As eluded to in the last, I was led to this “what the…?" moment by a friend of the family who has traveled extensively in Nicaragua. My...

For many on the East Coast of the United States during the California Gold Rush, sailing around Cape Horn was a very popular option...

In our modern life of being able to communicate instantly, it is hard to imagine that historically, it could take as long as six months...

I’ve touched on the political and nationalism ambitions of President Polk when he took office, especially when it came to Mexico’s...

Technology is everywhere. Most of us wouldn’t be able to function without it in our lives. As a late baby boomer, I remember the first...

I’ve mentioned, in earlier blogs, my joy when I stumble upon a new idea or inspiration befitting my story’s time period of which I was...

I’ve written some pretty heavy blogs of late so I thought it might be refreshing for all of us to explore a lighter subject, one that...

A trip to Newbu

One benefit about having our children go to college out-of-state was the opportunity to visit them when they had a break and didn’t want...

As a twentieth-century girl, seeing a woman astraddle on horseback is a common sight. But, in 1849, when horseback travel was reserved...

It is hard to imagine in our world today, that there was actually such a thing as The Cult of True Womanhood. This article, by Barbara...

In our modern time, coverture isn’t an everyday word. Its implications do still affect us but not nearly like they did in the 17th, 18th,...

In most of our lifetimes, we have had the benefit of the Federal Reserve System, created in 1913, to provide the United States with a...

Keeping in the theme of the mid-1800s western migration, there’s another migration that gets little attention now, although it was, at...

As a land steward, I understand the feeling that comes with knowing that the land you derive your living from is personally owned. No one...

As we all know, our world is driven, many times, by reaction. Today we find ourselves reacting to Tweets and the 24-hour news cycle, our...

Growing up in the San Juan Mountains, where rivers and streams start their journeys, it wasn’t until I started my story’s research that I...

One of the reasons I was excited to start this blog was to help give context for the time and place of my story to my readers. Prologues,...

When not on actual trips of discovery, I’m in my mountain cabin, laptop, books and papers scattered all around the arcs of my rocking...

History makes me curious, I can’t help it. Why did people do the things they did? What drove them or inhibited them? What about all those...