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.
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
Steinbeck, Charley, a Stop in Yellowstone, and the Call of the Wild
Friday, July 19 2024
Steinbeck and his dog Charley have an eventful visit at Yellowstone National Park.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
It’s a Dog’s Life — Billings, Montana
Monday, July 15 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Best John Steinbeck Biographies, Part II
Friday, July 12 2024
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.
- Published in Books
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
From the Eastern Heart of Montana — Video Dispatch
Saturday, July 06 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road