The artists will be documenting the journey through social media, blogging and other channels, and it will be shared during the 75th anniversary celebration of "The Grapes of Wrath" next year.

"There are so many similarities to what people were facing back in the `30s and what they're facing today," Bailey said, noting environmental challenges and the economy. "We've just been through the Great Recession and I'm not sure we're really all the way through it, so really to hear what people have suffered and what inspires them to keep them moving forward in these times of challenges."

The group is looking for stories from a diverse cross section of people — young and old, rich and poor. In Oklahoma, stories from Native America will be important, Bailey said.

Different organizations and groups will be holding events in conjunction with the journey. A vintage car show will take place on Oct. 5 in Oklahoma City, while live music will be a part of the journey when the group stops in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 9.

Wakida, the writer and historian, will be teaching linoleum-carving and printing during the journey, as well as conducting oral histories with people she encounters. As a fourth-generation Japanese-American who grew up in California's Central Valley, Wakida said the Joad family's forced migration mirror her family's experience.

During World War II, both her mother and father were forced into American internment camps.

"Those unseen circumstances that can change your destiny are seen throughout American history and are reminders to us all that the cycles of economics, prejudice and the need to participate in a democratic society are always with us," she said.

Wakida said she hopes to provide people with a chance to share their history and how they overcome obstacles like high unemployment, droughts and floods, health care woes and more.

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Retracing Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath' Journey to Record Today's Hard Times