A history of castles, cattle & coal in the Gunnison Valley

Years of research into the people, places, industries, and stories of Colorado’s Ohio Creek Valley have earned author and geologist Gary Scott Steffens top honors at the 2026 Collective of Independent Publishers and Authors (CIPA EVVY) Book Awards for Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal.

Presented by the Collective of Independent Publishers and Authors at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, the awards recognized Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal with the top award in the History category and the competition’s overall nonfiction honor.

The awards mark the culmination of years of research and writing by Steffens and recognize a project deeply rooted in the Gunnison Valley. He was joined in the years- long effort by his wife, Teresa Hoehn Steffens, along with publication designer Kathy Amen and B&B Printers of Gunnison, who helped bring the extensive history from manuscript to finished book. 

Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal chronicles the sweeping history of the Ohio Creek Valley and surrounding region, with stories reaching from Irwin and Crested Butte to Gunnison, Powderhorn, and Lake City. Framed by the West Elk Mountains and the distinctive rock formations known as the Castles, its story reaches from dinosaurs, volcanoes, and Native Americans through early explorers and prospectors, cattle ranchers, coal miners, stagecoaches, narrow-gauge railroads, and generations of families who shaped the region.

In his foreword to the book, Gunnison historian Duane Vandenbusche describes the Ohio Creek Valley as “a microcosm of the early days of Colorado’s Western Slope.” Steffens’ research drew upon early newspaper accounts, interviews, government and railroad records, courthouse and county tract records, family histories, historic photographs, mining records and maps, university and museum archives, and firsthand accounts from ranchers, miners, residents, historians, and descendants of pioneer families. Many local families opened their personal collections and shared photographs, documents, memories, and stories.

The book builds upon generations of earlier Gunnison County scholarship, particularly

the work of Vandenbusche and historian Judy Buffington Sammons, while adding newly uncovered details and stories of people and events that had nearly disappeared from

memory.

“This book is their book,” Steffens writes of the ranchers, residents, miners, and legacy

pioneer families whose histories and stories contributed to the project.

The book’s historical maps became a research undertaking of their own. Working with Mike Pelletier of the Gunnison County Geographic Information Services Department and David M. Primus, Steffens drew upon nineteenth-century government expeditions and land surveys, historic road, assessor, and coal-mining maps, GPS fieldwork, aerial imagery, and modern terrain data to help locate long-lost travel routes, structures, and historic sites.

Steffens brought decades of research and field experience to the project. A geologist by profession, he spent 36 years with Shell Oil Company, exploring for oil and gas around the world and becoming internationally recognized for his work in deepwater marine exploration. Since retiring from Shell in 2016, he has served as an adjunct professor and lecturer at Western Colorado University in Gunnison. His lifelong interests in geology, archaeology, and nineteenth-century American history ultimately converged in the research behind Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal.

Throughout the project, Steffens worked closely with his wife, Teresa Hoehn Steffens, who was deeply involved in the book’s development. As Gary researched and wrote the history, Teresa read and carefully edited the manuscript, offered input throughout the process, and provided support during the years it took to bring the project to completion.

Bringing a manuscript of this scale into print required another kind of collaboration. Publication designer and print-production specialist Kathy Amen worked with Gary and Teresa to organize and design the extensive manuscript, photographs, maps, captions, references, and other historical material and prepare the book for print production.

Amen, now based in Fort Collins, has more than three decades of experience in publication design and print production and spent 20 years living and working in the Gunnison Valley, including at Crested Butte Printing and B&B Printers.

“Designing this book was one of the most challenging and memorable projects of my career,” Amen said. “Through Gary’s research, I learned so much about the ranchers, miners, families, and history of a place that had already been such an important part of my own life and career. Seeing all of that work come together in the finished book—and now seeing Gary and the book receive this recognition—is incredibly meaningful.”

The project came full circle with B&B Printers of Gunnison, where Amen began working decades ago and continues to collaborate on print projects today. Established in 1956 and owned and operated by Jim and Juanita Stanley, B&B is celebrating 70 years in business in 2026 and shepherded the book through print production. The first edition of Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal, printed in October 2025 and limited to 500 copies, is a 1,064-page, 8.5-by-11-inch Smyth-sewn hardcover featuring more than 1,340 illustrations and thousands of cited references. Designed for durability and longevity, the finished volume reflects the extraordinary depth of Steffens' research and the scale and permanence of the history he set out to preserve.

Although Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal bears Steffens’ name as author, its pages preserve the contributions of a much larger community—ranchers, miners, historians, librarians, archivists, museum staff, pioneer families, photographers, mapmakers, and residents who helped keep pieces of the valley’s past from being lost to time.

Where to Buy

Valley of Castles, Cattle & Coal is available at Abracadabra (formerly the Bookworm) and Traders Rendezvous, both in Gunnison, and at Oh Be Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte.