Hunting For The Elvis House

The Sedona Elvis House has been an internet sensation recently. YouTube videos of people hiking to the Elvis…

Prince Madoc and the Welsh Indians

In the harbor at Middle Bay, Alabama, the Daughters of the American Revolution have erected a plaque in honor of a Welshman who, legends claim, preceded the arrival of Columbus in the America’s by more than three centuries. The plaque reads, “In memory of Prince Madoc, a Welsh explorer who…

The Ghost Dance Religion and the Prophet Wovoka

Lord Gore and the Mountain Man

In the long and bloody history of the Wild West what was the goriest thing that ever happened? Why it was…

Saguaro Fruit Harvest and O’odham New Year Celebration

For over 8,000 years the Tohonno O’odham have been celebrating their own unique version of the New…

Chaco Canyon

At first glance it is a mystery how a great prehistoric empire could arise from the salt brush desert flats of northwestern New Mexico…

Giacomo Beltrami

On Columbus Day this year I thought I would share the story of a different Italian explorer who was every bit as lost as Columbus. In 1823 Italian dilettante Giancomo Beltrami took it upon himself to discover the source of the Mississippi River.

Yaqui Easter

The Yaqui are Arizona’s non-native Native Americans. Their homeland is along the shore of the Rio Yaqui hundreds of miles south of what is now the international border. Accompanying the battles of the Mexican Revolution were many wars of genocide against native peoples of northern Mexico such as the Mayo…

Hugo O’Conor — Captain Colorado

At first glance, an Irish officer in the Spanish army might seem unusual but the 18th century was one of great persecution for the Celtic peoples. England had just passed legislation known as The Penal Codes. The sole purpose of these codes was to exterminate the indigenous…

America’s Only Emperor

The United States of America has only experienced one Emperor. He was known as Emperor Norton and his royal reign did not expand much beyond San Francisco. America’s only emperor was born in England as Joshua Abraham Norton, probably in 1818 and he arrived in the United States at San…