‘Til We Meet Again
“I met an old buddy of yours,” I told my uncle Dan. He received the news as I expected he would, since he lies six feet beneath the granite marker that bears the name Daniel W. Drake. There was a … Read More
Cut your cookie
Of all the Joplin icons—Langston Hughes, Bonnie and Clyde, Route 66—I never put mining on the list. But that’s how Joplin got its start back in 1873. I sought to uncover the boomtown you won’t see from the interstate, the … Read More
Boonslick
Drove into Howard County, which originally covered the entire northeast quadrant of the state. Missouri lawmakers eventually carved 29 Missouri counties from its sprawling flanks. But even the slimmed-down Howard County packs a history: The ubiquitous Boone Family. Trail enthusiast … Read More
Two Tom Cats, the Westminster Poets
They grew up a half block from each other. Two of the world’s greatest purveyors of felinity—one associated with New Orleans cats, the other with London cats—spent their wonder years on Westminster Street. Both left this street more than a … Read More
Van Gogh Dakota
Always wanted to drive through a Van Gogh painting. South Dakota may be as close as we get. Endless acres of sunflowers, blooms big as your head. Along a roadside papered with Wall Drug signs, two museum billboards stood close … Read More
Custerfluck
It was a butt-clenching rollercoaster ride on the Black Hills backroad to a park named for a man best-known for getting slaughtered. Halfway up the twisting mountain road to the park, our journey resembled a Custerfluck. Swollen rain clouds shrouded … Read More
It was a close call on Route 66, one that made us shudder. We had escaped Texas and crossed into the Land of Enchantment at the spot where New Mexico’s vista opens up like a Georgia O’Keefe flower. As we … Read More
More Cowgirl
We heard about the cowgirl who stands beside her headless cowboy. Did she decapitate him? Or does she stand beside her man in his time of need? We set out to solve the mystery. Along the way we discovered more … Read More