Fountain Creek, near Pinon, Colorado, along the old Cherokee Trail, with Pikes Peak in the background. This location is near Independence Camp and the early Benesch Ranch. June 2026. One of the greatest joys of historical research is finding someone who knows the land as well as the records. Recently, I had the privilege of spending a day with a new friend, Nancy Prince, whose roots run deep in Pueblo County. Her family descends from early Czech immigrants who settled along F

It’s one thing to read about a route on a map; it’s another to realize that the ground outside your door once carried wagons, families, and the daily uncertainties of westward movement, and that someone wrote it down as it happened.