Utah, top to bottom.

Utah is about 400 miles, more or less, from top to bottom. Soon, I’ll be covering most all that distance over the course of a few days.

On October 10, I’ll be addressing the Cache Valley Historical Society, talking about “Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed,” which happens to be the subtitle of my book The Lost Frontier. We’ll meet in Logan, Utah, which is a scant 20 miles short of as far north as you can go in Utah.

A few days later, on October 12 and 13, I’ll be presenting workshops on writing poetry, improving prose, and writing short stories at the Kanab Writers Conference in Kanab, Utah. Which is only about seven miles shy of Arizona.

So I will be traveling, essentially, from border to border in my fair state. Fortunately, the miles in between are populated with beautiful scenery, interesting places, and friendly people.

And, I always enjoy a good road trip.

If I’m lucky, I’ll see you there—at one end or the other.

A magazine article with a point. Lots of them.

The most recent issue of RANGE magazine includes an article about the Frying Pan Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. The place is significant because it played an important role in making the American West what it is today.

Joseph Glidden and his partner established the ranch back in 1881 for the sole purpose of demonstrating the usefulness of Glidden’s invention—barbwire—on a large scale. They built and strung 120 miles of fence to make the point.

“Wiring the Frying Pan” in the summer issue of RANGE magazine is a reprint of a chapter from my new book, The Lost Frontier: Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed. The book is filled with unheralded historic events and people as interesting and important—but, perhaps, none so influential in the big picture—as the pointy, prickly devil’s rope that reinvented the West.

Find out more about (and subscribe to) RANGE magazine at www.rangemagazine.com. Find the book online or at bookstores.