Last updated: Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before using Our Service. Interpretation and Definitions Interpretation The words whose initial letters are capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural. 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By using the Service, You agree to ## Memberships - [Fan Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/fan/) - [Fan Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/fan-yearly/) - [Explorer Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/explorer-monthly/) - [Explorer Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/explorer-yearly/) - [Champion Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/champion-monthly/) - [Champion Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/champion-yearly/) - [Existing Champion Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-champion-yearly/) - [Existing Champion Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-champion-monthly/) - [Existing Explorer Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-explorer-yearly/) - [Existing Explorer Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-explorer-monthly/) - [Existing Fan Yearly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-fan-yearly/) - [Existing Fan Monthly](https://ltamerica.org/register/existing-fan-monthly/) ## Groups - [All memberships](https://ltamerica.org/plans/all-memberships/) - Help keep American history and the humanities alive Your membership makes Listening to America and Clay Jenkinson's ongoing work in American history and the humanities possible. ## Campaigns - [LTA](https://ltamerica.org/campaigns/simple-1-column/) - A $100 Simple Give is an easy and effective way to support LTA’s mission. We're deeply grateful for your support in this essential work. ## Page Layouts - [Header Transparent](https://ltamerica.org/layout_manager/header-transparent/) ## Page Builder Smart Areas - [Footer](https://ltamerica.org/znpb_template_mngr/footer/) ## Categories - [Uncategorized](https://ltamerica.org/category/uncategorized/) - [Features](https://ltamerica.org/category/features/) - FEATURES - [Dispatches from the Road](https://ltamerica.org/category/dispatches-from-the-road/) - DISPATCHES FROM THE ROAD - [Books](https://ltamerica.org/category/books/) - BOOKS - [Videos](https://ltamerica.org/category/videos/) - [Video Dispatches](https://ltamerica.org/category/video-dispatches/) - [Clay's Notebook](https://ltamerica.org/category/clays-notebook/) - [LTA Friends Videos](https://ltamerica.org/category/lta_friends_videos/) - [LTA Friends Book Club](https://ltamerica.org/category/lta-friends-book-club/) ## Tags - [Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/tag/lewis-and-clark/) - 2025 ROADTRIP — RETRACING THE LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL Kicking off on May 6th at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in Lynchburg, Virginia, Clay set out to retrace Lewis and Clark’s celebrated 1804-1806 expedition across the continent. Clay will trace the Lewis and Clark expedition from Virginia, where it was conceived in the imagination of Thomas Jefferson, all the way down the Ohio River, up the Mississippi and Missouri, over the Bitterroot Mountains, down the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia rivers — and back again. Traveling in a 23-foot Airstream, Clay’s expedition is a central part of LTA’s big initiative to take the pulse of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. You can follow Clay’s Lewis and Clark adventure in the stories and videos linked below and on the LTA Facebook site. Also, subscribe to our newsletter. - [Wyoming](https://ltamerica.org/tag/wyoming/) - [Books](https://ltamerica.org/tag/books/) - [John Steinbeck](https://ltamerica.org/tag/john-steinbeck/) - LTA’S 2024 TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY ROAD TRIP Beginning this spring, Clay is following John Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile trek around the USA (and making a few fascinating detours of his own). Traveling in a 23-foot Airstream, Clay’s expedition is a central part of LTA’s big initiative to take the pulse of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. You can follow Clay’s Steinbeck-related adventures in the stories and videos linked below and on the LTA Facebook site. Also, subscribe to our newsletter. Map of Steinbeck’s 1960 journey around the USA on display at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif. - [Montana](https://ltamerica.org/tag/montana/) - [Canada](https://ltamerica.org/tag/canada/) - [Water in the West](https://ltamerica.org/tag/water-in-the-west/) - [Utah](https://ltamerica.org/tag/utah/) - [Colorado River](https://ltamerica.org/tag/colorado-river/) - [Native Americans](https://ltamerica.org/tag/native-americans/) - [Arizona](https://ltamerica.org/tag/arizona/) - [Colorado](https://ltamerica.org/tag/colorado/) - [John Wesley Powell](https://ltamerica.org/tag/john-wesley-powell/) - [Navajo](https://ltamerica.org/tag/navajo/) - [Hopi](https://ltamerica.org/tag/hopi/) - [Edward S. Curtis](https://ltamerica.org/tag/edward-s-curtis/) - [North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/tag/north-dakota/) - [Theodore Roosevelt](https://ltamerica.org/tag/theodore-roosevelt/) - [South Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/tag/south-dakota/) - [Atomic West](https://ltamerica.org/tag/atomic-west/) - [Thomas Jefferson](https://ltamerica.org/tag/thomas-jefferson/) - [U.S. Presidents](https://ltamerica.org/tag/u-s-presidents/) - [National Parks](https://ltamerica.org/tag/national-parks/) - [Nebraska](https://ltamerica.org/tag/nebraska/) - [Space Exploration](https://ltamerica.org/tag/space-exploration/) - [Poetry](https://ltamerica.org/tag/poetry/) - [Massachusetts](https://ltamerica.org/tag/massachusetts/) - [Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/tag/rivers/) - [Humanities](https://ltamerica.org/tag/humanities/) - [Idaho](https://ltamerica.org/tag/idaho/) - [Washington](https://ltamerica.org/tag/washington/) - [California](https://ltamerica.org/tag/california/) - [Airstream](https://ltamerica.org/tag/airstream/) - [Holiday](https://ltamerica.org/tag/holiday/) - [Road Trips](https://ltamerica.org/tag/road-trips/) - [Great Plains](https://ltamerica.org/tag/great-plains/) - [State Parks](https://ltamerica.org/tag/state-parks/) - [Sports](https://ltamerica.org/tag/sports/) - [Oppenheimer](https://ltamerica.org/tag/oppenheimer/) - [America at 250](https://ltamerica.org/tag/america-at-250/) - [Oregon](https://ltamerica.org/tag/oregon/) - [Virginia](https://ltamerica.org/tag/virginia/) - [Thoreau](https://ltamerica.org/tag/thoreau/) - [New Mexico](https://ltamerica.org/tag/new-mexico/) - [New York](https://ltamerica.org/tag/new-york/) - [Illinois](https://ltamerica.org/tag/illinois/) - [Video](https://ltamerica.org/tag/video/) - VIDEOS - [Minnesota](https://ltamerica.org/tag/minnesota/) - [Steinbeck Travels](https://ltamerica.org/tag/steinbeck-travels/) - LTA’S 2024 TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY ROAD TRIP Beginning this spring, Clay is following John Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile trek around the USA (and making a few fascinating detours of his own). Traveling in a 23-foot Airstream, Clay’s expedition is a central part of LTA’s big initiative to take the pulse of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. You can follow Clay’s Steinbeck-related adventures in the stories and videos linked below and on the LTA Facebook site. Also, subscribe to our newsletter. Map of Steinbeck’s 1960 journey around the USA on display at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif. - [Iowa](https://ltamerica.org/tag/iowa/) - [Maine](https://ltamerica.org/tag/maine/) - [William Shirer](https://ltamerica.org/tag/william-shirer/) - [Alaska](https://ltamerica.org/tag/alaska/) - [Hawaii](https://ltamerica.org/tag/hawaii/) - [Vermont](https://ltamerica.org/tag/vermont/) - [New England](https://ltamerica.org/tag/new-england/) - [Ohio](https://ltamerica.org/tag/ohio/) - [Carl Sandburg](https://ltamerica.org/tag/carl-sandburg/) - [Reading](https://ltamerica.org/tag/reading/) - [North Carolina](https://ltamerica.org/tag/north-carolina/) - [John Adams](https://ltamerica.org/tag/john-adams/) - [England](https://ltamerica.org/tag/england/) - [Texas](https://ltamerica.org/tag/texas/) - [Missippi](https://ltamerica.org/tag/missippi/) - [Mississippi](https://ltamerica.org/tag/mississippi/) - [Civil Rights](https://ltamerica.org/tag/civil-rights/) - [Holidays](https://ltamerica.org/tag/holidays/) - [Louisiana](https://ltamerica.org/tag/louisiana/) - [Missouri](https://ltamerica.org/tag/missouri/) - [Podcast](https://ltamerica.org/tag/podcast/) - [Walden](https://ltamerica.org/tag/walden/) - [Hemingway](https://ltamerica.org/tag/hemingway/) - [Florida](https://ltamerica.org/tag/florida/) - [Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/tag/cuba/) - [Alabama](https://ltamerica.org/tag/alabama/) - [Georgia](https://ltamerica.org/tag/georgia/) - [South Carolina](https://ltamerica.org/tag/south-carolina/) - [Pennsylvania](https://ltamerica.org/tag/pennsylvania/) - [Tennessee](https://ltamerica.org/tag/tennessee/) - [Rome](https://ltamerica.org/tag/rome/) - [Republics](https://ltamerica.org/tag/republics/) - [The Constitution](https://ltamerica.org/tag/the-constitution/) - [Art](https://ltamerica.org/tag/art/) - [Culture](https://ltamerica.org/tag/culture/) - [Leonardo da Vinci](https://ltamerica.org/tag/leonardo-da-vinci/) - [Travel](https://ltamerica.org/tag/travel/) - [U.S. Constitution](https://ltamerica.org/tag/u-s-constitution/) ## Media Tags - [Henry Wallace and President Franklin Roosevel](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/henry-wallace-and-president-franklin-roosevel/) - [Lochsa Lodge in Idaho](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lochsa-lodge-in-idaho/) - [Wolfman Jack](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/wolfman-jack/) - [Herb Jepko](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/herb-jepko/) - [Alan Berg](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/alan-berg/) - [SiriusXM Prime Country.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/siriusxm-prime-country/) - [Lochsa Lodge in winter.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lochsa-lodge-in-winter/) - [The Spymasters by Chris Whipple](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-spymasters-by-chris-whipple/) - [Scribner 2021.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/scribner-2021/) - [The Lochsa River in the Bitterroot Mountains near the Montana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-lochsa-river-in-the-bitterroot-mountains-near-the-montana/) - [Idaho boarder.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/idaho-boarder/) - [In America: Travels with John Steinbeck by Danish author Geert Mak](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/in-america-travels-with-john-steinbeck-by-danish-author-geert-mak/) - [2014](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/2014/) - [One of the Jerry Johnson Hot Springs in the Bitterroot Mountains.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/one-of-the-jerry-johnson-hot-springs-in-the-bitterroot-mountains/) - [William Least Heat Moon in 2008. (Photo by Joe Mabel)](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/william-least-heat-moon-in-2008-photo-by-joe-mabel/) - [John Steinbeck](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-steinbeck/) - [Travels With Charley](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/travels-with-charley/) - [1962.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1962/) - [Elizabeth Otis. John Steinbeck](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/elizabeth-otis-john-steinbeck/) - [The Hailstorm Thomas Hart Benton](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-hailstorm-thomas-hart-benton/) - [Daughters of Revolution by Grant Wood](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/daughters-of-revolution-by-grant-wood/) - [1932.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1932/) - [his dog Charley and his camper rig](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/his-dog-charley-and-his-camper-rig/) - [Coe College](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/coe-college/) - [Captain James Cook](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/captain-james-cook/) - [John Weber](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-weber/) - [Captain Cook](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/captain-cook/) - [Joan Weber](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/joan-weber/) - [Apollo VIII astronauts Frank Borman](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/apollo-viii-astronauts-frank-borman/) - [Bill Anders and Jim Lovell (left to right).](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/bill-anders-and-jim-lovell-left-to-right/) - ["Earthrise" photograph](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/earthrise-photograph/) - [Carl Sandburg is best know as a poet and Lincoln biographer.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/carl-sandburg-is-best-know-as-a-poet-and-lincoln-biographer/) - [NASA](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nasa/) - [Space](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/space/) - [Desert Solitaire](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/desert-solitaire/) - [Edward Abbey](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/edward-abbey/) - [Maple River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/maple-river/) - [North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/north-dakota/) - [Westminster at dawn](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/westminster-at-dawn/) - [London Pub](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/london-pub/) - [Meteor Crater Arizona](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meteor-crater-arizona/) - [Meteor Crater](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meteor-crater/) - [Henry Stimpson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/henry-stimpson/) - [Books on Shelf](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/books-on-shelf/) - [Glenwood Canyon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/glenwood-canyon/) - [Clay near Delicate Arch in Arches National Park](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-near-delicate-arch-in-arches-national-park/) - [outside of Moab](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/outside-of-moab/) - [UT.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ut/) - [Lee Harvey Oswald](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lee-harvey-oswald/) - [Texas School Book Depository](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/texas-school-book-depository/) - [Confluence of Green and Colorado Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/confluence-of-green-and-colorado-rivers/) - [Big Texan Steak Ranch](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/big-texan-steak-ranch/) - [Amarillo](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/amarillo/) - [TX](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/tx/) - [Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson/) - [Bill Steigerwald](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/bill-steigerwald/) - [holding a copy of his book](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/holding-a-copy-of-his-book/) - [Dogging Steinbeck.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/dogging-steinbeck/) - [Lochsa Lodge in Idaho's Bitterroot Mountains and site of Clay's annual hummanites retreats.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lochsa-lodge-in-idahos-bitterroot-mountains-and-site-of-clays-annual-hummanites-retreats/) - [Cable news logos](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cable-news-logos/) - [Walter Cronkite](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/walter-cronkite/) - [President Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson in the Oval Office.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/president-kennedy-and-adlai-stevenson-in-the-oval-office/) - [John Steinbeck receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-steinbeck-receiving-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/) - [John Steinbeck delivering his Nobel Prize Speech.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-steinbeck-delivering-his-nobel-prize-speech/) - [Cover of Life magazine](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cover-of-life-magazine/) - [September](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/september/) - [1961.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1961/) - [A family bomb shelter in the early 1960s.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-family-bomb-shelter-in-the-early-1960s/) - [Shakespeare & Company](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/shakespeare-company/) - [the famous English-language bookshop in the heart of Paris.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-famous-english-language-bookshop-in-the-heart-of-paris/) - [Digital display on the Chunnel between England and France.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/digital-display-on-the-chunnel-between-england-and-france/) - [The Chunnel](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-chunnel/) - [a high speed rail connection between Britain and France.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-high-speed-rail-connection-between-britain-and-france/) - [An American Express Travelers Cheque](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/an-american-express-travelers-cheque/) - [once indispensable to the international traveler.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/once-indispensable-to-the-international-traveler/) - [The frigate](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-frigate/) - [The Boston](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-boston/) - [which John Adams sailed to England.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/which-john-adams-sailed-to-england/) - [Sainte-Chapelle in Paris](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sainte-chapelle-in-paris/) - [A Starbucks mug from Paris.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-starbucks-mug-from-paris/) - [A Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Oxford](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-kentucky-fried-chicken-outlet-in-oxford/) - [England.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/england/) - [France](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/france/) - [President Thomas Jefferson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/president-thomas-jefferson/) - [Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cuba/) - [Thomas Jefferson's Imperial Dreams](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/thomas-jeffersons-imperial-dreams/) - [Clay Jenkinson Bay of Pigs Museum](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-bay-of-pigs-museum/) - [May 10](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/may-10/) - [1963](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1963/) - [Jose Martí in New York](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jose-marti-in-new-york/) - [1885](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1885/) - [A young Fidel Castro on his arrest after the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-young-fidel-castro-on-his-arrest-after-the-1953-attack-on-the-moncada-barracks-in-santiago-de-cuba/) - [Fidel Castro Biran Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/fidel-castro-biran-cuba/) - [Musicians in Havana Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/musicians-in-havana-cuba/) - [Havana Cuba Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/havana-cuba-clay-jenkinson/) - [A statue of Don Quixote by the Cuban artist Sergio Martinez in Havana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-statue-of-don-quixote-by-the-cuban-artist-sergio-martinez-in-havana/) - [Cuba: An American History](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cuba-an-american-history/) - [by Ava Ferrer.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/by-ava-ferrer/) - [Baseball has long been popular in Cuba.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/baseball-has-long-been-popular-in-cuba/) - [Clay and his guests at the memorial to the USS Maine in Havana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-and-his-guests-at-the-memorial-to-the-uss-maine-in-havana/) - [Historic town of Trinidad in central Cuba.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/historic-town-of-trinidad-in-central-cuba/) - [doing a historical presentation as Theodore Roosevelt in Santiago](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/doing-a-historical-presentation-as-theodore-roosevelt-in-santiago/) - [Cuba. 2024](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cuba-2024/) - [Theodore Roosevelt in Cuba](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/theodore-roosevelt-in-cuba/) - [1898.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1898/) - [TR and his Rough Riders](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/tr-and-his-rough-riders/) - [Santiago](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/santiago/) - [1899 (LOC)](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1899-loc/) - [John W. Powell's wooden boat on the Colorado River.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-w-powells-wooden-boat-on-the-colorado-river/) - [Map of John Wesley Powell Pioneer River voyage 1869Map of John Wesley Powell Pioneer River voyage 1869](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/map-of-john-wesley-powell-pioneer-river-voyage-1869map-of-john-wesley-powell-pioneer-river-voyage-1869/) - [J. Powell Watershed Map](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/j-powell-watershed-map/) - [Sketch of Cataract Canyon from J.W.Powell's Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sketch-of-cataract-canyon-from-j-w-powells-exploration-of-the-colorado-river-of-the-west-and-its-tributaries/) - [1875.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1875/) - [Cataract Canyon Powell](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cataract-canyon-powell/) - [National Steinbeck Center](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/national-steinbeck-center/) - [Clay Jenkinson Point Lobos Ca.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-point-lobos-ca/) - [Louis L'Amour Beau L'Amour](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/louis-lamour-beau-lamour/) - [L'Amour Novles](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lamour-novles/) - [Louis L'Amour novel](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/louis-lamour-novel/) - [L'Amour Education of a Wandering Man](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lamour-education-of-a-wandering-man/) - [Louis L'Amour at work](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/louis-lamour-at-work/) - [A hardcover UK edition of The Daybreakers.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-hardcover-uk-edition-of-the-daybreakers/) - [Leonard Peltier Shane Balkowitsch](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/leonard-peltier-shane-balkowitsch/) - [Wounded Knee](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/wounded-knee/) - [Shane Balkowitsch with Leonard Peltier](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/shane-balkowitsch-with-leonard-peltier/) - [Shane Balkowitsch Leonard Peltier Chad Nodland.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/shane-balkowitsch-leonard-peltier-chad-nodland/) - [with his US Certificate of Citizenship](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/with-his-us-certificate-of-citizenship/) - [isaac](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/isaac/) - [isaac-fargo](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/isaac-fargo/) - [Clay Airstream](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-airstream/) - [Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forrest](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/thomas-jeffersons-poplar-forrest/) - [Lynchburg](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lynchburg/) - [Va](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/va/) - [Clay's Oxford English Dictionary.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clays-oxford-english-dictionary/) - [Plesiosaur](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/plesiosaur/) - [Protesters Belle Fourche S.D.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/protesters-belle-fourche-s-d/) - [Oxford English Dictionary](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/oxford-english-dictionary/) - [Winslow Arizona](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/winslow-arizona/) - [Route 66](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/route-66/) - [Continental Divide](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/continental-divide/) - [LTA Airstream at Poplar Forest](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lta-airstream-at-poplar-forest/) - [Natural](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/natural/) - [Bridge](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/bridge/) - [Virginia](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/virginia/) - [Notes on the State of Virginia](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/notes-on-the-state-of-virginia/) - [Mastodon skeleton](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/mastodon-skeleton/) - [the enslaved man who was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-enslaved-man-who-was-a-member-of-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/) - [york](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/york/) - [Ohio River Falls.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ohio-river-falls/) - [An artists depiction ofJohn Colter's famous run.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/an-artists-depiction-ofjohn-colters-famous-run/) - [Lewis and Clark historian](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lewis-and-clark-historian/) - [James Ronda.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/james-ronda/) - [Animatronic depiction of York at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Sioux City](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/animatronic-depiction-of-york-at-the-lewis-and-clark-interpretive-center-in-sioux-city/) - [Iowa](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/iowa/) - [Lewis Clark dog Seaman](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lewis-clark-dog-seaman/) - [Fort Mandan North Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/fort-mandan-north-dakota/) - [Jefferson Peace Medal](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jefferson-peace-medal/) - [Joshua Jay Magician](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/joshua-jay-magician/) - [The confluence of the Allegheny](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-confluence-of-the-allegheny/) - [Monongahela and Ohio rivers at Pittsburg](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/monongahela-and-ohio-rivers-at-pittsburg/) - [PA](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/pa/) - [The Ohio River ca1840](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-ohio-river-ca1840/) - [Major rivers of the United States.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/major-rivers-of-the-united-states/) - [Source of Ohio River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/source-of-ohio-river/) - [Pittsburg](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/pittsburg/) - [At the RV Park](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/at-the-rv-park/) - [dog RV](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/dog-rv/) - [LTA Map and Airstream](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lta-map-and-airstream/) - [Weed Patch Camp](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/weed-patch-camp/) - [Kern Ca. 1936.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/kern-ca-1936/) - [Big RVs](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/big-rvs/) - [Clay Jenkinson at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-at-the-confluence-of-the-mississippi-and-missouri-rivers/) - [River Horse by William Least Heat-Moon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/river-horse-by-william-least-heat-moon/) - [Least Heat-Moon’s boat](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/least-heat-moons-boat/) - [Nikawa](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nikawa/) - [Author](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/author/) - [William Least Heat-Moon.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/william-least-heat-moon/) - [The River and I](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-river-and-i/) - [by John Neihardt.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/by-john-neihardt/) - [DMV Waiting Room](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/dmv-waiting-room/) - [Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lewis-and-clark/) - [Lewis and Clark Keelboat](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lewis-and-clark-keelboat/) - [Meriwether Lewis](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis/) - [Meriwether Lewis journals](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis-journals/) - [The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-allegheny-and-monongahela-rivers/) - [Vail Symposium Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/vail-symposium-clay-jenkinson/) - [philosopher Denis Diderot.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/philosopher-denis-diderot/) - [Clay Jenkinson Belt Creek Great Falls MT](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-belt-creek-great-falls-mt/) - [sulfur spring Meriwether Lewis Sacagawea](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sulfur-spring-meriwether-lewis-sacagawea/) - [Iron Frame Boat Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/iron-frame-boat-lewis-and-clark/) - [Ryan Dam Great Falls](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ryan-dam-great-falls/) - [Montana.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/montana/) - [Sip and Dip Great Falls Montana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sip-and-dip-great-falls-montana/) - [Clay cools his feet at Great Springs State Park.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-cools-his-feet-at-great-springs-state-park/) - [C.M. Russell Museum](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/c-m-russell-museum/) - [Mighty Missouri Coffee](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/mighty-missouri-coffee/) - [Nolan Johnson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nolan-johnson/) - [Sand Bar Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sand-bar-missouri-river/) - [Camping on the Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/camping-on-the-missouri-river/) - [Brian Jackson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/brian-jackson/) - [CEO of Mighty Missouri Coffee](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ceo-of-mighty-missouri-coffee/) - [Nolan Jonhson and Brain Jackson Bismarck ND](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nolan-jonhson-and-brain-jackson-bismarck-nd/) - [clouds over the river were magnificent](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clouds-over-the-river-were-magnificent/) - [Fort Rice](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/fort-rice/) - [ND.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nd/) - [Two Medicine Creek Fight Site Montana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/two-medicine-creek-fight-site-montana/) - [Meriwether Lewis Blackfeet Fight Site Montana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis-blackfeet-fight-site-montana/) - [Two Medicine Creek](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/two-medicine-creek/) - [a tributary of the Marias River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-tributary-of-the-marias-river/) - [Missouri River Slot Canyon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/missouri-river-slot-canyon/) - [White Cliffs Missouri River Montana](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/white-cliffs-missouri-river-montana/) - [Thomas Jefferson Maria Conway Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/thomas-jefferson-maria-conway-missouri-river/) - [Hell Roaring Creek Montana Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/hell-roaring-creek-montana-missouri-river/) - [Clay Jenkinson at Hell Roaring Creek Southern Montana.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-at-hell-roaring-creek-southern-montana/) - [Montana Map Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/montana-map-lewis-and-clark/) - [Lemhi Pass](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lemhi-pass/) - [Cumberland Gap Lemhi Pass](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cumberland-gap-lemhi-pass/) - [Missouri Headwaters State Park](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/missouri-headwaters-state-park/) - [Meriwether Lewis at Lemhi Pass. (](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis-at-lemhi-pass/) - [Meriwether Lewis Shot In Buttocks](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis-shot-in-buttocks/) - [Jim Fuglie](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jim-fuglie/) - [Dismal Nitch Lewis and Clark](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/dismal-nitch-lewis-and-clark/) - [Beach](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/beach/) - [Oregon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/oregon/) - [Sacagawea Cannon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sacagawea-cannon/) - [For Peck Dam Construction Site](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/for-peck-dam-construction-site/) - [Fort Peck Dam](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/fort-peck-dam/) - [Coyote Warrior Paul VanDevelder.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/coyote-warrior-paul-vandevelder/) - [Life Magazine Fort Peck Dam](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/life-magazine-fort-peck-dam/) - [Garrison Dam Agreement](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/garrison-dam-agreement/) - [Water is Life](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/water-is-life/) - [Water is Life Protest](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/water-is-life-protest/) - [Gavins Point Dam South Dakota](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/gavins-point-dam-south-dakota/) - [Major dams Missouri River.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/major-dams-missouri-river/) - [Missouri River Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/missouri-river-clay-jenkinson/) - [Chief Joseph Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/chief-joseph-missouri-river/) - [Illustration of the "Hero's Journey"](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/illustration-of-the-heros-journey/) - [Salvator Rosa](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/salvator-rosa/) - [Jimmy Kimmel Live](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jimmy-kimmel-live/) - [Mark Twain portrait by A.F. Bradley](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/mark-twain-portrait-by-a-f-bradley/) - [1907.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1907/) - [Philadelphia Aurora newspaper](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/philadelphia-aurora-newspaper/) - [Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lewis-and-clark-national-historic-trail/) - [Those Tremendous Mountains](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/those-tremendous-mountains/) - [The Grinder House where Meriwether Lewis died Natchez Trace](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-grinder-house-where-meriwether-lewis-died-natchez-trace/) - [Statue of Seaman](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/statue-of-seaman/) - [Fort Mandan](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/fort-mandan/) - [Burial of the dead after the Battle of Wounded Knee](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/burial-of-the-dead-after-the-battle-of-wounded-knee/) - [S.D.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/s-d/) - [Lakota seer](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lakota-seer/) - [Black Elk](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/black-elk/) - [Arapaho Ghost Dance Shirt.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/arapaho-ghost-dance-shirt/) - [Ghost Dance by the Oglala Lakota at Pine Ridge Agency](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ghost-dance-by-the-oglala-lakota-at-pine-ridge-agency/) - [Joshua Jay](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/joshua-jay/) - [Charley](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/charley/) - [Rocinante](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/rocinante/) - [Steinbeck Vietnam](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/steinbeck-vietnam/) - [Viktor Nekrasov Soviet writer dissident](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/viktor-nekrasov-soviet-writer-dissident/) - [Inside Steinbeck's writing hut](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/inside-steinbecks-writing-hut/) - [Meriwether Lewis monument](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meriwether-lewis-monument/) - [A National Park Service video on the last days of Meriwether Lewis.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-national-park-service-video-on-the-last-days-of-meriwether-lewis/) - [Clay Jenkinson books](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-jenkinson-books/) - [Nat and Mikey Canoeing](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nat-and-mikey-canoeing/) - [The Gadget Alamogordo](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-gadget-alamogordo/) - [New Mexico](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/new-mexico/) - [President Trump Oval Office](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/president-trump-oval-office/) - [Proposed design for the new White House East Wing ballroom.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/proposed-design-for-the-new-white-house-east-wing-ballroom/) - [London's famous Tower Bridge](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/londons-famous-tower-bridge/) - [Cathrine Jenkinson graduation](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cathrine-jenkinson-graduation/) - [Sheldonian Theatre Oxford](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sheldonian-theatre-oxford/) - [John Donne Poet](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/john-donne-poet/) - [American flag at half-mast.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/american-flag-at-half-mast/) - [Jefferson Advertisment](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jefferson-advertisment/) - [Governor George Wallace Nicholas Katzenbach](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/governor-george-wallace-nicholas-katzenbach/) - [Jackie Robinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jackie-robinson/) - [1954.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1954/) - [Professor John Carey Oxford](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/professor-john-carey-oxford/) - [Time's 2025 "Year in Review"](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/times-2025-year-in-review/) - [Clay's Books](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clays-books/) - [US Constitution.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/us-constitution/) - [Doug Burgum](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/doug-burgum/) - [Beatles Mural Clay Jenkinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/beatles-mural-clay-jenkinson/) - [Children playing on a Red Army tankChildren playing on a Red Army tank](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/children-playing-on-a-red-army-tankchildren-playing-on-a-red-army-tank/) - [Italian journalist and author Marzio Mian.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/italian-journalist-and-author-marzio-mian/) - [Photograph by Alessandro Cosmelli.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/photograph-by-alessandro-cosmelli/) - [Robert Frost JFK Inauguration](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/robert-frost-jfk-inauguration/) - [Poet Emily Dickinson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/poet-emily-dickinson/) - [English poet Rudyard Kipling.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/english-poet-rudyard-kipling/) - [Historian Edward Watts](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/historian-edward-watts/) - [grave site of Julius Caesar.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/grave-site-of-julius-caesar/) - [Cicero Catiline's conspiracy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cicero-catilines-conspiracy/) - [Nuclear](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nuclear/) - [Ship](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ship/) - [Warship](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/warship/) - [Military](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/military/) - [Signing US Constitution](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/signing-us-constitution/) - [Author Kevin Fedarko](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/author-kevin-fedarko/) - [Martha Jefferson](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/martha-jefferson/) - [Jefferson home Monticello](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jefferson-home-monticello/) - [James Madison](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/james-madison/) - [Model of Jefferson’s home at Monticello](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/model-of-jeffersons-home-at-monticello/) - [Jefferson’s home Monticello](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jeffersons-home-monticello/) - [American Flag & US Constitution](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/american-flag-us-constitution/) - [constitution_pocket_guide](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/constitution_pocket_guide/) - [US Constitution book](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/us-constitution-book/) - [Artemis II Crew](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/artemis-ii-crew/) - [Trajectory for Artemis II](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/trajectory-for-artemis-ii/) - [Orion spacecraft NASA](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/orion-spacecraft-nasa/) - [Liftoff of the SLS rocket carrying NASA's Artemis II mission to the moon. April 1](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/liftoff-of-the-sls-rocket-carrying-nasas-artemis-ii-mission-to-the-moon-april-1/) - [2026.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/2026/) - [Saturn V rocket on display at the Kennedy Space Center](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/saturn-v-rocket-on-display-at-the-kennedy-space-center/) - [circa 1982. (NASA)](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/circa-1982-nasa/) - [Teddy Roosevelt and Big Stick](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/teddy-roosevelt-and-big-stick/) - [Theodore Roosevelt reading](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/theodore-roosevelt-reading/) - [NASA’s Orion spacecraf](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nasas-orion-spacecraf/) - [NASA Artemis Astronauts](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nasa-artemis-astronauts/) - [Astronaut Frank Borman](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/astronaut-frank-borman/) - [Artemis II recovered](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/artemis-ii-recovered/) - [The Artemis II crew](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-artemis-ii-crew/) - [US Presidents](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/us-presidents/) - [Butler Pennsylvania assassination attempt](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/butler-pennsylvania-assassination-attempt/) - [Senator Church CIA poison dart gun](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/senator-church-cia-poison-dart-gun/) - [Heinrich Schliemann Archeologist](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/heinrich-schliemann-archeologist/) - [Mask of Agamemnon](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/mask-of-agamemnon/) - [Map of the World of the Iliad](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/map-of-the-world-of-the-iliad/) - [c. 1200 BCE.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/c-1200-bce/) - [Mediterranean Sea Map](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/mediterranean-sea-map/) - [Archaeological Site of Troy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/archaeological-site-of-troy/) - [Troy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/troy/) - [the wooden horse](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-wooden-horse/) - [Map Turkey](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/map-turkey/) - [Archaeological Site of Ancient Troy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/archaeological-site-of-ancient-troy/) - [Poppies in bloom at Ancient Troy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/poppies-in-bloom-at-ancient-troy/) - [Clay with the Black Sea in the background.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/clay-with-the-black-sea-in-the-background/) - [Ruins of Ancient Troy](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/ruins-of-ancient-troy/) - [Helen of Troy by Evelyn De Morgan](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/helen-of-troy-by-evelyn-de-morgan/) - [Robert Flaxman’s bronze sculpture of the Shield of Achilles](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/robert-flaxmans-bronze-sculpture-of-the-shield-of-achilles/) - [Burning Coal Vein](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/burning-coal-vein/) - [Teddy Roosevelt](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/teddy-roosevelt/) - [1888.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/1888/) - [T.R. on a roundup](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/t-r-on-a-roundup/) - [Burning Coal Vein National Forest](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/burning-coal-vein-national-forest/) - [N.D](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/n-d/) - [outfitted for the Wild West.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/outfitted-for-the-wild-west/) - [Wind Cave National Park](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/wind-cave-national-park/) - [Wind Cave](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/wind-cave/) - [Park Ranger preparing for Wind Cave tour.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/park-ranger-preparing-for-wind-cave-tour/) - [Down inside the enormous Wind Cave.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/down-inside-the-enormous-wind-cave/) - [Devils Tower Wyoming](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/devils-tower-wyoming/) - [Native Prayer Bundles at Devils Tower National Monument](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/native-prayer-bundles-at-devils-tower-national-monument/) - [Devils Tower view through trees.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/devils-tower-view-through-trees/) - [Close Encounters DVD Cover](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/close-encounters-dvd-cover/) - [Signage at Devils Tower](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/signage-at-devils-tower/) - [Battle of Mill Creek](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/battle-of-mill-creek/) - [Meeker Masacre](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meeker-masacre/) - [Nathan Meeker](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/nathan-meeker/) - [Brunot Agreement](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/brunot-agreement/) - [Meeker Massacre Site](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meeker-massacre-site/) - [Meeker Hotel Lobby](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/meeker-hotel-lobby/) - [Signage at Milk Creek battle site.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/signage-at-milk-creek-battle-site/) - [Thomas Jefferson Cheese](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/thomas-jefferson-cheese/) - [A gander pull from an illustration by Frederic Remington.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-gander-pull-from-an-illustration-by-frederic-remington/) - [Eye gouging event](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/eye-gouging-event/) - [Gander Pull at Monticello.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/gander-pull-at-monticello/) - [Chief Joseph Edward Curtis](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/chief-joseph-edward-curtis/) - [Sitting Bull](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/sitting-bull/) - [Apache leader and medicine man Geronimo](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/apache-leader-and-medicine-man-geronimo/) - [LTA at Crazy Horse Memorial](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lta-at-crazy-horse-memorial/) - [Artist George Catlin](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/artist-george-catlin/) - [Russel Means](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/russel-means/) - [an Oglala Lakota activist](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/an-oglala-lakota-activist/) - [Crazy Horse Memorial](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/crazy-horse-memorial/) - [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/dwight-d-eisenhower/) - [Jefferson Memorial](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/jefferson-memorial/) - [Washington D.C](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/washington-d-c/) - [Happy Birthday America.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/happy-birthday-america/) - [canoes on the Upper Missouri River](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/canoes-on-the-upper-missouri-river/) - [Cesare Beccaria.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/cesare-beccaria/) - [Pantheon in Rome.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/pantheon-in-rome/) - [A view looking out from the Villa La Rotonda.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/a-view-looking-out-from-the-villa-la-rotonda/) - [Lunch](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/lunch/) - [the Italian way.](https://ltamerica.org/media_tag/the-italian-way/)