Rhea, a 70-pound dog, looking out from the road

A man and his 70-pound dog retracing Steinbeck's loop around America

I'm Chris, this is my pup Rhea, and we're driving Steinbeck's route from Travels with Charley around the U.S.: 80+ days and over 13,000 miles, camping most nights across national and state parks. I write about it every week in the East Hampton Press: read the column. The pawprint on the map is us, give or take a town or two. More about the trip.

Day 44 of 85 6,907 of 13,218 mi 20 states and provinces 17 nights in the tentmore

Day 44 of 85. Today we head for Sebastopol, CA, no driving planned.

Steinbeck was here

Sebastopol, California · Oct 26 to 30, 1960

San Francisco, CA Oct 26 to 30, 1960

Where he slept: St. Francis Hotel, with Elaine (Steigerwald)

He crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into "the City" of his youth, and the book has him moving on quickly to vote in Monterey. Steigerwald found he and Elaine spent four days at the St. Francis Hotel seeing friends.

Sources: Book, Part Three; Steigerwald timeline Days 36-39 (p.1)

See it on his route

This week in the East Hampton Press

Our truck under the moss-draped giants of the Hoh Rain Forest, early in the morning

Column 4 · Nov 10

Home, Only Bigger

In 1960, John Steinbeck, the iconic American novelist, left Sag Harbor with his poodle, Charley, in search of America, and wrote about it in “Travels with Charley.”

Read it on 27east

Every column so far, and the story that started it

Highlights

From the road

Day 42 · Wed Nov 11

The Lost Coast and the Giants

Camp: Burlington Campground, Humboldt Redwoods SP, CA · A mild night with the tent flaps open; high 50s before 9am, 65 in Eureka before 10, 71 and sunny on the Lost Coast with fog lingering offshore; golden light in the redwoods by 4

Seventy-one degrees and an empty beach on the Lost Coast, then a night under the redwoods. Our best sleeps on this trip are in the tent, Rhea and me.

Read the day

Day 41 · Tue Nov 10

Redwoods and Roosevelt Elk

Camp: Elk Prairie Campground, Prairie Creek Redwoods SP, CA · A cotton-candy-pink sunrise; clear after the storm, sunny and a humid 60; still and damp at camp, with gnats until the breeze came up

We had Howland Hill's giant redwoods all to ourselves, then camped beside a pasture full of elk. After dark, two bucks came out of the night, and Rhea was locked in.

Read the day

Day 40 · Mon Nov 9