My Life as a Space Junkie
Sunday, February 18 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Fort Dilts, North Dakota — Video Dispatch
Friday, February 09 2024
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Snow Blowers, Walleye and Failing North Dakota 101
Monday, December 18 2023
It’s not easy being a North Dakotan ...
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
While Driving Across North Dakota on a Recent Sunday …
Friday, November 17 2023
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.
- Published in Features
My Father: A Reminiscence at 30 Years
Sunday, November 05 2023
My father’s birthday was November 1st. He died at 67, 30 years ago. But he has not faded in my heart and soul.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Winter Arrives in North Dakota
Monday, October 30 2023
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Some Thoughts on the Near-Extinction of the Buffalo
Tuesday, October 17 2023
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.
- Published in Features
The American Buffalo: Past and Future — Video Dispatch
Monday, September 11 2023
A video dispatch from my visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit, where buffalo roam the Great Plains today.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Labor Day on the Glorious Little Missouri River — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, September 05 2023
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Long Dreamed Airstream Joins the Listening to America Team
Monday, August 28 2023
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.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road