Ernest Ingersoll, famous 19th century travel writer, set out to explore Colorado in the 1880s because "it was wild and rough" and caused "exhilaration of the body and soul." The result of his captivation by this American frontier was his 1885 work, Crest of the Continent - A Summer's Ramble in the Rocky Mountains and Beyond. As a member of the 1874 Hayden Expedition, Ingersoll became enthralled with this special land. And, although he wrote about mining, ranching, agriculture, and other commerce of the time, his descriptive style was a perfect match for the "high Rockies" and Colorado's awesome scenery, restful health resorts, and what is now Northern New Mexico and eastern Utah. In Crest of the Continent, Ingersoll brings the "Colorado experience" to life, perhaps better than anyone else before or since, with words and illustrations that record for all time what it was like to live in the Wild (and majestically wonderful) West. Today's tourist and historian will find this reprint of Ingersoll's Crest of the Continent a very enjoyable book; one that will be read and referred to often.