For assistance in historical research: Clear Creek Canyon Historical Society of Chaffee County; Colorado Historical Society Library and Barbara Dey and Rebecca Lintz; Denver Public Library Western History Department; Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Kristi Nelson; Gilpin County Historical Society and James J. Prochaska, Executive Director; Tom Hill, Georgetown Loop Railroad; Marble Historical Society and Joseph Manz, President; San Juan County Historical Society and Beverly Rich, Chairman; Keith Siddel, the Old Firehouse Bed and Breakfast Inn, Creede; Bob Seago and Jan Jacobs, Creede Historical Society; Dan Smith, Park Manager, Land of the Yankee Fork Historic Area, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation; Roger and Jerri Nelson, the Idaho Hotel, Silver City; Christine Allred, Secretary, Friends of Historic Spring City; Elizabeth Rassiga, Austin; and Jim Price and Angela Haag, Goldfield.
For fieldwork support: Jim Janoviak and Karen Daly, Denver; Sharon Rossino, Executive Director, Hamill House Museum; Carol Davis, Curator, South Park City; Tommy Fraser, Marble and Crystal; Jim and Nancy Thorsen, Idaho Falls; Dan Smith, Park Manager, Land of the Yankee Fork Historic Area, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and employees Jan Haugh and Michelle Fox; Elizabeth Rassiga and Joy Brandt, Austin; Bertie and Henry Berg, and Paula Kniefel, Belmont; Jim Price and Joan Sieber, and Angela Haag, Goldfield; and Herb Robbins and Coleen Garland, Gold Point.
For photographic assistance: Jim Janoviak, Denver; John Walden, Photographics Works Lab, Tucson; and especially to John and Susan Drew, of Wilson, Wyoming—my book partners since 1997. John and Susan took the photographs for my last three books, and their professional expertise and remarkable vision made those books the delight to the eye that they are. They then, in retirement, lent me John’s Pentax 6X7 and gave me—gave me—almost two hundred rolls of film for this solo project. I did all the photography for my first four books, but working with John and Susan has sharpened my eye and improved my technique. I hope they are satisfied with the results in this book, for they have set the standard very high.
And with grateful thanks to trip companions who have traveled the backroads with me in these six states over the years: Jim Janoviak and Karen Daly, Warren Weaver, MaryAnn Mead, Jim Price and Joan Sieber, and Betty-Ann Craven; and with special thanks to the dozens of friends who found and explored ghost towns with me on mountain bikes.