Subterranean Splendors–Shoshone Ice Caves

~ Kana Smith ~ 20 Comments

Catching up... The final stop on the road for the Western Byways editorial team... For sixty years Fred Robinson’s family has acted as gatekeeper to a hidden underground wonder just north of the town of Shoshone, Idaho. Situated across the highway from a trading post advertising Indian Beads, leathers, kachinas, knives, and (strangely enough) swords, … Continue reading Subterranean Splendors–Shoshone Ice Caves

Internet Blackout… Imagine if it were Permanent! That’s the Threat We Face.

~ Kana Smith ~ 5 Comments

The basic functions of the internet are under threat with proposed "SOPA/PIPA" legislation, which will change all our lives if it passes.  Wikipedia and other sites are blacked out today in protest--if you run into any of these blackout sites in the course of your day's use of the internet, imagine what it would be … Continue reading Internet Blackout… Imagine if it were Permanent! That’s the Threat We Face.

From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town

~ Kana Smith ~ 8 Comments

Third day on the roads of Idaho for the Western Byways Editorial Team (see 'Western Byways on the Road... Carey, Idaho and Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer)... Lunchtime...  We’re parked on a dirt road in the narrow plain between the Lost River Range and the White Cloud Range of mountains.  Normally at this time … Continue reading From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town

Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer…

~ Kana Smith ~ 13 Comments

Day Two--Western Byways Editorial Team on the Road... By the time we unfolded ourselves from the motor-home's fold-out bed this morning, the temperature had just pushed into double digits, and I felt intrepid enough to step outside and indulge in my Very Bad Habit...  The foothills beyond the stretch of high-desert prairie were warming in … Continue reading Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer…

Reading Review (Idaho Writers series): “Bright’s Passage” by Josh Ritter

~ Kana Smith ~ 15 Comments

Imagine, for a moment, a musician who'd been named to the list of "100 Greatest Living American Songwriters" before the age of thirty, whose albums are laden with lyrical language and layers of literary and intellectual references...  And imagine that same musician writing two hundred pages of fiction with all the lyrical allure of his … Continue reading Reading Review (Idaho Writers series): “Bright’s Passage” by Josh Ritter