Hoist a Cold One!: Historic Bars of the Southwest

The quintessential Western saloon---dimly lit, wooden front and back bars---played an essential role in shaping our country. But if those bars could talk, what stories they would tell! Often hauled across hundreds of miles of rugged terrain to thirsty destinations ranging from canvas tents to tony establishments, the carved back bar resplendent with glasses and liquor and the front bar---mahogany, cherry, or rosewood---complete with brass foot rail, awaited eager elbows. Twenty-six front and back bars---many sporting spur and bullet scars---in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, are the focus of this entertaining book. Melody and Myke Groves tell the bars' stories with a combination of historic background narrative and recent photographs. They acquaint us with bars from the Grand Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona, to Rosa's Cantina in El Paso, Texas, to the mining-town bars of southwest Colorado to unique New Mexico establishments such as Los Ojos in Jemez Springs, the Owl in Socorro, and the Lodge in Cloudcroft. Driving directions are included. As all the bars are currently accessible, visitors are welcome to bring cameras, belly up to the bar, and hoist a cold one.

Molody Groves, author of four novels set in the 1860s Southwest, also wrote Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo (UNM Press). A New Mexico Gunfighter, she reenacts shootouts in Albuquerque's Old Town, MYKE GROVES, freelance filmmaker and avid mororcyclist, has had his photos featured in regional publications such as New Mexico Magazine and True West.