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.
Another Amazing Roadside Attraction! Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe — Video Dispatch
Sunday, September 15 2024
Never one to pass up one of America’s “World's Largest” roadside attractions, our intrepid traveler makes a pilgrimage to the site of the midwest’s legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his blue ox “Babe.”
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Grapes of Wrath on Route 66 — Video Dispatch
Friday, September 13 2024
It was one of the hottest days of the summer of 2024. I was on Route 66, somewhere east of Needles, California.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Open Roads, Like Rivers, Invite Us to Muse About the Trajectory of Life
Saturday, September 07 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Fear and Loathing in Northern Colorado
Tuesday, September 03 2024
After grueling weeks on the road, our weary, and perhaps delirious, wayfarer visits the “Last Resting Place” RV park in the northern Colorado Rockies.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Thoughts on Airstream Life — Living in Miniature
Monday, August 19 2024
Clay shares his thoughts on life on the road and living in a 184 square-foot portable home.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Salinas, California: Home to the Famous Author and the National Steinbeck Center
Tuesday, August 13 2024
Clay arrives in Salinas and Monterey, California, the home turf of a young John Steinbeck.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Last Stoplight on the Interstate Highway System — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, August 06 2024
The last stoplight on the entire interstate highway system was located in Wallace, Idaho. When the elegant latticework of the I-90 viaduct was completed in 1991, Wallace held a funeral for the last stoplight, now safely protected in the Wallace Mining Museum.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Falling In Love With Montana All Over Again
Saturday, July 27 2024
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.
- Published in Features
Aboard the Long Island Ferry — Video Dispatch
Thursday, July 25 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
John Steinbeck’s Evening With a Father and Son in Idaho
Sunday, July 21 2024
John Steinbeck stumbles into an uneasy father-son relationship during a quiet stopover near Coeur d’Alene.
- Published in Features