Although she racked up thousands of hours of radio time, made scores of movies, and appeared for many years on television, Dale fell somehow short of traffic-stopping celebrity status.  Dale Evans comic never sold quite as well as the Roy Rogers series.  The Dale Evans watch never buckled around as many little wrists as the Roy model did.  Trigger, Roy’s four-legged friend, rated co-star billing as “The Smartest Horse in the Movies,” Dale’s amazing mounts, Pal and later Buttermilk, sometimes didn’t get recognized until a film’s final credits rolled.  Still, for a generation of Americans, those boys and girls who spent the Saturday mornings of their childhoods in the popcorn scented darkness of the local picture show, Dale Evans – fearless, loyal, outspoken, hard-working, pretty – remains cowgirl incarnate.  When we think cowgirl, we conjure images of the Queen of the West.

Read all about the life and times of Dale Evans in Happy Trails:  A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter to win a copy for Christmas!

“The teamwork of Enss and Kazanjian bringing us the rich history of the old west and the old western movies is unparalleled.  There is no one else I would turn to learn about our western heritage.  Chris and Howard have given us wonderful insights into Roy and Dale with their acclaimed, The Cowboy and the Senorita.  This addition brings even more powerful emotion to a look back at the wonderful universe surrounding one of the greatest Hollywood partnerships of all time, both on and off screen.  I can’t wait to share it with my friends and family.”   Award Winning Country Music Artist, Clint Black

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“This gorgeous book shows why Roy Rogers and Dale Evans had an impossible-to-exaggerate influence on American culture in their prime. As revealed in these impressive photographs and informative texts, Roy and Dale’s behind-the-scenes story is as powerful and often heartbreaking as any story in their films.”

David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood

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Sandra Dallas’s Review of The Lady and the Mountain Man for the Denver Post.

“Isabella Bird is one of Colorado’s favorite historical figures. The fearless Englishwoman rode all over Colorado’s mountains in 1873, in bad weather and by herself. “The Lady and the Mountain Man” is a definitive treatment of Bird’s life.

Bird was an invalid, and doctors recommended sea voyages to improve her health. She was intrigued with the American West, and once healed, she came here by herself to explore the mountains. She settled in Estes Park where she met infamous mountain man Jim Nugent. Mauled by a grizzly, Mountain Jim was scarred and missing an eye, but Bird found him handsome. He had a reputation for violence, particularly when he was drunk, and Bird was warned against him.

The two fell in love, but a future together was not to be.

In this detailed account of the star-crossed lovers, the author — who is known for her books on Western women — plumbs both Colorado and British resources. In Enss’ hands, Bird is not a female oddity, but a woman of strength, courage and loyalty.”

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Happy Trails: 

A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

Dale Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on October 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas. In her words, her upbringing was “idyllic.”  As the only daughter of Walter and Betty Sue Smith, she was showered with attention and her musical talents were encouraged with piano and dance lessons.

While still in high school, she married Thomas Fox and had a son, Thomas Jr. The marriage, however, was short-lived.  After securing a divorce, she attended a business school in Memphis and worked as a secretary before making her singing debut at a local radio station.  In 1931 she changed her name to Dale Evans.

By the mid-1930s, Dale was a highly sought-after big-band singer performing with orchestras throughout the Midwest. Her stage persona and singing voice earned her a screen test for the 1942 movie Holiday Inn.  She didn’t get the part, but she ended up signing with the nationally broadcast program the Chase and Sanborn Hour and soon after signed a contract with Republic Studios.  She hoped her work in motion pictures would lead to a run on Broadway doing musicals.

To learn more about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans read

Happy Trails