Some ten thousand five hundred years ago, post-ice age hunters of the Folsom culture used the San Juan Mountains to hunt bison and gather plants in high mountain valleys. Later, Ute Indians lived in this area, called the Rocky Mountains the "Shining Mountains," and became Colorado's oldest continuous residents. Spanish explorers, mountain men, fur traders, and American surveyors then followed well-worn Ute hunting and trade routes into Colorado as a land of opportunity. An ancient trail was widened into a toll road during the mining booms in Lake City and Creede, bringing ranchers, tourists, and settlers, and by the early nineteen hundreds automobiles had entered this high mountain valley. Beginning in the eighteen seventies, gold and silver drew prospectors, miners, traders, loggers, and speculators seeking the region's wealth, and in eighteen ninety-two the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad extended track from Wagon Wheel Gap to Creede to haul ore and freight while lumber, freight, and tourists kept the railroad in business. Today the Silver Thread Scenic Byway, between South Fork and Lake City, follows this remarkable route and supports year-round recreation, tourism, and local economies.