I will start:

El Dorado

Sons of Katie Elder

Tombstone

Purgatory

When I was a kid, I would check out these book in my school library. My parents wouldn't buy the books for me because my mom didn't like they had pictures of guns, but she never stopped me from checking them out at the library. I remember I used to sit for hours looking at the pictures and reading the stories. I especially liked looking at the old advertisements, bottle of medicines, tools, and yes guns. I must have been about 11 when I started my obsession with the books. Later in my late 20's I had the collection but it was lost in a move, I am slowly picking them back up.

What are your thoughts on the book series?

A couple weeks ago, the family and I got away for a bit and drove into New Mexico, on our way back we stopped and stayed a couple days in Tombstone. This has been on my list of places I wanted to see for a very long time. Although curfew was in effect in the surrounding counties of Arizona due to the riots, Tombstone was unaffected which made it a nice respite from all the virus and riot news.

We stayed at the Tombstone Grand Hotel, which was probably the nicest place to stay with kids. Had the trip been a couples trip may have opted for a bed and breakfast. Our only complaint was that the smell of marijuana was so bad down the halls and started seeping into our room.

We ate at the Crystal Palace Saloon, OK Cafe, Longhorn Restaurant, and Big Nose Kate's Saloon. All the restaurants were great, however a lot close early so you are kind of limited on late night dining.

We saw the gun fight reenactment at the OK corral, that ticket gets you into the Tombstone epitaph and the Tombstone history diorama. My son actually learned a lot from this experience.

I wish I had remembered that you can open carry in town, if we go back I am bringing my smoke wagon with my holster and all.

Our next trip might be to Carson City and Virginia City NV.

Thanks,

I'm writing a story about a character that goes from ranch hand to trail driver in the 1870s. And while I can find a mountain of information on daily life on the cattle trails, I'm having a world of difficulty learning about what life was like working on the cattle ranches.

I'm mostly searching for information about the typical work structure; types of jobs, hierarchy, typical duties, living conditions, etc. But obviously the more details the better.

Memoirs are always the best, but I'll take anything: historical texts, textbooks, reliable works of fiction, documentaries. I'll even travel to a good museum if anyone can recommend one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.