Bus Fires, Voodoo Candles, and Rodeo Legends: Inside Robert Earl Keen’s Epic Final Tour.
Cover photo by Dan Winters
Nearly ninety, the Four Sixes cowboy still saddles up every morning to work. Was an honor to profile Boots.
Portraits by Bryan Schutmaat
For fifteen years, my 2005 GMC Sierra has, through good times and bad weather, taken me to every corner of Texas. It might be time to say goodbye, but it won’t be easy.
Cover photo by LeAnn Mueller
Oil-field medics face long hours, grisly accidents, desolation, and low pay. So why do they do it?
His almost superhuman exploits made him one of the West's most feared lawmen. Today, the legendary deputy U.S. marshal is widely believed to be the real Lone Ranger. But his true legacy is even greater.
July 2021: Texas Monthly
*Nominated for National Magazine Award in Feature Writing
John R. Erickson wanted to become a serious literary novelist, like Faulkner or Hemingway. Fortunately for millions of Hank the Cowdog fans, he failed.
Texas Monthly: March 2021
Cover photo by Jeff Wilson
As the Permian Basin’s oil boom fades, renewables could keep the region working.
Illustration by Jason Holley
I traveled some 3,000 miles in search of the state’s best honky-tonks.
[Texas Monthly: September 2019]
Photo by LeAnn Mueller
*Nominated for National Magazine Award
The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans? Though some will reap serious profits, the region’s dealing with skyrocketing rents, overcrowded schools, and potholes as big as VW Beetles.
National City and Regional Magazine Award finalist: civic journalism.
Photo by Nick Simonite
Five decades ago, Myrtis Dightman broke the color barrier in professional rodeo and became one of the best bull riders who ever lived. But his imprint on the sport was only just beginning.
Photo by LeAnn Mueller
Remembering “The Alamo” through souvenir shot glasses, John Wayne toilet paper, and the family that brought the 1960 classic to Texas.
Photo by Reg Campbell
‘The Iron Orchard’ is a 1967 novel with a cult following among Texas oilmen. Here’s the story of the film adaptation of “the wildcatter’s bible”—fifty years in the making.
Photo courtesy of Ned Van Zandt
The hill I will die on.
[Y’all should probably buy Stephen Harrigan’s book.]
Sixty years after they first convoyed into Houston, the country’s oldest African-American trail riders association saddles up.
Photo by Brandon Thibodeaux
Growing up in the Permian Basin, I thought I had a sense of what it was like working the oilfields. Turns out I didn’t know a damn thing.
Photo by Jaymee Snow