Legendary Leather, Cool Cars, Mountains & Airplanes... yes I've been to Palm Springs.

Palm Springs means a few things to many people. Retired wealthy folks, endless desert sun, golf, panoramic mountains and of course, fine gunleather. Leather? What? Yes. When this cozy resort town is mentioned, my mind drifts to cowboys and the premium gun rigs made by John Bianchi, a living legend. If you ever watched "Gunsmoke" back in the day, then you probably remember Mr. Bianchi's good friend James Arness playing the part of Marshall Dillon. He wore a clean, custom built holster and gun belt designed by John Bianchi. Besides CBS studios and Warner Brothers, he also made holsters for Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and more. He now sells premium belts and holsters under the name Frontier Gunleather based in Cathedral City, California. His original business Bianchi International was sold about twenty years ago. There are few things that smell better than a room full of fresh leather goods. Burnt gunpowder would top my list, with dark chocolate coming in a close third. Ballistol or Hoppe's solution holds a solid fourth spot; pine or spiced meats take turns at number five and six, whilst seven through ten are probably of no real consequence to you and I hate to drag out more non-sequitur facts.

The aforementioned smell hit me upon entering Frontier Gunleather, but I was struck more by the sight of John Bianchi himself than the delectable leather aroma. It was totally unexpected, a shock; I was surprised that he actually still came to work. My notion that he sat at home like other retirees or went golfing was pleasantly shattered. The wife didn't really get how famous he is until I explained it in the car later. If you don't get it, imagine going to a batting cage and having Hank Aaron working there. Or walking in to Nordstrom and being assisted by Ralph Lauren. Doesn't happen much, huh? Aside from crafting the gold standard for holsters, Mr. Bianchi is good enough with a gun to have an NRA pistol tournament named after him: the Bianchi Cup. In spite of this prestige, he is quite down to earth and folksy. We walked out with an order for a custom fit gunbelt with holster, an autographed poster, personalized copy of his biography, and a 1911 double magazine pouch dyed black while we waited. The only thing I'd planned on getting was the mag pouch, but my wife insisted we get more. The poster was a total surprise. :)  

McCormick car show/ auction happened this weekend, too. Cool Model A with my father-in-law.

Mountain snow above Palm Springs, CA