West Coast

Life in the West During COVID-19

Madeleine LaPlante-Dube

Searching for the World's Biggest, Most Endangered Whale

Heather Hansman

Bundyville: The Remnant

The Meteorology Behind California's Crazy Waves

Dennis Mersereau

10 Reasons Why Alaska Airlines Is Our Favorite Carrier

For one, it makes headlines for excellence and not for, um, dogs dying in its overhead bins

Anna Callaghan

Jul 1, 2018

Bikepacking the West Coast in Search of Steelhead

In the first chapter of Blackburn Designs film series, Water Cycle, Brian Ohlen bikes around the west coast in search of Steelhead.

Sep 21, 2017

Oregon's Coastline Is a Dreamland

When Jay Worsley got his brand new DJI Inspire Pro, he knew he had to test its limits. So he booked a ticket to Oregon and drove the coast in search of ocean landscapes.

Feb 17, 2017

The tumbleweed, or Russian thistle, is famous in popular culture as a solitary nomad rolling across the open road. Its history in America dates back to 1880 when the Department of Agriculture began getting reports of a weed rapidly growing in South Dakota. It has since spread to every state in the country except Florida and Alaska, thriving in dry, disturbed land—particularly the kind found along the highways, rivers, and drainages of the American West.

In recent years, millions of them have buried roads, buildings, and even entire towns as climate change and longer drought periods make the situation worse. However, the tumbleweed has become more than just a nuisance, the plant has gained a measure of cultural acceptance as it puts down roots in communities across the West.

Denver-based photographer Theo Stroomer is in the middle of his third winter photographing tumbleweeds. Here, he shares some of his favorites images of the invasion from the last three years.

Photo: This was one of the first images I made for the project. Hanover, Colorado, got hit with a tumbleweed storm a few years ago and I drove down to see it for myself. As I drove east, I started seeing more and more tumbleweeds along the road. I found Bertha Medina clearing off her barn and knew I had to stop. She said it was OK to take her photo, as long as I helped her afterwards, so I got some hands-on experience. They are prickly, ornery things, not hard to move, but very time consuming.

We Never Thought Tumbleweeds Could Look This Beautiful

Denver-based photographer Theo Stroomer is in the middle of his third winter photographing tumbleweeds. Here, he shares some of his favorites images of the invasion from the last three years.

Theo Stroomer

Feb 8, 2017

Yes, a lot of your options will probably involve really good burgers. But you're in America, aren't you?

The Ultimate Guide to Road Trip Food Strategy

Increase your MPG (meals per gallon) this summer with these rules for finding the best road food.

AC Shilton

Jul 13, 2016

The Untold, Beautiful, and Wild Stories of the American West

Photographer Lucas Foglia’s widely celebrated book, Frontcountry, took him across much of the American West from 2006 to 2013. He captured nearly 60,000 images over that time and narrowed the final selection down to just 60 shots, all of which explored mining and ranching communities and their interaction with the surrounding landscape. Despite his extensive coverage, Foglia thinks many of the stories he came across are still undercovered. He even included a map in the book as an invitation for other photographers and storytellers to use as a resource. Here, Foglia highlights a few storylines from his book that are far from over.

Lucas Foglia

Jun 7, 2016

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