Bannack Star Route - Haulin’ the Mail

By Bennett Owen

Credit: My-West.com ©

The F-S is a good 40 miles from town, connected by a stretch of two-lane that…well, let’s put it this way, if you’re looking for the road less traveled, you’ll most certainly pass by the F-S on the way. It wasn’t always that easy to hitch a ride out to the ranch, so on a few occasions I became unofficial freightage of the US postal service, riding shotgun on ‘The Stage.’

Credit: My-West.com ©

No, I'm not that old, by my time the horse teams had been replaced by horsepower and a pickup truck but the idea remained the same. Riding with the stage was a peculiar experience because just outside of town he’d start taking detours off of that ribbon of blacktop onto some dirt washboard roads that were often glorified cow-trails. But at the end of those ‘roads’ we’d come upon something like this –

Credit: My-West.com ©

Or this ...

California. Credit: Gregory Jordan

The ride took hours and was fascinating for the countryside you’d see. And by the time he dropped off me, and the mail, at the F-S, he wasn’t even half way through his route. 

Credit: My-West.com ©

There was no TV at the F-S and the radio reception was so scratchy that listening was pretty much limited to Paul Harvey News & Comment.  So the stage was an important lifeline and one of my chores was to walk down the lane and pick up that canvas satchel full of mail and the Montana Standard newspaper. The Sunday edition arrived on Monday, feeding my addiction to Rick O’Shay and Prince Valiant via the Sunday funnies. Yes, I read Ann Landers too.

Credit: My-West.com ©

Yes a ‘link’ literally with the outside world. All that stuff about rain and snow and gloom of night may sound quaint in the Internet age. But I can remember a lot of wind-swept, snowed over winter days when the stage tracks were the only ones on the road.

Credit: My-West.com ©

Arizona. Credit: WVS

Last Weekend – Labor Day the My-West Way

By Bennett Owen

Summer going to the mountains…Summer going to the lake…Summer going to the Rodeo…Summer staying right home.  Any way you look at it, summer’s almost over. Here are our 10 favorite Labor Day detours…

10 – Climbing Mount Whitney – At nearly 15-thousand feet it’s the highest mountain in the lower 48…and some say it’s the highest walk-up summit on the planet.

Lightning Shelter/Hut on Summit of Mt. Whitney. Credit: peretzp

09 – Ellensburg, Washington – The Ellensburg Labor Day Rodeo is one of the ‘old rodeos’ and is also ranked among America’s top 10 – celebrating its 75th year.

Credit: fxp

08 – Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho – Wagon Days - Commemorating the region’s mining past, the Big Hitch Parade is one of the largest non-motorized parades in the west, featuring an authentic, 20-draft mule jerkline.

Ore Wagons. Credit: Mountain Mike.com

07 – Grants Pass, Oregon – Rafting the Rogue River, one of the most gorgeous and exhilarating rides in the west.

Sunset on the Rogue River. Credit: Derek Severson

06 - Bandera, Texas – It’s a weekend southwest Texas spectacle in the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’, but the thriller is the Running R Ranch Cattle Drive…with a herd of real Texas Longhorns.  (There’s also an event called ‘Cow Patty Bingo’ but we didn’t really want to know about that!)

Credit: Running R Ranch Facebook page

05 - Meeteetse, Wyoming – There’s a band playing at the Cowboy Bar, that’s a good enough excuse.  But the town has also celebrated a three-day barbecue on the same weekend for 99 years now. As one cowboy says, “The hay is in, and it it’s not yet branding and sorting time. Time to see friends and catch up.”   Sounds good to us.

Rodeo Queen from nearby Cody, Wyoming. Credit: newrambler

04 - Take the “High Road” route from Taos to Santa Fe, New Mexico - Start with breakfast at the Taos Diner on the north end of town.  – Santa Fe, by the way, is the oldest capital city in the US, founded in 1610.

Credit: j.s.clark

03 – The Grand Canyon Railway – Start at the Historic depot in Williams, Arizona, built in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad…and from there embark on a two and a half hour trip through the high desert. The Grand Canyon Depot is one of three log train stations remaining in the US. 

Grand Canyon Railway. Credit: obfusciatrist

02 - Jazz at Aspen and Snowmass, Colorado - Steely Dan will be playing there. Someday when I get the bill listing hours wasted listening to rock and roll, The Dan will be edged out only by Neil Young.

Steely Dan. Credit: commercialappeal

01 – Dillon, Montana – Montana’s Biggest Weekend, the Labor Day Fair and Rodeo.  Anyone who’s been with us a while at My-West knows the special place Dillon holds in our hearts.  And this year, Uncle Jules and Aunt Bonnie are the Grand Marshals of the Labor Day parade.

Credit: My-West.com

So, have a great weekend, and drop us a post card, wherever and however you spend it!