Vantage Points
To travel the West is to grasp a greater vision.

By Cathy Orr
 
It's a fact that one of the focal points of travel in the West is the land and that one of the major concerns for those who live here is the loss of it. Wide-open spaces practically define the American West, a geographic area in which one "residence," a ranch for instance, could comprise hundreds of thousands of acres. While the threats to open space preservation are ongoing, there's still plenty to see and explore, plenty to admire, photograph, and paint.

Fortunately, there have been those individuals-Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir for example-who, through foresight, recognized the unique and inherent value of a landscape unadulterated by the pock marks of mankind's "progress." Acting not as romantic idealists, but vigilant caretakers, they saw a need to preserve a large enough portion of the West that it might be a veriest example to posterity of what pioneers experienced when they first glimpsed the immensity of mountain and plain.

Today's national parks, monuments, and forests preserve these vestiges of the West they knew, serving for us as a veritable three-dimensional work of art that continues to inspire all who visit and live here. If you've never trod that path, you have the two-dimensional images of Western artists and photographers to whet your appetite for adventure and romance. But the one truly satisfying moment comes only when you see the real thing.

New Mexico
By Bob Willis
Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and their peers departed these vales long ago, but a certain Old West mystique lingers. Situated high atop the pine covered Sacramento Mountains of southeast New Mexico, the clocks seem to tick more slowly, leaving you time to explore the small village of Cloudcroft and especially its unique gift and craft shops that showcase locally made products. And in the surrounding Lincoln National Forest you can walk the extraordinarily beautiful Rails-to-Trails, other pristine trails, and some back roads too.

If you'd like to capture the true flavor of Cloudcroft, spend a night or two at The Lodge, dating back to 1899. Pancho Villa, Judy Garland, and Clark Gable spent time here. So did Rebecca, the enchanting red-haired chambermaid whose blue-eyed spirit is said to still wander the halls. Is The Lodge haunted? Hmm. See for yourself, then let me know.

For you trailriders, the CK Ranch and Trail Rides near Cloudcroft, a small family-owned rustic ranch resort, is just about eight miles from the heart of the village. To board your horses you'll need to provide appropriate travel and health certificates, so it'd be a good idea to call ahead for information. There are thousands of acres for quiet, mind-clearing riding-the area touts itself as being "9,000 feet above stress level."

Dyed-in-the-wool cowboys-and those that love them-won't want to miss the Hubbard Museum of the American West at nearby Ruidoso Downs. The museum houses more than 10,000 items relating to the horse and the American West, and the well-known Anne C. Stradling Museum of the Horse also is located here. It contains an outstanding collection of bits, spurs, saddles, and bridles from around the world, and the collection of carriages and horse-drawn wagons spans hundreds of years.

Ruidoso is a wonderful high country town situated between Cloudcroft and Lincoln. Nearby Ruidoso Downs is home to the world's most famous Quarter Horse track. Well-known Native American and Western sculptor Dave McGary created Free Spirits at Noisy Water, a "must see" larger-than-life bronze of seven horses.

Historic Lincoln is less than 40 miles down the road but well worth the drive. It is a retreat into Western history. The Lincoln County Courthouse, once the Murphy Store, is still intact, as well as lots of other buildings in the old town area. At the Anderson-Freeman Museum in the Historic Lincoln Visitor Center, you can purchase joint tickets for five museums in Lincoln plus the Hubbard Museum. You'll discover a treasure trove of artifacts relating to Billy the Kid, the Lincoln County Wars, the Buffalo Soldiers, and the Native American and Hispanic cultures that originally settled in the area.

If you drive the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway, you'll cover some of New Mexico's most historic lands. Head for the high country above the stress zone.

Oklahoma
By Jesse Mullins, Jr.
It has the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art on the American West. Do you know the name? It is the Gilcrease Museum, in Tulsa, Okla., and Western art doesn't get any better than this.

Why is the largest collection of Western art in Oklahoma? Sure, the state is a Western state, with a rich frontier history. But other states have their colorful Western histories as well. Why does Oklahoma have not just this but the fabulous Woolaroc Ranch, Museum, and Wildlife Preserve (near Bartlesville) and the spectacular National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, in Oklahoma City?

The answer lies in oil and gas. Here in the Sooner State, it was the pioneers and the frontiersmen who made the Western history, but it was the oil men who preserved it. This is particularly true in the case of the Gilcrease and Woolaroc, but true as well in the case of the National Cowboy Museum and numerous other institutions that, although not directly founded by oilmen, were certainly benefited by them.

The East Coast had its Rockefellers and Carnegies and other philanthropic industrialist/ capitalists, the Left Coast had its Hearsts and Hugheses and other media or Hollywood magnates, but in the states where oil and gas were king, it was the oilmen who were the prime benefactors of the culture. And it is the great fortune of folks in Oklahoma that these energy pioneers were appreciative of their Western heritage. It is somehow fitting, because the oilmen were largely the first-generation descendants of the ranchers, who were the descendants, largely, of the pioneers.

In the 1920s, when the oil boom was coming into its most glorious years, Tulsa was the oil capital and her leading businessmen all bore familiar names: Harry Sinclair, W.G. Skelly, Frank Phillips, Waite Phillips -most had last names that became famous on signs that towered above gas stations. J. Paul Getty was another. E.W. Marland was yet another of their kind-his company became known as Conoco.

Though Getty's fortune eventually funded the West Coast's Getty Museum, most of the others applied theirs to local causes. Marland, a Ponca City resident, left behind his 55-room Marland Mansion, now a museum. Frank Phillips bequeathed a fortune to maintain Woolaroc (named for "wood, lakes, rocks"), which had been his country estate and which today, despite its fame, might still be the best kept secret in Western culture. His brother Waite left behind Philbrook Museum of Art-not a "Western" museum, but one of the 60 finest art museums in America-and he founded Philmont, the famous Boy Scouts ranch in New Mexico.

In Tulsa there is the Gilcrease Museum, created by oilman Thomas Gilcrease. Within its walls are more than 10,000 works of fine art, including paintings, drawings, and sculpture, representing top works by such top names as Remington, Russell, Catlin, Moran, Bierstadt, and... well, the list goes on and on.

I grew up hearing that the Gilcrease had more Remingtons and Russells than any museum anywhere. A couple of years ago I asked someone there if that was still true. "We don't say that anymore," was all I was told. But I noticed that the fact was not denied.

Pat Schnake, director of communications for the museum, said that it's the Gilcrease's anthropology collection that catches people most by surprise. "We have more than 250,000 objects," Schnake said. "They're from all over the Western hemisphere. Artifacts, ceramics, Navajo rugs, and jewelry, right on up to contemporary works. People come expecting to just see Western art, and they're amazed by art from all over the Americas."