Where There's Room to Roam

Time to head 'em up and move 'em out. A big wide country awaits in our Travel Guide to the West.

Of all the subjects we cover, this one is the most inexhaustible. When it comes to providing travel coverage of the 17 Western states, no amount of discussion and description will ever do the region justice. But that won't keep us from trying, nor will it keep us from coming back, and we hope it's the same way for you, neighbor. So here we go again for another of our one-of-a-kind jaunts through God's Country. See if we, and the West, don't surprise you yet again.

Arizona

Uncharted Territory
Southeastern Arizona isn't as well known as the Grand Canyon, but shouldn't be missed. “Rattlesnakes have the right of way,” the sign on the hiking trail warns. Hey, you don't have to tell me twice. Luckily, I find no serpents on the hike to Fort Bowie National Historic Site. I don't find many tourists either. I do find the ruins of the old Overland Stage station, shady Arizona walnut trees, cold drinking water, and a friendly park ranger at the fort, now crumbling adobe walls, that saw significant action between 1862 and 1894...

California

Golden State Dreams
There's more in California's crown than Hollywood jewels. Within the outstretched arms of California's coastal grasp lies a land of contrast, from the great Mojave Desert and its Joshua tree groves to the giant Sequoia redwood forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States, bids comers of all ages to its many trails, including the famous 212-mile John Muir Trail that follows the Sierra spine from Yosemite Valley to Whitney's 14,495-foot summit...

Colorado

Prairie Promises
It stood on the prairie like a weary man's hope—a promise of refuge and rest, a cool drink, a friendly face. I imagined it looked much the same in 1833—an adobe fort that served as trading post for trappers and Plains Indians; a supply stop for the likes of John Fremont, the U.S. Cavalry, and myriad westward travelers...

Idaho

Railroad Ranch and Pierre's Hole
Early in the 20th century Union Pacific Railroad magnate Edward Harriman owned what has become Railroad Ranch in northeastern Idaho but he never spent any time here. After his death, though his widow, Mary, and their two sons, Roland and Averill, visited the ranch during the summer. Eventually, in 1977, the family donated the ranch to the State of Idaho and it became Harriman State Park...

Kansas

Variations on a Squiggle
I've loved Kansas for almost 60 years for reasons that include the Geodetic Survey; out where I grew up in the central part of the state the roads run due-north, straight-east at ideal one-mile intervals. But my favorite rectangle goes all snaky up in its far northeastern corner...

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