Feature

Exploring the West's land sculptures -- made by artists and industry

A land-art-inspired ramble takes the writer from Michael Heizer's Double Negative, to Robert Smithson's underwater Spiral Jetty, with detours to places including the Bingham Canyon copper mine.

The Atlas of the Industrial West

An annotated map shows you how to find some of the West's odder sites, such as old bombing ranges, giant dams, huge industrial projects and giant telescope arrays.

The Quileute Reservation copes with tourists brought by "Twilight"

At La Push, Wash., the small but vital Quileute Indian Nation copes with tourists brought by the popular Twilight books and movies.

Current

Western travel tips

The travelers at High Country News offer some hard-earned advice for Western adventurers.

Three days in southwest New Mexico

Santa Fe may be too ritzy for its britches, but the funky, far-flung towns of southern New Mexico still have that special "spice" that makes the state unique.

Faraway, favorite and less-than-famous places

Staffers and subscribers briefly describe some of their favorite outdoor hangouts in the West.

Three days in eastern Montana

A saunter through the grasslands of eastern Montana brings interesting encounters with cowboys, bull-riders, small-towners and BLM rangers, not to mention wildlife and endless skies.

Three days in western Nevada

A lot of places call themselves "gateway cities," but Reno, Nev., is truly the gateway to a lot of strange and amazingly gorgeous places.

Three days in the Four Corners

A loop around the Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet, leads into a land of both historical and geological friction.

Editor's Note

Our first travel issue

We're all tourists in someone else's town, all of us just wandering through the world, so why not do a special issue on travel in the West?

Dear Friends

High Country News skips an issue

HCN skips issue; board meeting, intern reunion and reader potluck; growing our readership; breakfast in Bozeman; farewell to Ed Quillen; correction.

Book Reviews

A review of Elevating Western American Art

In Elevating Western American Art, editor Thomas Brent Smith brings together essays and photos describing how the Petrie Institute at the Denver Art Museum was developed and showcasing its wonders.

Essays

Tracking Ice Age people in Oregon

Craig Childs goes time-traveling in the buttes and basins of south-central Oregon, and ponders signs of early human occupation.

Shooting at The Gun Store in Las Vegas

Move over, Elvis impersonators, and step aside, blackjack. Machine gun rentals just may be the next big entertainment fix in Sin City.