In the 1860s and 70s, more and more settlers entered the Inland Northwest. Conflicts between those settlers and Native American tribes at times turned violent. Most notably the Nez Perce War (1877) and the Bannock War (1878) were fought over the forced resettlement of those tribes. In this area of Washington, the Spokane and Colville reservations were created north of the Spokane River. Fear of the tribes leaving the reservation caused the local people to call for a permanent

La Purisima Mission State Park in Lompoc was the 11th of the 21 missions established in California. The first mission was established at a site that is now in Lompoc on December 8, 1787. But that site was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812, and the mission was rebuilt on its present site about three miles northwest of the city. The mission is tucked into a hillside that helps block the winds that come with being so close to the ocean. There is a fresh water source via a sprin

What to expect from a visit to Rosie the Riveter and Henry J. Kaiser at the WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.

Hard-to-find History of Joaquin Murrieta and Cantua Creek. California Historical Marker #344, about nine miles from Coalinga. Sometimes I like to complain about California's relationship to its history, in that they don't have a relationship at all.

About eight miles west of Wallace we stumbled across a monument dedicated to the Sunshine Mine Disaster that occurred May 2, 1972. The monument includes a statue of a miner and the names of each worker who died in the tragedy. I had never heard of this event. On May 2, 1972, there were 173 workers inside the mine. At 11:40 am a fire started in the mine and an evacuation was ordered 23 minutes later when the location of the fire could not be determined...