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.

Meriwether Lewis was ignobly shot in the buttocks by his visually impaired hunting companion, Pierre Cruzatte, on their return to civilization in 1806

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.
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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.
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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. 
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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.
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Though Thomas Jefferson never saw the Missouri River, it (and Mrs. Maria Cosway) held a special fascination for him. (ChatGDP Image by Clay Jenkinson)

Hunting Rivers’ Sources on the Upper Missouri

Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and Clay Jenkinson all share a fascination with the origins of rivers.
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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
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A statute of Lewis and Clark and the expedition's

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.
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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.
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Aerial view of Clay, Nolan and Brian's

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.
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Clay wrestling with his leaky RV shower. (Image courtesy of Clay and ChatGPT)

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.
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