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50 YEARS AFTER : JOHN STEINBECK’S GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP

In the early morning hours of September 23rd 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a hero’s journey with his wife’s French poodle Charley by his side. With the knowledge that he was dying, Steinbeck drove his camper truck onto the Sag Harbor, Long Island ferry and headed out into the great unknown intent on rediscovering America. He traveled to New England, then turned west to Niagara Falls, Chicago and on towards Seattle. He eventually criss-crossed much of the United States, experiencing first hand the protests of desegregation in Louisiana and returning home to New York in time for Christmas.

Steinbeck’s book, published by Viking Penguin two years later, is a nostalgic and humorous philosophical travelogue – one filled with wanderlust for an idealized past and hope for a transcendent future. In a sense, his was journey inward as much as it was an expedition outward. If you have not already done so, pick up a copy of the prophetic Travels with Charley in Search of America. It’s a great read.

Look for my own photographic project that follows Steinbeck’s journey!

outdoorphotographer.com: travels-with-charley