The Grand Canyon State has been my adopted home for most of my life. When anyone asks me about touring the beautiful southwestern state, I always...
The Grand Canyon State
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Features & Gunfights
Owen Wister’s Wyoming
Owen Wister’s The Virginian, A Horseman of the Plains, published in 1902, considered to be the first Western novel, is about a black-haired Wyoming...
10 Earp Vendetta Ride Myths
1) Thanks to Hollywood, most people think that the so-called “Vendetta Posse” was assembled after the death of Morgan Earp in March 1882. Wyatt,...
Cattle Call
Since moving to Texas over 15 years ago, I have traveled many miles on the trail of the state’s history and the rich heritage of its cattle culture....
Sins of the Father
In 1864, an irascible 51-year-old Nicholas Earp proclaimed himself a wagonmaster and offered to lead a group of Iowa emigrants to California. Sarah...
Nebraska’s Outlaw Trail
Early law and order came not from lawmen, but citizens, in what is now Nebraska. When the wagon trains left Independence and St. Joseph, Missouri,...
The Spark that Launched the Vendetta Ride
March 18, 1882 A one-night showing of the play Stolen Kisses is being staged at the Turnverein Hall, north of Schieffelin Hall. It has been...
Nevada’s Silver Roots
What do San Francisco real estate, George Hearst, Mark Twain, the Civil War and the Nobel Peace Prize have in common? The answer: Nevada’s famous...
Mormon War’s Grand Views
With a blast of the steam whistle, a small steamboat cast off from California’s Fort Yuma during the early days of 1858 to explore the Colorado...
Custer’s Gold
“GOLD!” proclaimed Dakota Territory’s Bismarck Tribune, August 12, 1874. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s Black Hills expedition had discovered...
The Brutal Truth About Most Billy the Kid Wannabes
We get a “new” Billy the Kid photo sent to us almost every week. The photo of the cocky-looking gent on the opposite page is a good example. Some...
Oatman Genesis
Did John Moss, friend of Mohave leader Irataba, name the Oatman mine and, hence, the town after Olive Oatman? Or was the town originally called...