Video: Truckin' (1:26min; 5.6mb)

A small story about truckers and cowboy boots. Words by Dave Cobos (El Paso, TX). Photos by yers truly. Click here to view the video.

Bootmakers in the News — Deana McGuffin

Don't miss the swell article written by Leon Sterling about his own heart-felt appreciation of custom-made cowboy boots ...and his visit with third generation bootmaker, Deana McGuffin (Albuquerque, NM.)
 

You can contact Ms. McGuffin at (505)452-0690 or bootwmn3@cs.com

Vintage Cowboy Boots at "Cowgirl Red"

If you're driving to Santa Fe...either comin' or goin', you oughta visit a little shop called Cowgirl Red.

Take Highway 14, the scenic byway known as the "torquoise trail"...to the town of Madrid (say "Maad-rid" if you want to sound like a local.)

Cowgirl Red keeps somewhat regular weekend hours (many of Madrid's shopkeeps only open when they feel like it)...call ahead for an appointment during the week or you'll end up like me, taking pictures from the gate.

Drive slow, watch out for the dogs ...and be nice to the gals at the ice cream parlor, Miss Anah-K is a friend of mine.

Cowgirl Red
2865 Hwy 14 (on the Turquoise Trail) Madrid, NM 87010 (map)
www.cowgirlred.com
(505) 474-0344

— Click here to see more cowboy boots in and around Santa Fe, NM.

Vintage Cowboy Boots at "Cowboy Legends"

Buying vintage cowboy boots at Cowboy Legends couldn't be any easier. Hundreds of pairs of "pre-enjoyed" boots... and all but a handful in wearable condition.

The only mystery is where did they came from? Row by row, they sit ...lookin' like their owners may be back for them anytime, these aren't your thrift store cast-offs.

I literally spent hours enjoying the hospitality of shop owners, Lynné and Larry Jennings. Cowboy Legends is full of vintage boots, and overflowing with stories.

Get to the shop early, bring your coffee cup, and if you're lucky there'll still be an empty seat near the front desk. Cowboy Legends is a unique kind of "clubhouse" attracting boot collectors and more than a few other local "characters."

Benefits of buying vintage cowboy boots:

• Good prices.
• Better materials and craftsmanship then today's ready-made boots.
• Toe styles, leather colors & types you can't find anymore except by ordering a custom pair.
• Fit and color fading are known quantities.
• ... you will look sexy, cool and wise beyond your years.

Hanging on the wall are paintings (zoom) by longtime boot collector, Jack Pressler (see the Cowboy Boot Book, p. 116). Many of Jack's paintings inspired classic Rocketbuster boot designs. Do you remember the old "True Love" boots?

Jack stopped in during my visit to Cowboy Legends ...so I got to ask him, "Why there are so many vintage cowboy boots in Santa Fe?" He explained it's because for all of history Santa Fe has been a trade route...first for the Indians, then for the Spanish... the Mexicans ...and now for the Anglos.

I heard boot stories at almost every stop I made in Santa Fe, so many that a few pairs began to take on personalities of their own.

I heard about one pair of boots designed and worn by Tyler Beard (made by Kimmel Boots), which were spotted and bought back (mostly in jest) by Jim Arndt more than a two decades after the Tyler and the boots had parted ways. Then there was another pair of size 12's that I swear were worn by nearly every man I talked to ...past back and forth ...until the boots were eventually bought back by their original owner years later. Wacky.

Lynné and Larry do their best to keep a selection of "collectible" boots on hand...but those hard-to-find makers' labels, fancy inlays and "cloth pulls" will cost you extra. And there are always few boots in the corner, not for sale...but as ever-changing collection of conversation starters.

Cowboy Legends
227 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (map)
www.cowboylegendsofsantafe.com
(505) 989-1554

— Click here to see more cowboy boots in Santa Fe, NM.

The American Red Cross

It's hard for me to imagine the disaster and displacement left by Hurricane Katrina. It's hard for me to imagine such great need for things like food, water and plastic tarps...right here in America.

I've place a new banner ad for the American Red Crosson the right-side of my page. I've tested it out with own credit card.

Please, donate money. Give blood. And be kind to strangers.