Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

This series will trace how the American West's identity has been shaped by its people, landscapes and legacies

A cowgirl competes in a race that requires horses to run around barrels in an obstacle course.

Travel

See 25 Photos of Real-Life Cowboys and Cowgirls Wrangling Cattle and Riding Bucking Broncos

Giddyap and get a look at these stunning selections from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Bonneville is one of the flattest natural runways on the planet, a surface so smooth and open that racers have been coming here for generations to see how far they can push the machines they build.

Travel

Meet the Daredevils Chasing Down Speed Records at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Race officials, tinkerers and competitors converge in Utah every fall to test both metal and mettle

Four Ways to Experience the Authentic Spirit of Wyoming

This year marks the fourth time the waterfalls have flowed in the past 15 years.

Smart News

These Mesmerizing Waterfalls Flow Only Every Few Years. See the Rare Marvel Now in Southwest Utah

Gunlock Reservoir has exceeded 105 percent of its capacity. As a result, water is spilling onto the red rock boulders below, creating an unusual natural phenomenon just in time for spring break

Coyote jumps high after a fresh October snowfall in Yellowstone National Park.

Travel

See 15 Wild and Wondrous Photographs of Yellowstone National Park

Take a virtual tour of the nation’s first—and some say most beautiful—national park

Boise Whitewater Park includes two adjustable wave features spread over a mile apart. The first is suitable for those beginning to surf, while the second phase is better for advanced levels to put on a show.

Travel

How Landlocked Idaho Became a Leader in Urban Surfing

Boise's wave park is attracting outdoor adventurers—and the innovative public works project is inspiring other cities

<p>A shaft of golden light from the cave’s mouth provides warmth as the expedition’s scientists enjoy lunch 80 feet below the opening of Natural Trap Cave.</p>

Science

A Trove of Ice Age Fossils Buried in a Wyoming Cave Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Prehistoric Animals

At a site known as Natural Trap Cave, a team of scientists are rappelling down to uncover the secrets of what the Earth was like during the Pleistocene

<p>The Pekin Noodle Parlor in Butte, Montana, serves what owner Jerry Tam calls “Chinese American comfort food.”</p>

Arts & Culture

The First Chinese Restaurant in America Has a Savory—and Unsavory—History

Venture into the Montana eatery, once a gambling den and opium repository, that still draws a crowd

The papier-mâché decoys have been placed in a 100-acre field south of the Jackson Hole Airport runway in a bid to attract greater sage-grouse.

Smart News

Threatened Birds Are Trying to Mate Near a Hazardous Airport in Wyoming. Can Papier-Mâché Decoys Lure Them to Safety?

At Grand Teton National Park, officials have placed handmade look-alikes in a field south of the runway to encourage greater sage-grouse to relocate

The 315-page police docket from 1904 is bound in red leather with gold accents.

Smart News

This 120-Year-Old Police Docket Documented Crimes Like Reckless Horse Riding

Discovered in a thrift store, the historic docket lists incidents that occurred in the town of Casper, Wyoming, in 1904—including “reckless riding [of a horse]” and “keeping a house of prostitution”

<p>The snow-capped Rockies glow bright white in the snow.</p>

Travel

See the Splendor of the Majestic Rocky Mountains

View 15 awe-inspiring images of this range from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest