Westward Hoboes: Ups and Downs of Frontier Motoring

In 1921, two women abandon the train for a Cadillac and set off across the American Southwest with nothing but nerve and a map. Toby, a fledgling artist who has just learned to drive, and her companion, who owns half the car, trade the safety of rails for the liberating chaos of unpaved roads. What follows is part road trip memoir, part love letter to a vanishing frontier, and wholly a portrait of two women who refused to travel like everyone else. Dixon writes with wry humor about breakdowns and buffalo, dust storms and desert nights, capturing a Southwest on the cusp of transformation. Their optimism is constantly tested by rugged terrain and unpredictable encounters, yet the journey proves that getting lost sometimes leads to the best discoveries. A century later, this memoir endures as a vivid time capsule and a testament to the thrill of going your own way.