The story of one couple's 3,000-mile trek along America's backbone, from a dusty border town in Mexico to the snowfields of Glacier National Park on the Canadian border. A tale of adventure, it details how the American West has been "used, crossed, inhabited, cursed, logged, grazed, and climbed."

A tale of adventure, this is also a story of the American West and the ways in which it has been "used, crossed, inhabited, cursed, logged, grazed, and climbed." The authors write with insight about the history, environment, and politics of the region as they pass through grazing lands and reservations, mines and ghost towns, and miles and miles of wilderness.