Yosemite Valley is a magical place where pioneers have visited since the mid-1800s. People still travel here to dine in a snow-covered Christmas....
Yummy Yosemite
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Art, Guns and Culture
Norman Rockwell’s Duke
In 1973, John Wayne sat inside Norman Rockwell’s studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, so the artist could paint a portrait of the actor. The...
The Boss Drink
Pioneers were sipping ice cream soda waters as early as the 1860s, but ice cream sodas wouldn’t come along until the next decade. Ice cream soda...
Old West Reproductions — the Devil is in the Detail
Among the very best companies offering replicas of mid-to late-19th-century assorted cowboy gear is Old West Reproductions, Inc., in Florence,...
The Thirsty Trapper
When the hammer fell at $1.5 million on July 28, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction tied with Sotheby’s New York on the highest auction price paid for an...
Tejano History Under One Roof
The entire history of early Texas—from a Spanish viceroyalty, to ownership by Mexico, to the Republic of Texas to statehood—was lived by the man who...
Horrors of Stage Station Grub
By the 1850s, gold rush fever inspired more and more pioneers to board concord coaches and make their way West. The stagecoach held nine...
A Real Western Colt in the Reel West
It’s a firearms collector’s dream to find a gun that is well documented to have been owned or used by someone famous, or was involved in a...
Lone Ranger’s Iconic Saddle
Western Americana saddles are more than just a piece of horse equipment. When coupled with beautiful craftsmanship and outstanding ownership, they...
Return to Fort Apache
One could argue there is enough negative about the history of Fort Apache that people might not want to come,” Karl Hoerig admits. “It’s a...
Mexican Marvels
The cuisine of Mexican natives living in the frontier West did not appear on menus in most restaurants or hotels. Victorian pioneers considered it...
History in Ink
What a difference an autograph makes. Last September, a collector successfully bid $6,500 at Cowan’s Auctions for a photograph from the Eric C....