Ghost Towns
As the nation expanded westward, towns came up and many of them didn’t last. This is especially true of towns that were built in a gold rush area. For years, these towns were packed with miners, shopkeepers, and other townspeople, and then when the gold dried up, the town slowly began to die.
For many of the people that set out on the California Trail, the big attraction was gold. During the California Gold Rush, thousands headed west in the hopes of striking it rich. While the days of the gold rush have long since passed, many of the old towns and mining camps are still accessible and they can provide a great opportunity for travelers.
If you want to get the experience of a person that was traveling to the Old West for the first time, then you can visit some of the trails that helped the people get there. These trails are still preserved in many places and people can still visit and ride on many of them.
From the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the modern day, the American West has had a hold on the imaginations of many. It is an area rich that is rich in history and natural splendor. For many, it is visions of famous lawmen and cowboys or the idea of pioneers riding long trails in the hopes of finding the opportunity for a better a life.
Known as one of history’s greatest underdogs, Seabiscuit was a champion thoroughbred who had a rocky start and ended up being a champion and “symbol of hope” for America during the Great Depression. He was a grandson of Man O’ War, but was considered too small to be a champion.
His 2 year racing career began in the year 1919 and Man O’ War is still considered as one of the greatest thoroughbred race horses ever. He won 20/21 races and the only race he lost is said to have happened because the starter began the race when he was not yet in position, but he was still able to pull off winning 2nd place. He sired many offspring who has successful racing careers as well.
Secretariat raced during the years of 1972 and 1973 and is still considered to be one the greatest Thoroughbreds of all time. In fact, he still carries the fastest recorded times in the world from 1 3/16 miles to 1 5/8 miles in history. Secretariat is also not far from the current 1 1/8-mile record, being behind by a mere 2 seconds.
This 1977 Triple Crown winner was the only one to win it without losing any previous races. It was once said that “every time he ran he was an odds-on favorite, and the response to his presence on the race track…was electric.” When Seattle Slew retired, he had a record of 14 firsts and 2 seconds in 17 different races and his earnings totaled $1,208,726.
Citation was born in the year 1945 and was the first horse to win over 1 million dollars from all of the 45 races of his career. He was the 8th horse to become an American Triple Crown Winner and one of three racehorses to win 16 consecutive races in the major stakes competition. He won the Jersey Stakes by 11 lengths. Citation was ranked #3 in Blood-Horse magazine’s ranking of the Top 100 U.S.
This American Thoroughbred was ranked in the top U.S. racehorses in the 20th century by The Blood-Horse Magazine was known as the “Queen of the Fillies” after winning an award for Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old-Filly and winning the Filly Triple Crown. She also won the Sorority Stakes setting a new record on a splint injury. The story of Ruffian was honored in a 2007 film.