Colorado's history, like the state itself, has had many ups and downs, booms and busts in farming and ranching, in mining and railroading, in water and oil have made Colorado's past a cycle of ups and downs as high as the state's peaks and as low as its canyons.

In each chapter of this book, you will find some questions, activities, and suggested reading to help you learn more of Colorado's story than we can present here. In these pages. you will discover a high, dry state with rugged natural beauty and an awesome history.

Thomas J. Noel, also known as "Dr. Colorado", teaches history at the University of Colorado at Denver where he is the director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies, and is a columnist for the Denver Post. He has served as a Denver Landmark Commissioner and chair during the 1970s and 1980s and is a National Register Reviewer for Colorado. He is the author or coauthor of forty-one books on Colorado. Duane A. Smith is a professor of history at Fort Lewis College in Durango, and is the author or coauthor of more than fifty books on Colorado and the West. He also serves as chair of the Durango Parks and Forestry Board and on the Anima School House Museum Board.