Colorado has some great ghost stories, and this book contains spirits, spooks, and sprites that are a colorful lot of characters. MaryJoy Martin brings them vividly into focus as she describes the San Juans marvelous mix of cultures, from ancient Puebolans, migratory gold seekers to the hungry immigrants straight off the boat. Woof and warp, these tales weave a unique tapestry that matches the mystery and majesty of the mountains. The majority of the tales originated before the 1920s, most going back to the gold rush days and earlier.

A companion to The Western San Juan Mountains (originally published in 1996), The Eastern San Juan Mountains details the physical environment, biological communities, human history, and points of interest in this rich and diverse mountain system. A natural division between the eastern and western slopes of the San Juans is the north-south line that runs approximately through Lake City, south of the crossing of the Piedra River by US Highway 160. In this super guidebook, twenty-seven contributors--all experts in their fields--artfully bring the geology, hydrology, animal and plant life, human histories, and travel routes of these eastern slopes to life. Designed to inform researchers, educators, and students about the region's complex systems, The Eastern San Juan Mountains also serves as an informative guidebook to accompany visitors along their travels on the Silver Thread National Scenic Byway, which stretches between South Fork and Lake City. The Eastern San Juan Mountains deserves a place next to The Western San Juan Mountains on the bookshelf of every naturalist, researcher, resident, educator, student, and tourist seeking a greater understanding of this marvelous place and its history.

Each year thousands of people journey to see what still exists from the fascinating gold rush days. The San Juan mountain region is full of mining camps, ghost towns, mills and other mining structures that were centers of activity over a century ago. Every settlement has its own special history that was molded by its industrious and dedicated people. Prospectors headed to the mountains motivated by their dreams. As gold strikes were made, communities popped up as tent cities. Gradually the tents were replaced by log cabins. When a sawmill was completed, frame structures were built. Stores with massive false fronts were erected shoulder-to-shoulder. Many towns have withstood the test of time while others are in various stages of decay. To tour these sites is exhilarating. The flapping shutters and creaking boards will amplify your imagination. So should this book.

By 1952 it was thought the grizzly bear had been wiped out in Colorado, pushed to oblivion by predator-phobic sheep ranchers and government trappers. Even so, through the mid-1900s, ghostly stories of grizzly sightings continued to haunt remote corners of the dark-timbered San Juan Mountains in the southern-most part of the state. Then, one spooky September evening in 1979, a flesh-and-blood Grizzly sow was surprised on its daybed in the South San Juans by a bowhunter ... and the rest, as they say, is history. Or is it? As author and veteran outdoorsman David Petersen takes us along on his quest for evidence of "the next 'last' Colorado grizzly," we find ourselves enjoying a masterful mystery unfolding, character by adventure, page by riveting page. Although Ghost Grizzlies is set in Colorado, it stands as a timeless metaphor for every wild place and creature that finds itself under the gun of human encroachment still today. This revised third edition has a new cover, 12 new pages of photos, and updates.