If 2020 taught us anything as readers of Western history and fiction, it was that we depend on our storytellers to help us endure hard times....
The Best of the West: Western Books
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Features & Gunfights
The Best of the West: Heritage Travel
For millions of would-be travelers to the American West, 2020 will be remembered as the year that might have been. For those who did venture...
The Best of the West: Western Preservation
My Favorites of 2020 Thank You for Helping Me Through 2020 There aren’t many jobs in which you’re lucky enough to make friends as you work out of...
Truth Be Known
Old Vaquero Saying “No matter how early you rise, the dawn comes no earlier.” Quotes “Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit.”...
The Best of the West: Western Fare
Historic restaurants and saloons keep the spirit of the West alive, and some offer a mean steak. Denver, Colorado, is home to the famous Buckhorn...
The Best of the West: Firearms
What a helluva year 2020 was! While the past 12 months will be remembered in largely negative terms, there have been a handful of firearms...
The Best of the West: True Westerner of the Year
Do you remember the first time you read Paul Andrew Hutton? He immediately captured my interest and imagination with his double-barreled literary...
The Best of the West: Western Wear
One hundred years ago, on June 20, 1921, boot maker Charles H. Hyer died in Olathe, Kansas. Mr. Hyer and his family had moved to the Eastern Kansas...
California Joe: Great Scout and Plainsman
“Who was California Joe?” asked J.W. Buel in his Heroes of the Plains published in 1882, for Joe’s origin was as much a mystery to his...
Trapped! 31 Mexican Vaqueros VS Geronimo
Patricio Valenzuela, the hacendado (ranch owner) of the Agua Fria hacienda, eight miles east of Cucurpe in Sonora, Mexico, is alerted by his...
Red, White, and Black: The US Army in the West 1866-1891
After four years of fighting, the Civil War ended. The victorious Union Army soon disbanded, leaving behind a small force of regulars to such...
On the History Trail with the Old Bison: A Memoir
I first met Robert M. Utley in May 1977. He came to Bloomington to receive a Distinguished Alumni Service Award from Indiana University. I...