A writer ponders a remnant of past disaster.
People & Places
Posted inArticles
How smokejumpers prepare for wildfire season
Photos of the rigorous training this special type of firefighter endures.
Posted inArticles
Economic downturns fuel Sagebrush Rebellion events
Natural resource-dependent rural economies help explain why disputes happen where they do.
Posted inArticles
Sieges like the Oregon standoff turn the rural West into a political stage
The armed protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon have indicated that they will leave if the locals so desire. Well, it’s time for them to go: Harney County residents, who just held a huge community meeting about this invasion, seemed to heartily agree that they want the vigilantes to pack their […]
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: A Christmas tree grows in the Nevada desert
The pinyon offers an alternative to artificial or commercially farmed trees.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Year in review at Triangle P
Coconut the elk, Clem the colt and big dreams for next year.
Posted inArticles
12 stories from the archives you should read now
A look at our writers’ favorite stories of all time, as our 45th anniversary draws to a close.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
The story behind a saved cienega in New Mexico
A rancher fights to protect a restored wetland against torrential rain and other threats.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
Pet the nipping pup and hide your newcomer roots: tips from a failed campaign.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
The Corps of Discovery, after the apocalypse
Review of Benjamin Percy’s “The Dead Lands.”
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
The mysteries of the everyday
A writer and her family court the unknown.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
Western nativism has a rotten odor
Back in my railroad days, we often said that something had “a bad smell.” “I smell a bad order!”— lingo for a car that was rolling wrong and needed to be removed from the train. The alarm was shouted down from the conductor up in the “angel’s seat” in the caboose, back when a person actually […]
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Building human connections from a remote ranch
Passing on knowledge is crucial to our way of life.
Posted inArticles
He didn’t die with dignity (so I threw a party)
My father’s recent death was not beautiful, and neither were any of the other deaths I’ve witnessed of late. This has left me wondering about a better path. Death is not easy, to be sure, but these were made particularly painful by medical interventions — or perhaps I witnessed the confusion between saving a life […]
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Playing the Alaska card
A native of the state explains the short-lived social power the state gives.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Why being a good neighbor is a good idea
Researchers look to Southwestern ranchers to learn why we share — and what happens when we don’t.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Will the Little Shell Tribe finally be recognized?
The tribe’s complex history has slowed federal approval of the tribe. A new rule could change that.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Latest: Anti-gay stance spurs exodus from Mormon Church
The church has a history of anti-gay actions.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Getting injured on the job
I went through a lot of Ibuprofen and some serious self-doubt; then I sucked it up and got back on my horse.
Posted inArticles
Can roads designed for cars be safe for bikes?
Pam Jahnke was riding her bike on a section of Highway 89 near Lake Tahoe, in an area where Caltrans, California’s road and bridge department, had just installed a new storm-drainage system. “The minute my tire hit the drain, I was air-bound and smacked down on the pavement in the middle of the road.” she […]