In the early 1880's, the unknown American West lured travellers, explorersnd spiritual seekers from around the world. These explorers were theathfinders of the Oregan trail, the Santa Fe trail and the California trail.hey discovered the ruins of ancient cliff-dwellers, the wonders ofellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, Grand Teton andanyonlands. This book is a documentation of these expeditions.;The recordsf the expeditions, by Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, John Fremont, Johnowell and others, exist only in their notebooks, journals and diaries.ollowing these records, photographers have returned to the originalocations at the same time of day and season of the year, to document theites. These large format, colour photographs, juxtaposed with theravellers' manuscripts, letters and sketchbooks, recreate the expeditions.lso featured are the explorers' own maps, revealing what they thought theyere doing, along with modern accurate maps depicting their real progress.