[re_tail20]

Gorgeous sepia-tinted pictures show the landscape as it was charted for the very first time

[re_tail20]

Hope this hasn’t been posted before. I did check.

[digger48]

Ltr

[afraidfortherepublic]

When I was a child in the ‘40s and deep into the romance of the weekly Saturday morning “Westerns” that showed at the local movie house, I told my father that when I grew up I wanted to “move out West”. My father laughed and said, “You’re in California, and that’s about as far west as you can get.”

I was so disappointed, since my paved street filled with houses on small lots and kids riding bicycles looked like nothing in the movies.

BTW, my family moved to CA at about the time those early photos were taken. I wonder what those pioneers would thnk now!

[beaversmom]

Ping

[ClearCase_guy]

Very cool.

[martin_fierro]

[pallmallman]

Beautiful pictures....I love sepia.

[max americana]

very nice..back when the feds didn’t start owning them

[beaversmom]

Thanks for posting.

[Eccl 10:2]

Just stunning. I had the honor and pleasure of riding a bicycle across the country many years ago, and the West is breathtaking. God is amazing in His creation.

[Flick Lives]

Those pictures are awesome. Amazingly clear and in many cases very artistic compositions. It’s like a time machine to be able to see those sort of pictures from the Wild West. Imagine towing the camera equipment of that era around the West.

[Cyman]

Amazing pictures.

[Vince Ferrer]

I have been to several of those places. It is amazing to think that he went to all of those places before there were real roads. This region is probably the most difficult to travel in America. The land is carved into a fractal pattern of canyons that are difficult to cross, or even go down the river with the flow.

The previous expedition to explore this area was in 1776, by two Spanish priests. They left Santa Fe hoping to discover an easy land route to Monterey, California. They gave up after many months, never reaching California, but documenting the area between the Rockies and California.

These early photographers and painters were the first people who could document the west for the benefit of the people living east. Much of the interest in setting up national parks and preserving the beauty of the west came from viewing these photographs and paintings.

[colinhester]

Bflr

[exDemMom]

Those are some amazing pictures.

When I visited the Snake River area, calling it the “Shoshone Falls” was an exaggeration. What I saw was more like the “Shoshone Trickle.” I would love to see the falls sometime.

If you drive the interstate (90 or 94) across the north, you can see some really spectacular scenery.

[boxlunch]

Beautiful pictures!

[JoeFromSidney]

Fantastic. Reminds me of when I was stationed in New Mexico. At first I was appalled by the emptiness and lack of vegetation. Soon, though, I learned to appreciate its stark beauty. Sometimes I still miss it.

[Pride in the USA]

Haunting and beautiful photographs that capture the wild expanse of the desert Southwest and the lives of a dying people.

[BenLurkin]

This disappoint all the pinkos who teach our kids that the West was wall to wall gun violence and massacres perpetrated by evil American settlers.