On Colorado's Western Slope, Parachute Creek joins the mighty Colorado River in its journey to the Gulf of California. Ute Indians hunted game in the area long before Americans moving west discovered the lush grasses along the creek and dense forests on the surrounding mesa tops were perfect for raising cattle and sheep.

Like the Utes before them, settlers noticed something they had never seen: rock that burned. Early pioneer Mike Callahan realized its potential the hard way, when his housewarming turned into a conflagration. His rock fireplace caught fire and destroyed his log cabin. Far from daunted, Callahan became an early proponent of oil shale development. He could not have predicted the "rock that burns" would virtually wipe out the way of life he and others had enjoyed along Parachute Creek.

Up the Creek is the story of those pioneer families, told by one of their own. Ivo Lindauer grew up along Parachute Creek, the third generation to live and ranch in the canyons and surrounding mesa tops. His ranch is now the last remaining family-owned ranch along the entire creek. In preserving the stories of the creek's early settlers and their descendants, Lindauer captures a rapidly disappearing way of life that once epitomized the American West.