Most folks don’t begin their life’s work at the age of 12. Michael Gibson, owner of Appaloosa Trading Company in Durango, Colorado, isn’t like most...
Appaloosa Trading Company
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Art, Guns and Culture
Before Manifest Destiny
Before Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp were even born, bolder men put their mark on the American West. Known as fur traders and mountain men, these...
Trading Post Profiles
Buffalo Bill Cody founded the Irma Hotel in 1902, calling it “just the sweetest hotel that ever was.” Located in Cody, Wyoming, the town that the...
The Bull and the Backpacker
Some time back, my father and I herded a small bunch of cows onto the steep side of a mountain behind the small town of Chloride, Arizona. In the...
Hidalgo’s Hardware
In 2002, I worked on one of the hot new films of the season—Hidalgo, to be released in March 2004. This action packed Western is based on the legend...
Morris Publishing
If you write it, the publishers will come. Actually, that usually happens only in the movies ... and besides, the reference is to a baseball field...
Gun that Killed Jesse James Sets Record
Step aside Black Jack Ketchum, Bob Ford’s Smith & Wesson has hit your target. On November 9-10, 2003, Little John’s Auction Service’s firearms...
Four Rivers Cultural Center
At the turn of the 20th century, Oregon presented opportunities that gripped its culturally diverse newcomers. Upon seeing the soft rolling plains...
Paying Tribute to the Man in Black
This article was supposed to be all about singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell—from his arrival in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1972 to his new CD, Fate’s...
Trail Ride Couture
Riding the open range or a mountain trail on an organized trail ride may be as close to the Old West as a greenhorn can get. But look closely and...
Elkhorn Ranch
Many True West readers live in snow country, and perhaps you’re one of them. Chances are as you look up from these pages and out the window, the...
Storyteller of the Native American
Howard Terpning was in his 50s before becoming affectionately known as the “storyteller of the Native American,” an honor he holds close to his...