From camo to combines: Trading kevlar for cowgirl boots

Last Thursday, I was packing my large green duffle bag and brushing sand out of my boots after a week of frolicking-yes, frolicking-in the southern Idaho desert during National Guard duty. I was sunburned, dust-covered, and dreaming of a long shower, when my phone rang.

It wasn't a call for R&R, or even to ask if I'd made it out alive. No, it was an editor assignment-one I didn't realize would involve dust, denim, and the wildest bunch of folks this side of the Mississippi who crash farm equipment on purpose.

That's how I traded my camo uniform for Wrangler jeans, my combat boots for square-to...