American Countryside

I recently visited a very interesting store in southwestern Wyoming.  You'll find quite a price range – everything from twenty-five cents to over $20,000.  So...

The soft stone of southwestern Wyoming preserves the story of what this area looked like eons ago.  It is unique geology that draws people here…

It's the largest natural lake wholly within the state of California – a beautiful spot that take some effort to reach, but you are rewarded...

Many of us had a lunchbox when we were growing up.  Debbie did as well, but when her mom tossed hers, she needed to get...

A witness can be a very important part of building a case.  And in this case, the witness is not a person, but rather two...

In a swamp in rural Arkansas you'll find a point that literally impacts life and property in several midwestern states.  Today the site sits is...

There are about 530 million acres in the Louisiana Purchase that the United State acquired from France in 1803.  The process of surveying that ground...

Certain jobs have their own vocabulary, which is understandable to those who work there but gibberish to everyone else.  This is one such place…

In the northwest corner of the state of Washington you will find Olympic National Park.  It's beautiful scenery encompasses most of the Olympic peninsula of...

Thomas Jefferson helped write the Declaration of Independence, but he wasn't happy with the final product. Why was Jefferson grinding his teeth and not talking...

Thomas Jefferson took an important role in writing our declaration of independence, but most people don't know he wasn't even supposed to be in Philadelphia...

It's a sate park like none other – a place where your entrance fee allows you the chance to find something far more valuable that...

The Arkansas state license plate has a picture of a diamond on it.  That is mostly due to a famous crater that was full of...

When you think of state where you can find volcanoes you probably aren't thinking of this spot.  However, it's this place that started a diamond...

It remains the worth disaster in U.S. maritime history.  Add to the tragedy the fact that many of the dead were young soldiers being transported...

It was the early morning hours of April 27th, 1865.  The steamboat Sultana was overcrowded, bearing a load of souls over five times it's capacity. ...

As the Civil War drew to a close in April of 1865, there was a massive job to return prisoners of war back to their...

In 1912 he was proclaimed the world's greatest athlete and some of his Olympic records from that year still stood two decades later.  He was...

When you think of historically great collegiate football programs, names like Notre Dame, Penn State and Alabama might come to mind.  Most people don't name...

Imagine you had invented a new type of rifle that could be helpful to the U.S. military.  How would you go about selling your device? ...

In the 1880s, stagecoaches brought dozens of people each day to a boom town called Tombstone.  But it was a cycle of boom and bust...

When this man set out to find his fortune he was told he'd need to dig his grave when he got there.  He decided to...

In the 1930s, it became the largest lake in the world. Interestingly, that record-setter was nestled in the undeveloped forest land of the Midwest…

This city park is over five times the size of Central Park in New York City.  People not only come here to enjoy nature and...

This town was founded on sawdust – in some cases quite literally.  While the mill and the homes are gone, one important building remains and...

At the Parkin Archeological Park in Arkansas you can see a piece of wood that is believed to be a part of a cross erected...

Long before European explorers first arrived in North America, Native American villages dotted the landscape of present day Arkansas.  One of the largest and finest...

Each May in Angels Camp, California, thousands of people will come to witness a contest that could pay a winner $20,000.  It's a fun event...

In 1865 Mark Twain came to Angels Camp, California.  A tale he heard, or perhaps one he made up, became one he shared with others...

It's known as the Old Stone Fort, but using the tern “fort” is perhaps a bit liberal.  While the structure was strong, it served other...

When a small store in Chico, California decided to have some fun and create a local yo yo contest, they never imagined what it might...

Imagine a yo you so large you needed a crane to lift it.  That's exactly what this man created and the stunt helped his innovations...

We've all seen them.  Many of us played with them as a toy.  Perhaps you didn't know it's origin and that there is a museum...

There's a smell coming from the place Pete works.  It's an odor that actually attracts rather than repels people, for those smells are from some...

There was a time when cattle ranchers and sheep herders clashed, sometimes violently, in the western U.S.  This town saw it's share of unfriendly encounters...

In the fall of 1879, an unfortunate set of events led to a clash between Native Americans and white settlers in northwestern Colorado.  Several men...

In western Colorado you'll find the town of Meeker.  It's the surname of a family sent here in the 1870s for a job with the...

He is a man of legend…a man whose story may be larger than life…a renegade who history now looks upon as a catalyst to the...

It was the site of events that would change the history of this nation and in turn influence the world.  While the town is now...

Wendover, Utah is home to a closed air base that still has many features of the days when it was in operation.  In fact, this...

As World War II raged in Europe and in the Pacific, scientists worked to develop a nuclear weapon that could end that war.  Part of...

When you head west from Salt Lake City you cross the Salt Lake Desert and the first town you'll come to is on the state...

Many Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo every May, but the date does not garner as much attention in Mexico.  So why does the commemoration of...

Southeast of Sacramento you'll find many towns that trace their roots to the gold rush days of the late 1840s.  One such town is Columbia,...

Most people don't look at a road atlas these days when they need to go somewhere.  However, if you visit Baker, Montana, you might appreciate...

Most steers don't live to the age of 15 years old.  When one does, well, there's probably an interesting story behind him.  That's the case...

In the 1920s and 30s, one farmer in southeastern Montana was raising some of the largest steers the country had ever seen.  In fact, one...

Within the boundaries of one of northwest Louisiana's larger cities, you'll find an old fort.  It was this outpost around which today's city grew and...

In northwestern Louisiana you'll find lands once the home to the Caddo Nation.  When the first European explorers came here, they soon developed a trading...

John Sellers says the key to winning an old-west shootout was not quickness, but accuracy.  And when you take into account how difficult it was...

In a movie “western” you might see two gunslingers fire their pistols at each other in the town square.  That's exactly what happened here.  It...