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| April 2009 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| Scenery of the American West |
| When I started work on this website, our family had a spirited discussion of just which states comprise the West. Of course, it all depends on the historical period you’re talking about. Over time, the line has moved west with the settlers. Now, however, it seems to span the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Idaho and Utah, give or take a couple more. |
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| The American West is a vast panorama stretching from the Great Plains through the Rocky Mountains to the painted deserts. Sculpted by wind, ice and water into fantastical shapes, the land is harsh and unforgiving, as travelers from the Donner Party to modern-day immigrants have discovered to their dismay. |
| But its rugged beauty captures your imagination. You can almost hear the creak of wagon wheels, the low of cattle and the hoots of cowboys and Indians in the silence. |
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| The scenery of the West is one of the elements that linger with you when you see Ken Burns's special, The West, on PBS. The series includes several historic photographs depicting a solitary individual dwarfed by the vast landscape. |
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| And there’s all that sky—bright blue or piled with white clouds, dark and green before a storm, or painted with all the warm hues of a paint pot at sunset. At night, there are so many stars the sky seems heavy with them. |
| Texas |
| Colorado |
| New Mexico |
| Arizona |
| Texas |
| Wyoming |
| Utah |
| Idaho |
| Arizona |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Rocky Mountains |