Clay Tours Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, May 27 2025
As a kickoff for his 2025 Lewis and Clark trek, Clay visited and toured Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's primary home and plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Peaks of Otter — Thomas Jefferson Speculated America’s Tallest Mountains — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, May 27 2025
Clay checks out The Peaks of Otter in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which Thomas Jefferson speculated were the country's tallest mountains.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Spot That Made Thomas Jefferson Swoon: A Visit to Natural Bridge — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, May 20 2025
Clay stopped by Natural Bridge State Park in the Shenandoah Valley. The site so captivated Thomas Jefferson that he purchased it from King of England in 1774.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Private Personal Retreat — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, May 13 2025
Kicking off his 2025 transcontinental Lewis and Clark trek, Clay spends the day at Poplar Forest, the beloved personal retreat of Thomas Jefferson, the mastermind behind the famous Corps of Discovery.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Delightful Ignorance: Jefferson and the American West
Monday, May 12 2025
Clay begins his 2025 Lewis and Clark transcontinental journey in the land of Thomas Jefferson, the patron saint of the famous 1804-1806 expedition.
- Published in Features
A Word About Dictionaries
Sunday, April 20 2025
A short dissertation on my infatuation with dictionaries.
- Published in Books
Join Clay at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Home and Help Kick Off LTA’s 2025 Lewis and Clark Adventure
Tuesday, April 15 2025
Clay will lecture at 2:00 p.m., May 6, 2025 on Thomas Jefferson’s vision for Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery.”
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. Annexation of Cuba (And More)
Tuesday, February 25 2025
The United States has a long, tortured relationship with Cuba, including Thomas Jefferson’s imperial designs on the island. As Clay travels to Cuba this week to lead a cultural tour, he reflects on a bit of forgotten history between the U.S. and the island nation 90 miles from Key West, Florida.
- Published in Features
On the Trail of Lewis and Clark — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, February 18 2025
Clay details plans for his upcoming cross-country journey following Lewis and Clark’s celebrated 1805 -1806 expedition across the continent.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road, Video Dispatches, Videos
My John Steinbeck Tour: A Preliminary Report — What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been
Tuesday, December 10 2024
Beginning in April 2024 and concluding just before Thanksgiving, Clay traveled over 21,000 miles and visited 41 states, roughly following John Steinbeck’s route as chronicled in Travels with Charley. Clay notes he undertook the cross-country journey partly to gain his own appraisal of America as it approaches its 250th birthday.
- Published in Features
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