cover image Out West: 2an American Journey Along the Lewis and Clark Trail

Out West: 2an American Journey Along the Lewis and Clark Trail

Dayton Duncan. Viking Books, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-670-80822-9

Tracing the route taken by the Lewis and Clark expedition leads a modern traveler to a lot dead ends; as New Hampshire journalist Duncan discovered, time and civilization have wrought change. Driving a battered camper, he made two summer journeys and one in winter, following the explorers' trail of discovery. Duncan tried to experience situations akin to those of the expedition: in North Dakota he spent a wintry night in a Mandan earth lodge, sleeping under buffalo robes; in Montana he joined other Lewis and Clark buffs for a canoe trip on the Missouri to a well-documented campsite. From St. Louis to the Oregon coast, Duncan introduces us to the small towns and people of the modern West. This is an off-beat story that successfully combines history, travel and personal adventure. 35,000 first printing; author tour. (May)