| | | | | | | | | |
General
Wild Thyme Botanicals Natural Handmade Soaps
Alaska
Coastal
San Francisco's Chinatown
Desert
Joe Wilcox
Hawaiian
Mexican
Before the Mexican War, most of the current western United States was part of Mexico as the territories of Alta California and Nuevo M�xico. Alta California included the current states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Oregon and Wyoming. Nuevo M�xico included the current states of Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Kansas. Even though the entire United States is treated as a former British colony, and that's where our language and governments come from, these areas of the nation have never been colonized by Britain, only Spain. As former Spanish colonies, it's common to see Spanish-influenced building styles in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. In New Mexico, the original Mexican population of the area is still a large percentage of the population, and speak Spanish. This is why New Mexico has the highest percentage of Spanish speakers out of all the states. In Arizona and California most are immigrants, even though members of the old rancho families still exist in California. The entire area is closely connected to Mexico because of the original Mexican-Americans combined with the recent mass immigration. Spanish speaking is becoming more and more common and Mexican food is an important part of the local cultures.
Mexican Cooking
Mexican Hot ...or Not!(another Mexican food site)
About.com's Mexican Food Site
American Girl - Josefina
From the American Girl Collection, stories and activities about a girl growing up in 1824 in the Mexican territory of Nuevo M�xico. She was born Spanish, is Mexican at the time of the stories, and at age 33 will become a Mexican-American when her home is transferred to another country.
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain range in the United States and provide a very scenic landscape. Much higher numbers than average participate in outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, and skiing. Colorado was recently ranked as the thinnest state in the nation, with Utah and other western states also near the top of the list. Western characteristics certainly contribute to this. There are many ranchers in this area, some private and others working for large corporations. When going through rural areas of Utah on the 15 freeway a lot of the exits only say "Ranch Road" and lead only to local private ranches.
Brokeback Mountain is a great movie to watch not only for the convention-shattering portrayal of gay romance but also for a great view into earlier days in the Rocky Mountain region. There are many notable scenes such as the scene in the grocery store, the use of old hand techniques to do laundry, post office practices, and other interesting things as well as an extremely high hostility towards gays which resulted in several violent events shown or mentioned during the movie.
One of the most unique subcultures within the western third of the United States is the Mormon religion, which can be argued to be part of or separate from Christianity. Though Mormonism is usually associated with Utah, Idaho and Wyoming have Mormon-dominated areas and Arizona, Nevada, and California have a lot more Mormons than central and eastern states. Mormons have a strong influence on politics in all western areas (for example they were behind California's Proposition 8 gay marriage ban) and many politicians are Mormon. Most Mormons have many generations of ancestors in the western United States and Mormons in the 1800s founded western cities and towns all over the place. Mormons from Mormon dominated areas have a very distinct subculture in many ways such as a much earlier marriage age than other Americans. The most extreme version of Mormonism is Mormon Fundamentalism, or polygamist religion, which exists in isolated enclaves such as Colorado City, Arizona.
Mormon Church
Mormon Fundamentalism
Mormon Fundamentalism
Mormon Geneology
Family Search
Iceberg Drive-Inn (another page)
Arctic Circle (another page)
Mormons' special underwear
Utah Sign System