Kathy and I have maintained two separate blogs for the past few years, but the times are a changin. This will be my last Blog under Legends Tech, however I will leave the previous posts up for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I will be contributing to the official Legends Of America Blog (http://legendsofamerica.blogspot.com/), with interesting tidbits on what's new, featured travel spots and of course Kathy and I's wild travel adventures in the American West.
You can also join us on Facebook! Go to http://www.legendsofamerica.com/facebook.html and become a fan today!
Showing posts with label Old West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old West. Show all posts
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Friday, July 25, 2008
Cody to Livingston - The Yellowstone Experience - Day 2
We got up from our comfortable stay at the Holiday Inn in Cody Wyoming early Monday. There had been brief discussion the night before about staying in Cody two nights, but after looking at our plans again there was just too much to see in a short period of time. So we geeked a bit, then set out to see Cody, home of Buffalo Bill Cody, a true American Showman.
Sheridan Avenue is dotted with bears. Blue ones, yellow ones, red ones...bears in all poses,
carved out of wood and colorfully painted, then strategically placed along the sidewalks for visitors to enjoy. It was much like the horses of Amarillo, or the bulls of Chicago, and it added that extra touch to an already fun town. Kathy and I took the time to soak up the business district, winding up at the Irma Hotel. Built by Buffalo Bill in 1902, the Hotel is still active, and served up one hell of a breakfast buffet. Very beautifully kept, the hotel gives you a great feel for the old west. It's also said to be haunted. Kathy took great photos, and the one posted here of the bar is one of several. Only thing unique about this one is the fact there isn't an Orb in the picture before or after...just this one ;).
After breakfast it was on to the Buffalo Bill Historic Center, what I consider the crown jewel of Cody. This complex of museums was incredible. A full history of the legendary buffalo hunter, how he became such an internationally known showman, and how his famous show finally ended in the early 1900's. There's also the Whitney Art Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Museum of Natural History, which goes over Human interaction with Yellowstone National Park. If you're planning a visit to Cody, plan on at least two or three hours at the Historic Center. Lot's to see and this complex gets five stars in my book.
From the Historic center, we headed out Yellowstone Avenue, taking our next stop at the Museum of the Old West at Old Trail Town. This was an 'alright' stop, with several old west buildings lining a walking tour street. It's a good place to pause before heading up the road to our ultimate destination of the day, Yellowstone National Park.
Along the highway leading in there are signs warning you of Grizzly country ahead. If you plan on spending a lot of time in Yellowstone, or the area around it, you really should read up on what to do if you encounter one of these incredible creatures. Especially if you plan on camping out or hiking in the backwoods. Kathy and I were hoping to get a glimpse of one, but being late July, we think they had already migrated to higher elevations. In fact, we just happened to see a documentary on Yellowstone the night before at the hotel in Cody. It indicated that the bears moved above the tree lines in the highest elevations to feed off moths by late July, and that the best time to see them in the more accessible areas of the park were Spring and early Summer.
Wildlife still on our minds though, and we had camera's ready just in case. Poor Kathy, all we wound up with was the ass of a buffalo, a deer (we think), and some muskrats. Of course, we had an agenda to get to a hotel in Livingston Montana by that night, so we couldn't spend the quality time needed in Yellowstone to really experience the animals there. But we did experience the beauty, including of course Old Faithful. You really can't put the incredible awe of Yellowstone in words of a blog, so instead I'll just let you see for yourself with these pics.
Kathy and I don't do well with large crowds, so when we pulled into the parking lot of Old Faithful we had to prepare ourselves a bit. Definitely a main attraction, with at least a thousand people all heading toward the famous geyser. Since it goes off every 90 minutes, the crowds come in waves. We just happened to get there about 40 minutes from the next blow. I had our new video camera in hand and was ready at the switch. After making our way through the crowd we found a spot front and center, sitting on the edge of a platform in front of the seating with a clear view of the main attraction. I learned pretty quick that Old Faithful isn't always on time, and there were several false starts, which had me starting and stopping the damn camera at least 15 times. Of course, that meant when the real show started, I missed at least 7 seconds of the beginning thinking it was just another false start. Should've just put the camera on a tri-pod and let er roll.
After Old Faithfuls show of force, we migrated with the crowd to the historic Old Faithful Inn. From what I could see, this was an incredible hotel with gorgeous architecture, but it wasn't really enjoyable with the hundreds of others fighting their way through the lobby. Is there an off season for this place?
It was clouding up by the time we left Old Faithful, and sure enough it poured on us as we made our way out the North entrance to the park. We finally got ahead of the storm by the time we landed in Livingston at the Best Western there. Wind howling at what seemed like 50 to 60 mph, we bedded down for the night, fighting sporadic internet and wishing we had more time to play in Yellowstone. No time for regrets though...it's back to ghost towns and onward toward Butte. Tuesday would be our longest and most adventurous day yet. I'll post that story soon.
Friday, July 18, 2008
There's Treasure in Them There Hills
A good friend of mine pointed out this week that it's been a while since I posted a blog. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, but this summer is quickly sneaking by us at Legends of America, and I better catch up before it leaves me behind.
Readers of Legends of America are also busy dealing with the latest economics, politics and general mayhem 2008 is bringing, so the web site is starting to see a bit of a change in traffic. Primarily focused on travel to those out of the way places in the Old West and Route 66, the web site still draws thousands to read about places like Tombstone and Flagstaff, but readers are also starting to turn to treasure tales. Junes statistics saw just under 382,000 unique visitors, a 19% drop in traffic from May. Kathy tells me that's normal for summer months, but what caught my eye is the fact her treasure page has jumped into the top 10 most visited at number 8 in June (when excluding site search results and main page).
TOP 10 Pages in Legends of America - June 2008
Search Terms also reflect the increasing interest in treasure, with the term treasure hunting making it in the top 10 as well.
Top 10 Search phrases on Legends of America - June 2008
So maybe I should take a cue from the readers and consider doing some treasure hunting of my own. Could be a nice break from just taking pictures of Ghost Towns. Better check them rules though before I go, make sure I'm not upsetting any spirits or lawmen.
The rest of the summer is about to go at warp speed. Kathy and I spent most of June at Legends of America's future headquarters on the Lake of the Ozarks. Finally got a most of our landscaping done and now in the planning stages of building an additional office/garage for a shipping center. We have photo's of the latest work on our second home and I promise to post a link here as soon as they're up.
Tomorrow we fly out for a 10 day tour of Wyoming, Montana and all the incredible sites in-between. Definitely going to enjoy it as it promises to bring many new adventures. I'll be out of the loop most of August and September doing my corporate gig, but I'm sure Kathy will stay in the thick of things catching everyone up on our trip.
I'll try to post again within the next few days and let you know if I find any treasure in Yellowstone ;).
Readers of Legends of America are also busy dealing with the latest economics, politics and general mayhem 2008 is bringing, so the web site is starting to see a bit of a change in traffic. Primarily focused on travel to those out of the way places in the Old West and Route 66, the web site still draws thousands to read about places like Tombstone and Flagstaff, but readers are also starting to turn to treasure tales. Junes statistics saw just under 382,000 unique visitors, a 19% drop in traffic from May. Kathy tells me that's normal for summer months, but what caught my eye is the fact her treasure page has jumped into the top 10 most visited at number 8 in June (when excluding site search results and main page).
TOP 10 Pages in Legends of America - June 2008
Search Terms also reflect the increasing interest in treasure, with the term treasure hunting making it in the top 10 as well.
Top 10 Search phrases on Legends of America - June 2008
| 76616 different keyphrases | Search |
|---|---|
| route 66 | 4554 |
| jesse james | 3537 |
| la llorona | 1773 |
| robert ford | 1487 |
| dutch oven recipes | 1199 |
| geronimo | 910 |
| goldfield hotel | 735 |
| doc holiday | 553 |
| treasure hunting | 519 |
| old west | 512 |
So maybe I should take a cue from the readers and consider doing some treasure hunting of my own. Could be a nice break from just taking pictures of Ghost Towns. Better check them rules though before I go, make sure I'm not upsetting any spirits or lawmen.
The rest of the summer is about to go at warp speed. Kathy and I spent most of June at Legends of America's future headquarters on the Lake of the Ozarks. Finally got a most of our landscaping done and now in the planning stages of building an additional office/garage for a shipping center. We have photo's of the latest work on our second home and I promise to post a link here as soon as they're up.
Tomorrow we fly out for a 10 day tour of Wyoming, Montana and all the incredible sites in-between. Definitely going to enjoy it as it promises to bring many new adventures. I'll be out of the loop most of August and September doing my corporate gig, but I'm sure Kathy will stay in the thick of things catching everyone up on our trip.
I'll try to post again within the next few days and let you know if I find any treasure in Yellowstone ;).
Thursday, June 12, 2008
On my feet again after May slowdown
Finally back into normal tennis shoes after being on my back most of May. You would think I would have gotten a lot of blogging done during my down time, but was too caught up in the ceiling paint and other distractions.
Legends of America was a little off as well. Looks like the high price of gas is effecting many peoples desire for travel, however if you live in the American West, this site is perfect for those short little day trips. It's also a good way to see most of Route 66 from the comfort of your computer, and dream about those Old West ghost towns and legends.
May numbers broke down like this.
Legends of America had 468,904 unique visitors, or about 15,126 per day. Those visitors represented 34.8 million hits on the site.
The top five most popular pages visited, with the exception of the main page and search results, are:
3687 different pages-url Viewed
What are the top subjects you're searching for?
An estimated 72% of Legends visitors added the site to their favorites in May. For that we say a big Thank Ya!
Kathy's been busy adding more stories and pages than you can shake a stick at. Be sure to check what's been added by visiting her "What's New" page.
June's busy getting things caught up on the site before our next big adventure in Montana next month. Kathy's added Canvas prints to her photo print shop so be sure to check it out.
Legends of America was a little off as well. Looks like the high price of gas is effecting many peoples desire for travel, however if you live in the American West, this site is perfect for those short little day trips. It's also a good way to see most of Route 66 from the comfort of your computer, and dream about those Old West ghost towns and legends.
May numbers broke down like this.
Legends of America had 468,904 unique visitors, or about 15,126 per day. Those visitors represented 34.8 million hits on the site.
The top five most popular pages visited, with the exception of the main page and search results, are:
3687 different pages-url Viewed
| /WE-JesseJames.html | 27126 |
| /GH-TwistedHistory3.html | 22125 |
| /66-Mainpage.html | 16497 |
| /LA-OldWestLegends.html | 12447 |
| /LA-Ghosttowns.html | 12419 |
What are the top subjects you're searching for?
| Search Keyphrases (Top 10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An estimated 72% of Legends visitors added the site to their favorites in May. For that we say a big Thank Ya!
Kathy's been busy adding more stories and pages than you can shake a stick at. Be sure to check what's been added by visiting her "What's New" page.
June's busy getting things caught up on the site before our next big adventure in Montana next month. Kathy's added Canvas prints to her photo print shop so be sure to check it out.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
April Numbers
Legends of America continued to gain readers in April, increasing daily unique visitors by about 1% over March.
April's average unique visitors per day was 15,779, compared to 15,501 in March. And your spending quality time on the site as well, with over 6% staying up to 15 minutes, and 3.1% up to an hour.
What did you read about in April? Our figures show that, besides landing on the main page or using the on site search, Jesse James still tops the list as the most visited page. Twisted History, Route 66, Old West Legends and Ghost Towns rounded out the top five.
And an estimated 72% of you added Legends of America to your favorites!
Historically, many of you get ready for Travel in May, which brings a lot of visitors to Legends Of America. Be sure to check out the Travel Destinations of the Old West, or bone up on the in-depth coverage of Route 66. Kathy is busily adding more, so check the What's New page often for updates.
Thanks for making April a banner month for Legends Of America!
| Reported period | Month Apr 2008 | |||
| Unique visitors | Number of visits | Pages | Hits | |
| Traffic viewed * | 473395 | 653770 (1.38 visits/visitor) | 1640053 (2.5 Pages/Visit) | 36046618 (55.13 Hits/Visit) |
April's average unique visitors per day was 15,779, compared to 15,501 in March. And your spending quality time on the site as well, with over 6% staying up to 15 minutes, and 3.1% up to an hour.
| Visits duration | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
What did you read about in April? Our figures show that, besides landing on the main page or using the on site search, Jesse James still tops the list as the most visited page. Twisted History, Route 66, Old West Legends and Ghost Towns rounded out the top five.
| |||||||||||
And an estimated 72% of you added Legends of America to your favorites!
| Add to favorites (estimated) | 343698 / 473395 Visitors | 72.6 % |
Historically, many of you get ready for Travel in May, which brings a lot of visitors to Legends Of America. Be sure to check out the Travel Destinations of the Old West, or bone up on the in-depth coverage of Route 66. Kathy is busily adding more, so check the What's New page often for updates.
Thanks for making April a banner month for Legends Of America!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Vegas Launch Pad
As I stare out my hotel window a block off the strip, I can see the lights of the Old Vegas, still shining, but maybe not as bright as they once were. 12 stories up in the Las Vegas Hilton, I peer to the left and see the New Vegas, it's neon seemingly brighter, beckoning in it's Disney like, yet corporate way for me to leave the comfort of my room and venture into their fantasy world of constant bells and chimes, begging for me to stick in that next $20 bill with the false promise of riches as a reward.
It's 3am. Back home in Kansas City I would still be dreaming...jumbled thoughts racing at 'rem' speed, on the verge of the magic moment where the days revelation, quickly to be forgotten, brings me out of blissful rest. Not today. Not in Vegas. Here I wake early, trouble finding rest for my weary mind as anticipation of the week ahead works to a frenzy. It's quickly becoming a yearly tradition, this restless dance that promises adventure and memories abound.
For the past several years, each April I travel to sin city as part of my wonderful career in Radio Broadcasting. It's the annual National Association of Broadcasters Convention, bringing thousands of visitors from around the world to see the latest innovations in Television and Radio. Doesn't really mean a whole lot to those not in the industry, but for some companies it's make or break for their products. At first, for me, it was a nice distraction from the daily office routine. A chance to meet many of the clients I'd only visualized through the other end of a phone line. And they never look they way they sound...the guy with the deepest and ballsiest voice is usually the 5'6" scrawny disc jockey who, when speaking, appears almost cartoonish with a voice that could never match their physic. The whole Vegas experience quickly became routine after only a couple of years, and it was almost robotic how I prepared my mind for the four days of standing on the show room floor, almost losing my voice, preaching the gospel of our latest Radio Automation software.
That all changed when I met Kathy, and my travels to Vegas took on a new dimension through Legends of America. For her, it was the perfect staging area for searching out ghost towns and history of the American West. She makes it a point to coordinate her trip so that she meets me here in Vegas about a day before I'm finished with the convention. Travels close to Vegas while I wrap up work, then takes me on a longer adventure as soon I'm done. In 2006, we traveled down to northern areas of Arizona, spending some time at the Grand Canyon and concentrating efforts for her in depth work on Route 66. It was a nice trip, but by then the whole Route 66 trek was becoming old hat for me. I think it was Kathy's 2nd or 3rd round on the Mother Road, making sure to document each and every detail of those out of the way places that once thrived before the Interstate stole away their life's breath.
Last year she changed things up a bit. Instead of meeting me in Vegas, she flew into Phoenix. Spent a couple of days traveling northern Arizona visiting some very interesting 'way out of the way' ghost towns of the Old West. As soon as the NAB dog and pony show was over, I met her there and we started making our way south. Once we got through Tucson and started down I-19, I quickly realized just how south we were. Border Patrol agents in green and white Home Land Security trucks dotting the road every few miles as we moved in closer to Nogales on the Mexico border.
The real adventure began when we veered off the interstate, out to seek our featured destination of the day, Ruby Arizona. After about a mile on the state highway it occurred to me. "I'll just bet we see some illegal immigrants sneakin in on this trip"... The words still hanging in the air of our rented Jeep when out of the corner of my eye I caught a small group of men running through the brush just a few yards from the road. Being raised in the Texas Panhandle, then living in Kansas for so long, it caught me by surprise. I mean, think about it..how often do you see a group of men running through desert brush, then all simultaneously hitting the deck as soon as they spot you. I didn't know how to react, so I went with my first instinct and quickly put on the brakes as I declared "Like those right there!"
Now, I know I'm the one who stopped, but as Kathy started turning on her camera and moved toward the door handle, a since of panic hit that told me I should hit the gas as quickly as I hit the brake. "Wait! I've got to get a picture of this" Kathy said, as each man peered up like prairie dogs then quickly ducked back down. Too late, my chicken shit ass was out of there, not wanting to stick around for the spectacle and hoping that just one of those Homeland Security trucks would appear out of thin air. As we built up distance between us, Kathy could see them jumping the road, almost seeming to laugh with glee as some kid would do playing hide and seek. It should have been our cue to be more prepared, and think through where we were heading, but we were focused on history, and Ruby was a Gold Mine.
We soon left our nicely paved State Highway, for the dirt and rock of a State Road. How they could call this a State Road was beyond me, aren't their rules for what qualifies? There were places washed out that I would never dare travel in my car, but we anticipated this and the Jeep made it just fine. Along the way we would see milk jugs of water placed along the side of the road, we assumed for the immigrants passing through. But as far as seeing any more, the hills of southern Arizona would shield them from our quizitive view.
We finally reached Ruby, and it was worth the effort. The once thriving mining town had a rich history, including bandits, murder and justice. We could even feel the ghostly presence of occupants past as we toured the abandoned school house, and had a wonderful time hearing the stories told by the lone occupant, hired by the lands owner to safe keep the towns historic treasures. By the time we were done, I was ready for more stable ground though, and glad to be heading to the hotel in Nogales.
Nogales it self has a great history, but that wasn't our focus. The next days travel started early as we had a busy schedule traveling along the border, seeing more ghost towns once thriving on Arizona's mining opportunities back in the late 1800's. Towns like Harshaw and Washington Camp that would delight Kathy for days digging up stories of yesteryear. The plan was to stick as close to the border as possible, traveling down some pretty desolate back roads at a snails pace, dragging out what was probably a 70 mile trip over toward Bisbee, to a day long adventure.
Kathy and I, still in our gh0st town bliss, were ignorant to the danger we were putting ourselves in. We finally realized just how much danger when after a long stretch without seeing a single soul, we happened upon five border patrol vehicles. Their watchful eyes as we passed by should have been enough to tell us we shouldn't be there, and as one of the agents pulled in behind us, thoughts of being interrogated raced through my mind. He never 'pulled us over', just kept a distance behind as we made our way toward more abandoned ruins. As we finally stopped to take pictures, the agent slowly made his way beside the jeep and stopped. "What are you folks up to out here?" His eyes moving toward the back of the jeep, then landing on Kathy in the passenger seat...her straw cowboy hat pitched back with a silly grin on her face as she held a map up declaring "Ghost Town Huntin!" The agents eyes seemingly relieved as he quickly sized us up as tourists and didn't bother getting out of his truck. "We normally don't get visitors like you back here. Usually their too scared"...."Scared of what?" I retorted, trying to imagine what would be so bad, other than a few illegal immigrants crossing our path. "Drug smugglers mainly", the agent's voice rang out with a tinge of amusement at just how naive we were.
It hadn't even crossed our mind. You hear about it all the time in the news, but for what ever reason we were so caught up in our adventure, we never stopped to think about the real danger of running into less desirables in the middle of a drug transaction. People who wouldn't think twice about shooting us on the spot, or stealing our Jeep, leaving us deserted, miles away from any civilization. Needless to say, Kathy and I didn't stick around long, and soon we were back on our way to Bisbee, thankful for the reminder that ghost town hunting should be better thought out.
The rest of our trip was fantastic. Catching the sites of Tumbstone, Bisbee and many other notable Old West main stays. The trip wasn't long enough though, and Kathy and I have said more than once that we need to hit that area of Arizona again. It gave her plenty of writing material though, and both of us some great memories.
This year, Kathy's meeting me in Vegas again. She'll arrive Wednesday, day before my work is wrapped up. Plans on hitting a ghost town or two she didn't get on the last trip nearby, then Thursday doing Route 66 again out to Barstow and back. Friday, we're heading out for Utah, where we will spend the next several days visiting places of yesteryear and digging up history. I'm sure it will be another great adventure, with plenty to blog about here in the days to come. In the meantime, it's daylight now, and time for me to come back to reality. Vegas awaits to tempt my wallet.
It's 3am. Back home in Kansas City I would still be dreaming...jumbled thoughts racing at 'rem' speed, on the verge of the magic moment where the days revelation, quickly to be forgotten, brings me out of blissful rest. Not today. Not in Vegas. Here I wake early, trouble finding rest for my weary mind as anticipation of the week ahead works to a frenzy. It's quickly becoming a yearly tradition, this restless dance that promises adventure and memories abound.
For the past several years, each April I travel to sin city as part of my wonderful career in Radio Broadcasting. It's the annual National Association of Broadcasters Convention, bringing thousands of visitors from around the world to see the latest innovations in Television and Radio. Doesn't really mean a whole lot to those not in the industry, but for some companies it's make or break for their products. At first, for me, it was a nice distraction from the daily office routine. A chance to meet many of the clients I'd only visualized through the other end of a phone line. And they never look they way they sound...the guy with the deepest and ballsiest voice is usually the 5'6" scrawny disc jockey who, when speaking, appears almost cartoonish with a voice that could never match their physic. The whole Vegas experience quickly became routine after only a couple of years, and it was almost robotic how I prepared my mind for the four days of standing on the show room floor, almost losing my voice, preaching the gospel of our latest Radio Automation software.
That all changed when I met Kathy, and my travels to Vegas took on a new dimension through Legends of America. For her, it was the perfect staging area for searching out ghost towns and history of the American West. She makes it a point to coordinate her trip so that she meets me here in Vegas about a day before I'm finished with the convention. Travels close to Vegas while I wrap up work, then takes me on a longer adventure as soon I'm done. In 2006, we traveled down to northern areas of Arizona, spending some time at the Grand Canyon and concentrating efforts for her in depth work on Route 66. It was a nice trip, but by then the whole Route 66 trek was becoming old hat for me. I think it was Kathy's 2nd or 3rd round on the Mother Road, making sure to document each and every detail of those out of the way places that once thrived before the Interstate stole away their life's breath.
Last year she changed things up a bit. Instead of meeting me in Vegas, she flew into Phoenix. Spent a couple of days traveling northern Arizona visiting some very interesting 'way out of the way' ghost towns of the Old West. As soon as the NAB dog and pony show was over, I met her there and we started making our way south. Once we got through Tucson and started down I-19, I quickly realized just how south we were. Border Patrol agents in green and white Home Land Security trucks dotting the road every few miles as we moved in closer to Nogales on the Mexico border.
The real adventure began when we veered off the interstate, out to seek our featured destination of the day, Ruby Arizona. After about a mile on the state highway it occurred to me. "I'll just bet we see some illegal immigrants sneakin in on this trip"... The words still hanging in the air of our rented Jeep when out of the corner of my eye I caught a small group of men running through the brush just a few yards from the road. Being raised in the Texas Panhandle, then living in Kansas for so long, it caught me by surprise. I mean, think about it..how often do you see a group of men running through desert brush, then all simultaneously hitting the deck as soon as they spot you. I didn't know how to react, so I went with my first instinct and quickly put on the brakes as I declared "Like those right there!"
Now, I know I'm the one who stopped, but as Kathy started turning on her camera and moved toward the door handle, a since of panic hit that told me I should hit the gas as quickly as I hit the brake. "Wait! I've got to get a picture of this" Kathy said, as each man peered up like prairie dogs then quickly ducked back down. Too late, my chicken shit ass was out of there, not wanting to stick around for the spectacle and hoping that just one of those Homeland Security trucks would appear out of thin air. As we built up distance between us, Kathy could see them jumping the road, almost seeming to laugh with glee as some kid would do playing hide and seek. It should have been our cue to be more prepared, and think through where we were heading, but we were focused on history, and Ruby was a Gold Mine.
We soon left our nicely paved State Highway, for the dirt and rock of a State Road. How they could call this a State Road was beyond me, aren't their rules for what qualifies? There were places washed out that I would never dare travel in my car, but we anticipated this and the Jeep made it just fine. Along the way we would see milk jugs of water placed along the side of the road, we assumed for the immigrants passing through. But as far as seeing any more, the hills of southern Arizona would shield them from our quizitive view.
We finally reached Ruby, and it was worth the effort. The once thriving mining town had a rich history, including bandits, murder and justice. We could even feel the ghostly presence of occupants past as we toured the abandoned school house, and had a wonderful time hearing the stories told by the lone occupant, hired by the lands owner to safe keep the towns historic treasures. By the time we were done, I was ready for more stable ground though, and glad to be heading to the hotel in Nogales.
Nogales it self has a great history, but that wasn't our focus. The next days travel started early as we had a busy schedule traveling along the border, seeing more ghost towns once thriving on Arizona's mining opportunities back in the late 1800's. Towns like Harshaw and Washington Camp that would delight Kathy for days digging up stories of yesteryear. The plan was to stick as close to the border as possible, traveling down some pretty desolate back roads at a snails pace, dragging out what was probably a 70 mile trip over toward Bisbee, to a day long adventure.
Kathy and I, still in our gh0st town bliss, were ignorant to the danger we were putting ourselves in. We finally realized just how much danger when after a long stretch without seeing a single soul, we happened upon five border patrol vehicles. Their watchful eyes as we passed by should have been enough to tell us we shouldn't be there, and as one of the agents pulled in behind us, thoughts of being interrogated raced through my mind. He never 'pulled us over', just kept a distance behind as we made our way toward more abandoned ruins. As we finally stopped to take pictures, the agent slowly made his way beside the jeep and stopped. "What are you folks up to out here?" His eyes moving toward the back of the jeep, then landing on Kathy in the passenger seat...her straw cowboy hat pitched back with a silly grin on her face as she held a map up declaring "Ghost Town Huntin!" The agents eyes seemingly relieved as he quickly sized us up as tourists and didn't bother getting out of his truck. "We normally don't get visitors like you back here. Usually their too scared"...."Scared of what?" I retorted, trying to imagine what would be so bad, other than a few illegal immigrants crossing our path. "Drug smugglers mainly", the agent's voice rang out with a tinge of amusement at just how naive we were.
It hadn't even crossed our mind. You hear about it all the time in the news, but for what ever reason we were so caught up in our adventure, we never stopped to think about the real danger of running into less desirables in the middle of a drug transaction. People who wouldn't think twice about shooting us on the spot, or stealing our Jeep, leaving us deserted, miles away from any civilization. Needless to say, Kathy and I didn't stick around long, and soon we were back on our way to Bisbee, thankful for the reminder that ghost town hunting should be better thought out.
The rest of our trip was fantastic. Catching the sites of Tumbstone, Bisbee and many other notable Old West main stays. The trip wasn't long enough though, and Kathy and I have said more than once that we need to hit that area of Arizona again. It gave her plenty of writing material though, and both of us some great memories.
This year, Kathy's meeting me in Vegas again. She'll arrive Wednesday, day before my work is wrapped up. Plans on hitting a ghost town or two she didn't get on the last trip nearby, then Thursday doing Route 66 again out to Barstow and back. Friday, we're heading out for Utah, where we will spend the next several days visiting places of yesteryear and digging up history. I'm sure it will be another great adventure, with plenty to blog about here in the days to come. In the meantime, it's daylight now, and time for me to come back to reality. Vegas awaits to tempt my wallet.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Awesome March
The numbers are in for March, and Legends Of America saw over 480, 000 unique visitors stop by. According to Awstats, here's the breakdown
So what were you reading about in March? Well, for the most part, Jesse James continued to have a strong hold, mainly due to the release of the DVD "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". The Top 10 search phrases (out of over 247,000) that brought visitors to Kathy's website were:
Besides the main page and search results, the Top Ten pages visited were:
We're working on getting stats from last year for a comparison, but due to the server move in February it's taking a while. We have the data, it's just that it's on Kathy's computer. And getting Kathy to relinquish her computer long enough for me to get the data off is a challenge. She works on the premise that no matter what's wrong with her computer, or what's needed, there's never time to stop updating stories, restoring photos, and answering emails. Now, you might wonder why I don't just do it while she's taking her daily power nap, or in the middle of the night while she's sawing logs. That's because she never closes any of her work, and if I just happen to reboot I'm afraid I'll be sleeping on the couch for a week. So, I've resigned myself to the fact that there must be a distraction that will prompt her to let me do my techy stuff.
That distraction will come soon enough as Kathy meets me out in Las Vegas next week while I'm on a business trip, and we take a few days to travel through parts of Utah on another adventure. She has to turn off that damn laptop to travel, and I'm sure I can get access to the data from the hotel room before she starts her day. It's going to be a fun trip to Utah, and one that will produce several blogs here for sure ;).
| Reported period | Month Mar 2008 | |||
| First visit | 01 Mar 2008 - 00:00 | |||
| Last visit | 31 Mar 2008 - 23:59 | |||
| Unique visitors | Number of visits | Pages | Hits | |
| Traffic viewed * | 480546 | 644352 (1.34 visits/visitor) | 1662610 (2.58 Pages/Visit) | 36068275 (55.97 Hits/Visit) |
So what were you reading about in March? Well, for the most part, Jesse James continued to have a strong hold, mainly due to the release of the DVD "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". The Top 10 search phrases (out of over 247,000) that brought visitors to Kathy's website were:
| jesse james | 2.2 % |
| route 66 | 2 % |
| robert ford | 0.8 % |
| la llorona | 0.7 % |
| doc holliday | 0.5 % |
| doc holiday | 0.5 % |
| geronimo | 0.4 % |
| wyatt earp | 0.3 % |
| harriet tubman | 0.3 % |
| calamity jane | 0.3 % |
Besides the main page and search results, the Top Ten pages visited were:
| /WE-JesseJames.html | 34430 |
| /GH-TwistedHistory3.html | 23762 |
| /66-Mainpage.html | 15531 |
| /WE-JesseJames6.html | 12810 |
| /LA-Ghosttowns.html | 12607 |
| /LA-OldWestLegends.html | 12396 |
| /LA-VintagePhotos.html | 10595 |
| /WE-JesseJames9.html | 9700 |
| /WE-RobertFord.html | 9516 |
| /LA-GhostlyLegends.html | 9142 |
We're working on getting stats from last year for a comparison, but due to the server move in February it's taking a while. We have the data, it's just that it's on Kathy's computer. And getting Kathy to relinquish her computer long enough for me to get the data off is a challenge. She works on the premise that no matter what's wrong with her computer, or what's needed, there's never time to stop updating stories, restoring photos, and answering emails. Now, you might wonder why I don't just do it while she's taking her daily power nap, or in the middle of the night while she's sawing logs. That's because she never closes any of her work, and if I just happen to reboot I'm afraid I'll be sleeping on the couch for a week. So, I've resigned myself to the fact that there must be a distraction that will prompt her to let me do my techy stuff.
That distraction will come soon enough as Kathy meets me out in Las Vegas next week while I'm on a business trip, and we take a few days to travel through parts of Utah on another adventure. She has to turn off that damn laptop to travel, and I'm sure I can get access to the data from the hotel room before she starts her day. It's going to be a fun trip to Utah, and one that will produce several blogs here for sure ;).
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Pie Hole Factor
"Shut your pie hole". Simple, straight to the point, and often heard in my life with Kathy, especially when I'm giving her a razzing over some dorkish thing she's done. Being the husband to the orchestrator of Legends Of America is an adventure in language everyday. Back when we first starting dating, I think I was learning a new word just about every time I saw her. Even if the word didn't really exist.
For instance, take Kathy's invention of "Potito" (Poh teet oh). I heard this word several times before finally asking what the hell she was talking about. She explained it was a reference to her shirt pocket. Ok, harmless enough, until one of her friends actually thought it was a true Spanish word for pocket. Boy were they red faced when using it in front of the wrong crowd. It didn't take me long to start clarifying whether a word was real or a "Kathyism".
What's amazing though are the words I hear come out of her mouth that ARE real. She loves to throw nuggets in conversation that she knows I have no clue about, then watch my face as I struggle over whether or not to look stupid and ask. In particular, she loves the language of the old west, as evidenced by her newly expanded definitions pages posted this month.
From 'Absquatulate' to 'Zitted', she's posted one hell of a list of words, some of which are still used today. Like 'Tarnation', or 'Ditty', these words in some shape or form have stuck with the culture, and continue to be 'knocked round' from time to time by 'Jackeroo's' 'jawing'. It makes me 'afeard' that I'll get 'balled up' and feel like a 'saphead' every time she 'opines' on what ever topic is being conversed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not 'bellyaching', it's just that I still get 'bilked' by her once in a while when she feels up to a good 'bushwack'.
So instead of 'pitching a fit', I'm here by declaring to Kathy that the 'jig is up'. I now have a portion of your reference material on line, and will set to 'argy' if I feel inclined. And the next time you hit me with a Kathyism like 'potito' I may just tell YOU to shut your pie hole! 'Allers' with love of course. ;)
For instance, take Kathy's invention of "Potito" (Poh teet oh). I heard this word several times before finally asking what the hell she was talking about. She explained it was a reference to her shirt pocket. Ok, harmless enough, until one of her friends actually thought it was a true Spanish word for pocket. Boy were they red faced when using it in front of the wrong crowd. It didn't take me long to start clarifying whether a word was real or a "Kathyism".
What's amazing though are the words I hear come out of her mouth that ARE real. She loves to throw nuggets in conversation that she knows I have no clue about, then watch my face as I struggle over whether or not to look stupid and ask. In particular, she loves the language of the old west, as evidenced by her newly expanded definitions pages posted this month.
From 'Absquatulate' to 'Zitted', she's posted one hell of a list of words, some of which are still used today. Like 'Tarnation', or 'Ditty', these words in some shape or form have stuck with the culture, and continue to be 'knocked round' from time to time by 'Jackeroo's' 'jawing'. It makes me 'afeard' that I'll get 'balled up' and feel like a 'saphead' every time she 'opines' on what ever topic is being conversed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not 'bellyaching', it's just that I still get 'bilked' by her once in a while when she feels up to a good 'bushwack'.
So instead of 'pitching a fit', I'm here by declaring to Kathy that the 'jig is up'. I now have a portion of your reference material on line, and will set to 'argy' if I feel inclined. And the next time you hit me with a Kathyism like 'potito' I may just tell YOU to shut your pie hole! 'Allers' with love of course. ;)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mogollon to El Paso via Shakespeare - New Mexico Pt 2
Southwest Airlines has changed their "cattle herd" ways a bit and actually started assigning 'positions' in line. It's a better process than before, since everyone in groups A, B and C aren't all standing in their respective lines at the same time, instead just a specific group and positions. Poles mounted along the line tell you where to stand, and you don't line up until they call your group and position. Of course, this is a bit confusing the first time you use it and, while Kathy and I were on our way home from New Mexico, I heard a woman frantically trying to find seat A-56 on the plane. I felt for the poor woman, but I was just too tired to do much else. We made it back to the El Paso airport about 3pm this past Tuesday, both of us thankful for the great adventure in New Mexico, but even more thankful we were going home.
Sunday's Mogollon Voyage
We made a wise choice on Sunday and decided that we had pushed ourselves hard enough. Staying at the Econolodge in Silver City two nights instead of one gave us an opportunity to relax that morning, then pick just one 'must see' ghost town not too far away. Kathy agreed to drive, since I was still recovering from Saturdays long trek through the Black Range mountains. However, If I had known what was in store, I probably would have passed on her offer. The drive up state highway 180 from Silver City started simple enough. It wasn't really mountainous, more large hills than anything, with the continental divide just outside of town. We could see the Mogollon Mountains from the road though and knew we would be heading into them in no time.Taking the turn just north of Glenwood toward the town of Mogollon, I got the real since this wasn't such a good idea. Signs proclaiming that the road should not be traveled at night, warnings about limited snow plowing, and the fact that the town it self doesn't open to tourists until Summer (and then only on the weekends), made my stomach twirl with anticipation. I know, I know...I'm a control freak when it comes to whose driving, but if you drove with Kathy while doing 50 in a 25mph zone, in the mountains, your asshole would pucker too. She wouldn't be that brave this time though, as it only took the first curve to put her in caution.
We didn't see a lot of it at first, the sun doing a good job of melting most of the ice and snow in our path, however as we inched our way up in the shade of the mountain the danger became more evident. Longer and longer patches of snow and ice with only a couple of tire tracks to show not many had passed through here since the storm. That was when we noticed the road getting narrower, and wouldn't you know it, there was SUV coming down at us as well. They stopped above us at a curve, the road between a steep grade covered in snow. Kathy didn't blink as she kept her pace going up. "What are the rules of the road in situations like this" I pondered nervously. "Oh, my brother told me once, but I can't remember, bottom line is I have no place else to go", Kathy's voice full of determination that it was the SUV's burden to find a spot and let us pass.
I know she was only going 5mph, but it seemed like we could slip off the edge any moment as she inched past the SUV. The passenger looking at me quite curiously at the panicked look on my face as our side mirrors came within a hair of each other. I'm sure they could read my lips as I proclaimed over and over "Need to move over more, more, moRE, mORE, MORE!" Speaking of pucker factor, I think I sucked in half the seat before we made it past. Kathy never flinched, leaving me with the knowledge I have a ways to go to catch up in testosterone levels. Luckily we met only one more vehicle on the way back down into the valley where Mogollon hid, and Kathy did the right thing, found a spot to pull off, returning balance to our karma.Pulling into the edge of town we immediately knew this was worth the effort. Mogollon had seen it's share of disasters, from floods to fires, but somehow this quaint little ghost town had been preserved well for adventure seekers like us. We spent quality time taking pictures and enjoying views. There were a few residents who obviously run the shops during tourist season, but for the most part it was just us. Kathy, being a lover of old cemeteries, decided we would trek up the side of the mountain again to find Mogollon's. Fortunately for me the road was more like a dried up creek bed, and Jeep or not, it was beating us so badly she finally turned around.
I strongly recommend Mogollon to any Old West Ghost Town lover...just do it in the Summer.
Saving Shakespeare
Monday morning we headed out early again. The plan was to head south from Silver City on state highway 90 to Lordsburg, where just outside of the city is probably our best adventure of the entire trip, Shakespeare. Promoted as "The West's Most Authentic Ghost Town", it's only open for regular tours a weekend or two per month. You can make an appointment, but Kathy and I weren't organized enough to do that this trip. And since it's privately owned by a local rancher, we were resigned to taking pictures from the fence looking in. As we pulled up we encountered a very nice lady getting papers out of her car. I'm so horrible with names, so please pardon the fact I can't remember hers, but she just happened to be acting as secretary to the rancher while doing research for a book she was about to write. The book is going to be on Janaloo Hill, the ranchers wife who had passed away only a couple of years ago. The Hill family has owned the land Shakespeare sits on for years and years, and has preserved it best they can for everyone to enjoy, including some weekends with re-enactments.
After we talked to the secretary and got the Ok to at least get pictures from around the fence line, she went back into the ranch house. It wasn't long however that she came running back out waving us down. "Manny says he wants to meet you" she said, surprising us both as we never imagined being able to enter on an off day. Manny Hough, Janaloo's husband, is a one of a kind character, much like his wife was before she passed. Rough, rugged cattle rancher with a deep love of Shakespeare and the area, and could tell you anything you wanted to know about it's history. While some historians may discount his knowledge of the Butterfield Stage going through Shakespeare, Manny was able to explain it quite well, telling how the stage moved several times due to water quality, etc, and that looking at just one route during a three year period didn't mean it hadn't also come through his backyard.
There were stories of Billy the Kid along with other outlaws and lawmen who had made their way through. And when Manny spoke of his wife, his eyes sparkled with memories of great times keeping Shakespeare alive, and Janaloo's lasting impression on not only his family, but the entire area around Lordsburg. You could also tell he was doing everything he could to make sure the history stayed alive for years to come. Shakespeare's already a National Historic Site, but Manny had tried previously to make it a New Mexico State Park. The state was definitely interested, but the demands were too much for Manny to except. So he's spending time talking with historical societies and the like, laying the ground work to keep the ghost town from returning to the desert.Manny, his secretary, and a volunteer ranch hand (Jim?, again beg my pardon), were all very kind to Kathy and I that day. The ranch hand opened up several of the building so we could take a peek, and we wound up spending a little over an hour at Shakespeare, walking away with a real since of history and gratitude for their incredible hospitality. We could never thank them enough, but Kathy's sure to beef up her story of Shakespeare and send more people their way. Check their schedule, or call for an appointment...this Ghost Town, even more so than Mogollon, is a MUST SEE!
Steins to El Paso via Highway 9
Steins is another ghost town just west of Lordsburg near the Arizona border. It was closed too, but it appeared to be more shut down than just closed. So Kathy just snapped a few photos and we were back on the road, this time heading for our final destination, El Paso. Of course, we couldn't do I-10 back through New Mexico. Kathy had to make it another one of those Mexican border adventures for us, so we headed south to Animas and hit Highway 9 east.
No more mountain driving, that was for sure. Just mile after mile of New Mexico desert. About half way between Animas and Hachita I began to notice a silver spot in the sky off in the distance. I watched it closely and realized it wasn't moving at all. Memories of my horse adventure the first day of our trip came back and I fought the urge to say anything. But after another few miles of watching it I finally spoke up. "Kathy, is that a plane or a UFO?".Kathy didn't say much about it this time, but humored me after reaching Hachita and tried to get a shot of it. It was still too far away, but we were heading that direction. Highway 9 after Hachita jogs south to the border of Mexico. We could tell as we got closer due to the increased presence of border patrol and what appeared to be National Guard. They had these mobile lookout towers stationed every few miles, and the Home Land Security vehicles were perched in the brush beside the road in between. My spot in the sky started getting bigger, and Kathy and I soon realized it was an aerial surveillance device floating high in the sky. I bet the 'aliens' didn't think it was a UFO.
Columbus, south of Deming, is home to Pancho Villa State Park. This is the area where the only foreign army invasion of the US took place, and it's chalk full of interesting stories of the battles between the US and Mexico. It's also the first place where the US launched air strikes back in 1918, and the park it self is a good stop, worth the $5 per vehicle for those curious about our early dealings with our neighbors to the south. We stayed for a while and then decided it was time to wrap up the day and head into El Paso.Tuesday morning we got another early start and did the walking tour of downtown El Paso. Great history there too, but many of the buildings they point out are hard to imagine back in the day due to the retail shops they house. We also took time to head south east along the Mission Trail, where missions that have been active since the 1600's provide even more history of the Spanish culture in west Texas. We were going to take in the Fort Biggs Museum near the airport, but the line to get passes into the active military base was long and our time was short.
It was a wonderful trip to New Mexico and the El Paso region, and Kathy and I both decided it was probably our best "Ghost Towning" trip yet. We are also glad to be back in Kansas City, despite the fact we left 70 degree (F) weather behind for 20 degrees when we landed. Kathy's busy writing up the history of all these places and posting her chosen pics, so be watching the What's New page over the next few weeks. In the meantime, it's back to the routine corporate world for me. First on the agenda is to plan our next 'vacation', expanding on Legends of America one piece of history at a time.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Growing Pains
Kathy and I knew last fall that it wouldn't last forever. Legends Of America has been set up on a shared server since the beginning, and this week the shoe finally dropped. Got an email from her hosting provider that said Legends of America is just too popular for what they offer.
Great compliment, but it came at a hectic time. Kathy's still busy trying to get her new Rocky Mountain General Store up and running, and we moved the forum to a new host today to get rid of all the overseas spammers and yah-hoos who think people wanna stare at skin flicks while reading about the old west.
So we're investing some more of the nest egg back into the business. And since business is a pretty big egg it self, we're getting some new baskets. The main site will be on a new dedicated server. No more sharing. Of course that means a little extra work for us, and a slight learning curve, but our new provider has all the support needed. The new forum and guest book are on another host, as well as the Rocky Mountain General Store. This should improve your experience on the site tremendously, with the addition of Google Check Out, additional international shipping items and an overall cleaner experience [ie-no more boobs on the forum].
We're planning this out as best as possible, with the big switch happening sometime in the next 10 days or so. I want to apologize in advance if over the next month you experience problems seeing some of the site. I'm sure no matter how much we conspire, we're gonna forget something. Don't hesitate to let us know!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Legends Of America immortalized on DVD
Ok, so it's a little obscure, and maybe a little weird to brag on, but regardless, Kathy's work is getting credit outside of the web world that I'm proud to talk about. Yesterday I rushed down to the local video store to buy the new DVD release of "3:10 to Yuma". It's a great remake of an Old West classic with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Funny thing is, I didn't rush out to buy it for the movie.
Using my handy dandy new $34 all purpose DVD/CD/Package opener (bought in a weird moment of weakness during the holiday from a TV ad that promised to double my order and throw in the handy dandy electric scissors, all of which worth about 50 cents together and probably made in China) I hurriedly opened it with the anticipation of a sixth grader getting his first IPod. Disappointment springing forward as I found the box only contained the DVD..no booklet of info on contents and reviews. No useless trivia on how the weather was in Arizona during filming (probably filmed it in Canada anyway [I've learned some was filmed in New Mexico]), and no place for credits.
Sprinting over to the living room and reaching into my drawer of remotes, I pull one out and spend the next excruciating 60 seconds trying to figure out why the DVD player won't open (God forbid I actually push the open button no more than a foot in front of me) until I finally realize it's the wrong remote . Reaching back into the drawer, fumbling through no less than 10 different remotes, most belonging to devices long ago given to Goodwill or thrown at high velocity into the dumpster out of frustration, ultimately finding a match for the latest piece of Walmart magic that's already showing signs of trouble, overheating and skipping scenes as it pleases, worth about half of every penny of the $19.99 I so proudly paid for it.
Tossing the DVD into the 'disc pocket' (Kathy's name for it, not mine), chanting "come on come on come on" as the drawer slowly closed into the player, then waiting as patiently as possible to get past the legal mumbo jumbo that won't go away no matter how many times you hit the fast forward button, finally reaching my goal..Main Menu. Let's see there's 'Play Movie'...uh, no, that's not what I'm here for. 'Deleted Scenes'..what's the use of those anyway, weren't they eliminated for a reason..Ah, here it is, "Special Features". Now another menu to read through, but the one I want I could see right away, "Outlaws and Posses".
Quickly hitting the OK button and then waiting with bated breath as I began to watch. Carefully analyzing each and every photo used in this documentary about the bad guys of the old west, I began to pick out one by one the pictures I recognized from Legends Of America. I didn't have to wait long to find one. In fact throughout the short piece, I would venture to say 90% of the photos came from Kathy's web site. Pictures she has collected, meticulously cleaned up and revitalized in sepia tones. The DVD company had reached out to Kathy late last Summer and asked if she would be willing to contract with them for a documentary on the "3:10 to Yuma" special edition DVD. Kathy didn't have to do a lot work for them, the work had already been done. She simply guided them to her Photos and Prints and let them pick what they wanted, and over the next couple of months they downloaded hundreds of photos.
Now there they were on the big screen (well, ok, it's only a 32 inch, Kathy keeps arguing against the 50 inch plasma I want to clutter our living room with) for all Old West fans to see (and those not so fond of the old west, but wanting to see Russell Crowe or Christian Bale in boots, jeans and a cowboy hat). Finally reaching the end I carefully begin to read the credits, and there it was..."Photos and Posters provided by" and in the list of about 10 resources, just a couple down, "Legends Of America" !
Wow! Hey Hey! How about that!!! Kathy's little ol site immortalized forever on DVD (or at least for the next year or two until Blue Ray disc takes over the world). Of course I'm proud of my partner. How many of us can say our business was listed in the credits on a DVD with Russell Crowe? And I'm proud that it's the second time in a year Kathy's work has been preserved for
history outside of the internet. Earlier she became a published author with "Great American Bars and Saloons". While the pictures in the book weren't part of Legends of America, all the writing is, and there's quite a bit of writing in it for a coffee table picture book.
Yep, my wife is becoming one famous old west geek. Her love of history is paying off more and more, and the thousands of fans on her website keep growing month after month. I guess it's time I start thinking about getting her an agent. She's already doing radio and news paper interviews. Wonder how much she would pay me to handle her bookings? I'm betting I could get an extra back rub out of the deal if I play my cards right.
Using my handy dandy new $34 all purpose DVD/CD/Package opener (bought in a weird moment of weakness during the holiday from a TV ad that promised to double my order and throw in the handy dandy electric scissors, all of which worth about 50 cents together and probably made in China) I hurriedly opened it with the anticipation of a sixth grader getting his first IPod. Disappointment springing forward as I found the box only contained the DVD..no booklet of info on contents and reviews. No useless trivia on how the weather was in Arizona during filming (probably filmed it in Canada anyway [I've learned some was filmed in New Mexico]), and no place for credits.
Sprinting over to the living room and reaching into my drawer of remotes, I pull one out and spend the next excruciating 60 seconds trying to figure out why the DVD player won't open (God forbid I actually push the open button no more than a foot in front of me) until I finally realize it's the wrong remote . Reaching back into the drawer, fumbling through no less than 10 different remotes, most belonging to devices long ago given to Goodwill or thrown at high velocity into the dumpster out of frustration, ultimately finding a match for the latest piece of Walmart magic that's already showing signs of trouble, overheating and skipping scenes as it pleases, worth about half of every penny of the $19.99 I so proudly paid for it.
Tossing the DVD into the 'disc pocket' (Kathy's name for it, not mine), chanting "come on come on come on" as the drawer slowly closed into the player, then waiting as patiently as possible to get past the legal mumbo jumbo that won't go away no matter how many times you hit the fast forward button, finally reaching my goal..Main Menu. Let's see there's 'Play Movie'...uh, no, that's not what I'm here for. 'Deleted Scenes'..what's the use of those anyway, weren't they eliminated for a reason..Ah, here it is, "Special Features". Now another menu to read through, but the one I want I could see right away, "Outlaws and Posses".
Quickly hitting the OK button and then waiting with bated breath as I began to watch. Carefully analyzing each and every photo used in this documentary about the bad guys of the old west, I began to pick out one by one the pictures I recognized from Legends Of America. I didn't have to wait long to find one. In fact throughout the short piece, I would venture to say 90% of the photos came from Kathy's web site. Pictures she has collected, meticulously cleaned up and revitalized in sepia tones. The DVD company had reached out to Kathy late last Summer and asked if she would be willing to contract with them for a documentary on the "3:10 to Yuma" special edition DVD. Kathy didn't have to do a lot work for them, the work had already been done. She simply guided them to her Photos and Prints and let them pick what they wanted, and over the next couple of months they downloaded hundreds of photos.
Now there they were on the big screen (well, ok, it's only a 32 inch, Kathy keeps arguing against the 50 inch plasma I want to clutter our living room with) for all Old West fans to see (and those not so fond of the old west, but wanting to see Russell Crowe or Christian Bale in boots, jeans and a cowboy hat). Finally reaching the end I carefully begin to read the credits, and there it was..."Photos and Posters provided by" and in the list of about 10 resources, just a couple down, "Legends Of America" !
Wow! Hey Hey! How about that!!! Kathy's little ol site immortalized forever on DVD (or at least for the next year or two until Blue Ray disc takes over the world). Of course I'm proud of my partner. How many of us can say our business was listed in the credits on a DVD with Russell Crowe? And I'm proud that it's the second time in a year Kathy's work has been preserved for
history outside of the internet. Earlier she became a published author with "Great American Bars and Saloons". While the pictures in the book weren't part of Legends of America, all the writing is, and there's quite a bit of writing in it for a coffee table picture book.Yep, my wife is becoming one famous old west geek. Her love of history is paying off more and more, and the thousands of fans on her website keep growing month after month. I guess it's time I start thinking about getting her an agent. She's already doing radio and news paper interviews. Wonder how much she would pay me to handle her bookings? I'm betting I could get an extra back rub out of the deal if I play my cards right.
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