The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, July 09 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
John Steinbeck and Me in Beach, North Dakota
Tuesday, July 09 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Grasslands Renaissance on the Great Plains
Tuesday, July 02 2024
A visit with author, falconer and pioneering regenerative rancher Dan O’Brien on his remarkable Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Sag Harbor to Bismarck: What I’m Learning About John Steinbeck and His “Search of America”
Sunday, June 30 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Encounters in Yellowstone National Park
Tuesday, June 25 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Back Home and Planning Phase Two of the Great John Steinbeck Tour of America
Tuesday, June 11 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
John Steinbeck Among the French Canadian Harvest Gypsies
Tuesday, June 04 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Two Views of the Nightmare Road to Athens, Ohio
Monday, May 27 2024
Was it Google Maps that led me astray? Last week, on the way to Athens, Ohio, I took a wrong turn.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Assessing My Steinbeck Trip at Week Four
Sunday, May 26 2024
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.
- Published in Features
The Romance of America’s Greatest Game: An Emotional Visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame
Tuesday, May 21 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road