Journal
Gear reviews, how-to, and reporting from the Wyoming backcountry.
Cheyenne Frontier Days Tickets: What They Cost and How to Buy Them
Rodeo seats, Frontier Nights concerts, carnival armbands, gate admission, parking, and Season Ticket Clubs. What is published, what is not, and where to buy without getting burned.
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Boots & ApparelWhat to Wear to Cheyenne Frontier Days
A July afternoon in an open aluminum grandstand at 6,000 feet, then a 55-degree night. What actually works at Frontier Days, what gets turned away at the gate, and what marks you as a tourist.
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DestinationsCody, Wyoming Attractions: What to Actually Do, With Current Prices
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the nightly rodeo, Old Trail Town, the dam in Shoshone Canyon, and the road to Yellowstone's East Gate. Hours, admission, and how many days each one really takes.
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EventsThe Wyoming State Fair in Douglas: A Working Guide
Five days in Douglas every August: ranch rodeo, two PRCA nights, breakaway roping, a fire-department demolition derby, and the junior livestock barns. Dates, grandstand prices, carnival wristbands, and what is free.
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Heritage GearPendleton Blankets: Which to Buy for Ranch, Camp, and Bedroll
The National Park blanket and the Yakima Camp Throw are built differently. Here is which one belongs on your bunk versus in your saddlebag, and what more than a century of the Bishop family's mills has to do with it.
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Backcountry SafetyWyoming Backcountry: The Safety Gear That Actually Matters
Wyoming SAR teams average 300+ missions a year. The gear that matters most is simpler than most people think: a satellite communicator, a bear canister, a water filter, and matches that work in wind.
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Heritage GearThe Wyoming Trail Kitchen: Camp Cooking from the Chuckwagon Forward
Lodge has been casting iron in Tennessee since 1896, and the logic of Wyoming backcountry cooking hasn't changed much either. What to buy, how to use it at altitude, and why the old tools are still the right tools.
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HistoryThe Bozeman Trail and the Fetterman Fight: Wyoming's Forgotten War
In 1866, the U.S. Army built three forts to protect the Bozeman Trail through Lakota hunting grounds. Two years later, the Lakota had won, the forts were burned, and the trail was closed.
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HistoryBuffalo Bill Cody: The Man Who Sold the West to the World
William F. Cody was a Pony Express rider, Army scout, bison hunter, town founder, and the most famous American on earth at his peak. The full biography, with the myths sorted out.
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EventsCheyenne Frontier Days: What to See, Where to Stay, and What to Skip
Cheyenne Frontier Days 2027 runs July 23 to August 1. Ten days of rodeo, parades, free pancake breakfasts and night shows: what to see, where to stay, what to skip.
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HistoryChief Washakie: The Eastern Shoshone Leader Who Shaped Wyoming
Washakie led the Eastern Shoshone for half a century, allied his people with the U.S. Army in the Great Sioux War, and negotiated the Wind River reservation they still hold. The biography.
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HistoryEsther Hobart Morris and Wyoming's First-in-the-Nation Women's Suffrage
Wyoming Territory granted women the vote in 1869, fifty years before the 19th Amendment. Esther Hobart Morris became the first woman to hold judicial office in the United States. Here's the story.
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HistoryHeart Mountain: The Wyoming Camp Where Nearly 14,000 Japanese Americans Were Held
Between 1942 and 1945, Heart Mountain in northern Wyoming held nearly 14,000 Japanese Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, imprisoned by their own government. The interpretive center and what it tells us today.
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HistoryThe Johnson County War: How Wyoming's Cattle Barons Lost the Range
In April 1892, Wyoming's largest cattle barons hired a private army to invade Johnson County and kill suspected rustlers. They lost. The Johnson County War broke the cattle barons' political power.
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HistoryTom Horn: Stock Detective, Range Killer, Hanged in Cheyenne 1903
Tom Horn was an Army scout, Pinkerton man, and stock detective who killed range-war suspects for cattle barons. His 1902 trial for the murder of Willie Nickell remains contested.
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Wyoming Travel9 Classic Wyoming Dive Bars Still Worth the Stop
From the Mint Bar's neon sign in Sheridan to the cherrywood back-bar at the Irma in Cody, the working short list of Wyoming saloons that have outlasted three generations of fads.
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Wyoming Travel8 Wyoming Ghost Towns Worth the Drive
South Pass City, Atlantic City, Miner's Delight, Jeffrey City, and four more genuine Wyoming ghost towns. Where they are, what's left, and what they tell us about boom-and-bust Wyoming.
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HorsemanshipWyoming Horse Breeds: What Actually Works in Working Mountain Country
Quarter horses, Mustangs, mules, and gaited stock. An honest assessment of what each is good for in Wyoming's working mountain country, and why.
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Wyoming TravelWyoming Hot Springs You Can Actually Soak In: Fees, Seasons, Access
Where to soak in Wyoming: the free State Bath House in Thermopolis, Saratoga's 24-hour Hobo Pool, Granite and Astoria near Jackson, with fees, seasons, and what's closed.
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Wyoming Travel10 Wyoming Roadside Oddities Worth Pulling Over For
From the Smith Mansion (a five-story hand-built wooden tower outside Cody) to Tree in the Rock and the Lincoln Memorial Head on I-80, the working list of Wyoming roadside curiosities you can hit on a long drive.
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Wyoming TravelWyoming's 9 Best Scenic Byways, Ranked by What's Actually Worth the Drive
From the Beartooth Highway (Charles Kuralt's pick for America's most beautiful drive) to the Snowy Range and Cloud Peak Skyway, the working short list of Wyoming scenic byways with elevations, season windows, and what to stop for.
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Boots & ApparelWestern Belt Buyer's Guide: Leather, Weight, Buckles, Brands
How to pick a Western belt that lasts: bridle leather from the big U.S. tanneries, the right thickness in ounces, solid brass buckles, real tooling, sizing, and three picks.
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Gear ComparisonsDuluth Pack vs Frost River vs Red Clouds Collective: Heritage Canvas Packs Compared
Three American canvas pack makers compared: Duluth Pack's 1882 canoe pack, Frost River's broad Duluth-made line, and Red Clouds Collective's Portland workshop, with a pick by use.
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Heritage GearHand-Tooled Leather: How Real Western Leatherwork Is Made
Real hand-tooling is hours of work with a swivel knife, mauls, and dozens of specialized stamps. Here's the process, the makers, and how to spot the real thing.
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Gear ComparisonsA Buyer's Guide to Heritage Camping Bedrolls in 2026
Real bedrolls, canvas tarps wrapped around wool blankets, beat modern sleeping bags for horseback camps and base camps. Here's how to pick one, build one, or buy one.
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Heritage GearHeritage Enamelware: Why It Outlasts Every Modern Alternative
Porcelain enamel on steel is glass fused to metal, and the basic recipe has barely changed in two centuries. Why an enamel mug outlasts its alternatives, and how to tell good enamelware from bad.
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Boots & ApparelHow to Break In Rough-Out Cowboy Boots Without Ruining Them
Rough-out leather is suede on the outside, and the standard wet-and-walk method that works for smooth leather will mat the nap forever. Here's the right way.
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LeatherThe 5-Minute Leather Care Routine Worth Doing Twice a Year
If you can spare twelve minutes twice a year, your leather goods will last far longer. The minimum effective routine, with no jargon.
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Gift GuidesThe Ranch Wife's Gift Guide: Western Goods She Actually Wants
Gifts a working ranch woman will use for years: wool blankets, lined work gloves, leather journals, enamelware, tooled belts, a good pocketknife, and the gifts to skip.
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Gear ComparisonsWaxed Canvas vs Oiled Leather: Which to Choose for Wet-Weather Camps
Both shrug off rain. They wear differently, weigh differently, and fail differently. Here's how to pick between them for bags, jackets, and bedrolls.
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Heritage GearThe Possibles Bag: Frontier Origins, Modern Uses, and How to Build Your Own
A possibles bag was the trapper's everyday-carry: tinder, flint, lead, patches, jerky, and whatever else the day might possibly require. The form has barely changed in 200 years.
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HistoryWhat Is a Trading Post? A History of Frontier Commerce in the American West
A trading post was the frontier's general store, diplomatic outpost, and credit bureau rolled into one. Here's how they worked, who ran them, and why a few still stand.
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Heritage GearBuilding a Working-Ranch First Aid Kit
Cuts, hoof punctures, eye injuries, hypothermia, and snakebite. The actual gear that belongs in the kit on the back porch and in the truck.
