Here I am,  writing about beavers again.   That’s what happens when some of your best tours explore trails used by practioners of the...

The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota was in the headlines last fall and winter because of Native American demonstrations...

“Seeing the elephant”, I’m told, is a purely American phrase which gained popularity in the early 19th century. Coincidentally, the first...

Andrew Carroll in his excellent new book (Here is Where) about what he calls America’s “forgotten history”, raises the question about the...

October is Pow Wow month in the Black Hills, when one of the largest pow wows in North America is held annually. For various reasons –...

I’ve written about this subject before (Wide Open Spaces, Jan 2013) but it is never far from my mind because I not only live in what has...

I like to think that I am an eclectic reader, with interests in baseball (especially the Negro Leagues), World War II, biographies (of...

The first time I traveled the Lewis & Clark Trail was in 1997. I was participating in a FAM (that’s travelspeak for “familiarization...

I am a Westerner in more ways than one. I live in the West and am devoted to its history. But I also belong to an organization called...

One of the hallmarks of our tours is that we offer the opportunity to walk where history happened. When you think about it, this really...

History is rife with coincidences that are simply too amazing to make up. Although Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery spent considerable...

In case you haven’t heard yet, we are going back on the trail again this year. Actually, we follow some historic trail or other every...

At a recent history conference I learned – among other things – that the stereotypical movie depiction of circling the wagons against an...

I recently ran a Facebook promotion featuring Teddy Roosevelt as a “Legendary North Dakotan”.  I knew that few Americans are aware of...

When I started my travel blog a couple of years ago, it seemed only natural to call it “Trail Talk”. After all, Shebby Lee Tours...

“Wagons West!” is more than a catch phrase here at Shebby Lee Tours. At this time of year, we eagerly await the greening of the grass...

Remember how you used to look forward to field trips when you were in school? It was a chance to break away from the routine, experience...

It is an irritating burr under my saddle that some people – actually, many people – insist on placing my home state of South Dakota in...

The reviews are in and this year’s Old West Trail (June 18-24) was a resounding success, thanks to the excellent staff (both Coloradans)...