Spanish traders and explorers made frequent trips into southern Colorado during the eighteenth century. Those of record were led by Capt. Juan Marie de Rivera, in 1765, and Padre Francisco Escalante, in 1776. Each party followed approximately the same route from Santa Fe to the San Juan Basin, westward to the Mancos River, thence northward across the forest through the Dolores and San Miguel Valleys to the vicinity of the present town of Placerville. From this point they crossed the Dallas Divide to the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Valleys. De Rivera’s route beyond that point is unrecorded. Escalante continued through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico to Santa Fe. [Illustration: F-376867 T-I-M-B-E-R!] During these expeditions, Spanish names were given to many of the geographical and topographical features and were retained throughout the forest. Farther north, they were replaced by English names. In 1831, the St. Louis Fur Company employed a party under command of W. G. Walton to trap along the headwaters of the San Juan River. The party spent the summer of 1833 in the valley of the Rio Dolores and at Trout Lake. Parties under the command of Lieutenant Howard in 1861 and Colonel Nash in 1866 were also in the Dolores Valley. Prospectors soon followed, and claims were located in the vicinity of Rico in 1869. Ranchers came in very soon after the prospectors, and the mining and cattle industries were principally responsible for settlement and development within and adjacent to the forest. THE HIGHWAYS AND RAILROADS Mancos, where the forest headquarters are located, and the southern part of the forest may be reached over U S 160 from Durango and Alamosa, Colo., to the east or Cortez and Monticello, Utah, from the west. U S 550, a highly scenic route from Montrose, Ouray, and Silverton, joins U S 160 at Durango. [Illustration: F-376864 TROUT LAKE WITH VERMILION PEAK AND SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND] During the summer, busses operate over these highways between Grand Junction and the Mesa Verde National Park, which lies a short distance south of the Montezuma National Forest. The best approach from the south is U S 666, from Shiprock, N. Mex., to Cortez, on U S 160. From points near that junction two State highways extend northward through the forest. State Highway 145 passes through Dolores, Rico, Telluride, Placerville, and Norwood, important towns within or near the forest, to junctions with State Highways 62 and 90. State Highway 147 is a more direct route between Dolores and Norwood, and State Highway 184 connects Dolores and Mancos.