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TSA, Airlines Seek Alternatives To Pat Downs

2011-05-30T23:13:22Z

There's one thing that everyone agrees on ... airport pat downs have got to go.

After news of children being patted down, women complaining of assault from overzealous TSA officials, and rising complaints of privacy violations, alternatives are now being looked at to replace the controversial TSA program.

Careful Planning Makes Your Family’s Road Trip More Safe, Enjoyable

2010-02-01T01:00:18Z

Road trips are the perfect way to experience America and especially the wide open spaces of the West. But too often I find that when folks set out in their car, or even an RV, they don't plan for the trip in the same way they might if they were flying.

Road trips require the same amount of planning as flying and possibly more. First make sure the family car or RV is in good shape and serviced. Be sure and check tires and replace them if worn past recommended levels. It's a lot easier to get that tire replaced at your local tire shop than when you are stranded hundreds of miles from nowhere.

Death Valley: An Almost Mystical Place of Legends and Stories

2009-10-01T17:51:38Z

Keep a lookout for them as you drive the road to Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park. If you are watchful, you'll see the wagon tracks as they cut across the desert landscape and disappear into the distant hills.

Looking as fresh as yesterday, these tracks were made more than a hundred years ago by wagon trains seeking a shortcut to California. The tragedy of those early wagon trains is written all across the West.

Many Surprises Await at the National Museum of the American Indian (Part 2)

2009-07-18T22:22:19Z

The Indian culture on view at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. isn't what many expect. Take the newest exhibit this summer, "Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America" in the Sealaska Gallery. It has rare photographs and objects celebrating the skateboard in Native American life.

Bet you hadn't thought of that as an Indian sport.

A Must-See: the National Museum of the American Indian (Part 1)

2009-05-03T21:30:31Z

There are spectacular artifacts and stunning works of native art in the National Museum of the American Indian, located on the Mall in Washington D.C. But if you expect just great examples of art and artifacts, you'll miss the point.

This is a museum on a mission - to create a link between the past and the present and to reveal to the visitor the vibrant lives and cultures of native peoples of the Americas and how they live today. And that fits with our mission here at OldWestNewWest.Com Travel & History Magazine where we explore those links for all who enjoy the West, past and present.

This Old Nevada Boom Town Has Much for You to Explore

2009-03-14T20:23:51Z

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Virginia City, once a thriving Old West metropolis of some 30,000 residents located 24 miles east of Carson City and Reno, Nevada.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the city one of the 12 most distinctive destinations in America. Trust representatives presented the award at the historic Piper's Opera House.

Don’t Let The West Slip Through Your Fingers

2008-12-30T17:49:40Z

With 2008 (thankfully) in the record books, and a new year ahead of us, I'm sorry to say there remain news reports of government initiatives designed to make it easier to open wild lands and wilderness areas to mineral exploration and other uses. This news got me to thinking about the environment that makes up the West.

Before you think I'm going to extol the virtues of wilderness above all else, let me state that I believe in-and support-the multi-generational ranches that have contributed so much to the health of our range land. Family ranchers understand the need to protect the open range in ways that few others can grasp.

Spending a Weekend With Wild Mustangs

2008-11-29T19:13:44Z

My horse sensed them first. We were riding up a wash to a line cabin in the Nevada high desert, under a full moon that bathed the world in silvery light, when the horses whinnied and snorted.

I was out inspecting watering tanks and fences on a ranch. Up ahead in the gray shadows a stallion gathered his mares and foals and headed up the rise, hooves barely audible on the rocky soil. Keeping their distance from man and civilization, mustangs provide an echo of the Old West in ways like nothing else can.

The Old West Is Still Very Much Alive

2008-11-20T19:03:32Z

The year was 1979, and one hundred years earlier the Wawona Hotel had opened for business near California's Yosemite Valley. Back in those days, the place was known as Big Tree Station and accounts vary about just what buildings were where, but most historians agree that 1879 marked the year when the hotel began functioning on a regular basis.

Houston’s Old West Flavors Include Ninfa’s Sizzling Fajitas

2008-11-02T20:20:57Z

True, it might be the symbol for energy and excess, but Houston retains a flavor of the old West that can be a surprise for visitors. For among the glass-encased high-rises standing in testimony to the oil patch's wealth, there are vestiges of the real West.

Take Ninfa's; it's a local Mexican restaurant that is widely credited for popularizing fajitas, a Tex-Mex dish of meat and veg, typically served on a sizzling platter.