Bittersweet Revisited (in honor of Memorial Day)

Posted on May 26, 2014 by waterhigh

A U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter being refueled over Vietnam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This was a footnote on the previous post, but I think it deserves more attention——-Forrest Fenn was the rescuee.

‘Jolly Green Giant’ pilot in Vietnam War’s 1,500th airman rescue dies at 90 (stripes.com)

Panther-Passing-Across-The-Sky

Posted on May 26, 2014 by waterhigh

I love a good meteor shower. And I once stayed up with the kids to watch the Russian Mir fly over. Pretty cool. I missed Friday night’s sky show here, but it put me in mind of a story which circles around to broken potsherds. Well, I guess all sherds are from broken pots, and Forrest has a slew of them in his backyard and at San Lazaro.

According to Alan Eckert in The Frontiersman, the night Tecumseh was born, March 9, 1768, a brilliant meteor flashed across the sky. This shooting star was, according to the old tales, The Panther, a great spirit passing over seeking a home in the south and it was a good sign. The Shawnee newborn was, therefore, named Tecumseh, The-Panther-Passing-Across.

English: Possibly a painting of Tecumseh, the Shawnee Indian who tried to unite all Native Americans to defend themselves from the growing Unites States of America. (Photo credit: Wikipedia

Tecumseh’s brother was called the Prophet, but according to the author, Tecumseh himself foretold the coming New Madrid earthquake several years before the event. In addition, another great meteor blazing across the sky would be a sign for the tribes to begin the countdown to the earthquake, which was itself the sign for them to gather as one to defend their land against the Americans.

Tecumseh had given each tribe a slab of red cedar with symbols on it and a bundle of red sticks. Each month they were to toss one stick away. When there was one stick left, they were to watch for the sign.

Just before midnight on November 16, 1811, the flash of light came out of the southwest and crossed to the northeast. The chiefs were to cut the last stick into thirty pieces when they saw the meteor.

At 2:30 am on December 16, 1811, the earth shook, from the south of Canada where the Great Lakes sloshed, to the western plains where bison stampeded and earthen vessels shattered. And those tribes that kept their pledge headed for Detroit.

An observer in Louisville recorded 1,874 separate quakes between December and March. The diary of George Crist is compelling reading:

16 December 1811 —“It was still dark and you could not see nothng. I thought the shaking and the loud roaring would never stop…..I don’t know how we lived through it….”

23 January 1811 —“What are we gonna do? You cannot fight it cause you do not know how….We lost our Amandy Jane in this one…. A lot of people think the devil has come here…..”

8 February 1812 — “If we do not get away from here the ground is going to eat us alive….”

20 March 1812 — “We still have not found enough animals to pull the wagons and you can not find any to buy or trade.”

14 April 1813 — “We lived to make it to Pigeon Roost…..From December to April no man…would dare to believe what we lived through.”

Another great eyewitness account was written in March 1816 and published in 1849: Lorenzo Dow’s Journal.

Can you say, “Teremoto“?

But, back to the pottery. I’ve been digging deep in the chapter of Too Far To Walk, the one where Charmay and Forrest are doing archaeology at San Lazaro. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was going to email Forrest about another rabbit trail I was on.

Now, I’ve always been a bit cryptic about my ideas, even when emailing him. Not that I didn’t trust him. I do. I just figured some 12-year-old whiz kids could tap into people’s communications, if they so chose. Have I been cryptic enough? Too cryptic. Hmmm.

So.

Sorry.

You read all this way and it’s a dead end. No clues for you.

No. Really. Sorry.

Fade to music: Gordon Lightfoot singing “If You Could Read My Mind, Love, What A Tale My Thoughts Would Tell…..”

From Forrest Fenn’s Collection See more at Old Santa Fe Trading Co dot com

Or, Kermit, the Frog, singing “The Rainbow Connection”

Worth the Cold?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by waterhigh

Glad to hear of the successful rescue of a searcher who got stuck in the snow out west! (See Dal’s site, Thrill of the Chase, for details.)

But hey, people. Could we not be doing things that might keep Forrest up at night! And his nephew Chip. And the other heroes. Just saying.

I’m only hunting morels and asparagas until the snow is melted in Yellowstone. (Can’t eat ’em, but, you know, it’s the thrill of the chase.)

Clear as a Bell?

Posted on May 2, 2014 by waterhigh

Treasure in the Rockies

To quell any rumors out there about Forrest Fenn’s treasure chest being found, or pictures of it on the web, and so forth , listen good —

“I have not received a photo of the treasure chest. Whoever is saying those things if puffing smoke. Ask them for the proof the offered. If I know that someone has found the treasure I will announce it on all of the blogs and my web site.”

Forrest Fenn May 1st, 2014

Clear as a bell?

So, if you do happen to find it, send proof positive, like a picture of you holding the chest, wearing the bracelet and necklace with the jaguar, trying to keep a modest smile on your face, along with an invitation to the celebration party….I’d be happy to forward it.

Happy hunting, all!

“Hear me all and listen good”

Posted on May 1, 2014 by waterhigh

Up the hill

English: Mark Twain (penname of Samuel Langhorne Clemens) in the lab of Nikola Tesla, spring of 1894. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

Warning from Forrest about a Fraudulent FB Page

Posted on April 29, 2014 by waterhigh

I’m sharing a warning that Forrest Fenn had posted on Dal’s site regarding a fraudulent Facebook page supposedly by Forrest Fenn. (There is a legitimate FB page which you can connect with via his blog, Old Santa Fe Trading Co.com.)

Here’s the warning I copied to share:

A fraudulent Facebook page popped up in the past week. The owner makes it look like Forrest is the owner. But he is not. Forrest asked me to announce that the page is bogus..
If you have any way to let folks know the page is not owned by Forrest, please go for it.
The fraudulent Facebook page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forrest-Fenn-Treasure-Seekers/1473054456258486

This site asks you to “check” your clues by emailing them.

I don’t think so, Buster.

(I thought the Fraudster might have taken it down, but, no, it’s still out there.)

Tribute and Tributary

Posted on April 21, 2014 by waterhigh

Champagne Glow (Photo credit: pepemczolz)

A toast to Dal Neitzel — his blog, Thrill of the Chase, recently passed the 2 millionth mark! Beginner and seasoned searchers go there for the latest and the most useful information on the hunt for Forrest Fenn’s hidden treasure chest. Thank you.

Dal just added a great story, The Shaft, about one of his excursions last fall that involved a real life character named Harley. Kind of a LOL, edge of your seat story. I also think much could be made of the findings, but maybe that’s just my imagination on the run again.

This puts my stats in perspective. I was so tickled to have passed 250 followers and twenty thousand-some views a couple months ago. It pales in comparison, but I’m not in competition. This site is just a feeder stream to the rivers of info on Forrest’s and Dal’s websites.

Okay. Maybe it’s just a trickle, but it leads readers to more information about the man who wrote the poem with 9 clues

Forrest Fenn signing my copy of The Thrill of the Chase

and his books with hints, the man who hid a treasure trove of gold nuggets, coins and jewels, and the story of his life.

Snow is melting. Fevers are rising. Time to get the camping gear ready.

Chugwater Shepherd Wagon

Now just where does that warm water halt???

Friday Foto Talk: Photographing Rainbows

Posted on March 18, 2014 by waterhigh

Rainbows make me smile.
The pot at the end of Forrest Fenn’s Rainbow? I’d be more than smiling.

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest

MJF Images

A rare morning rainbow in the desert graces my campsite one morning on the Baja Peninsula, Mexico. Click for purchase options.

With springtime right around the corner, the weather in many areas, including here in the Pacific Northwest, will be ‘unsettled’, prime conditions for one of my favorite things: rainbows! Throughout the world’s temperate regions in fact, the change of seasons that is about to happen results in clashes of warm & cool air masses. That means frequent showery weather and a sky that’s often broken into clear and cloudy parts. When the sun is relatively low in the sky, whether morning or late afternoon, and there is precipitation in the area, you’ve got the perfect setup for rainbows.

By the way, all these images are copyrighted and not available for free download without my permission. They are small versions anyway. Click on the image you’re interested in to go…

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“Nature as Teacher” quote series #2 reblogged

Posted on March 16, 2014 by waterhigh

Muir Wood11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“As I have gone alone in there ….” Forrest Fenn

A Message from Rennelle

Posted on March 12, 2014 by waterhigh

Warrior2

Our good wishes to Rennelle continue.

THIS IS A THANK YOU NOTE TO EVERYONE FROM RENELLE-

Please accept my apologies for the tardiness of this response to the overwhelming gift of the raffle proceeds. I was away for awhile, and although I tried mightily to finish all of the thank-you cards and messages before I left, I didn’t quite succeed. My lack of a timely reply, however, in no way reflects the amount of my gratitude.

A cancer patient has a lot of different weights on his or her shoulders. In my case, there is the constant out-of-state travel to medical appointments, the daily battle to continue some sort of normality through the fog and sickness caused by years of chemotherapy, and, of course, the reality of the never-ceasing medical bills.

In a single, combined effort from all of you, one of my weights was lifted. To each and every person who participated in the raffle, please accept my heartfelt thanks for your contributions.

Many of you promoted the raffle on your respective blogs, and I want to thank you all for your work on my behalf. It would be logical to assume that so many searchers looking for a single prize would be ultra-competitive with each other! That may be, but you are also community-minded and came together to pull off an event that was successful beyond anyone’s imagination. You all have my respect, my admiration, and most of all, my thanks.

I’d also like to thank the Collected Works Bookstore and Dorothy Massey, who offered a lovely setting in which to host the raffle event. Suzanne Somers offered her support in the days leading up to the event, and I was humbled and grateful to receive her beautiful message. The lovely and gracious Ali McGraw was kind enough to participate in the drawing, and I was so very appreciative of her willingness to lend us her time. Thanks also to Toby Younis, who used his professional abilities to record the raffle event and stream it live. I watched it from my chemo chair and couldn’t contain my smiles.

Every day for several weeks, Dal Neitzel donated so much time to the raffle process that I doubt he ever slept! Dal, I am so appreciate of all your hard work and selfless efforts.

The incomparable Forrest Fenn turned his raffle idea into reality, as he has done with countless other ideas throughout his lifetime. This time, however, it was for my benefit, and for that, I give him my endless gratitude. Thank you, Forrest. You remain my hero.

Thank you all so very much, and I hope to see you on the trail!

Renelle

______________________________________________________

Click here for her story in Forrest Fenn’s words.

Cabinets of Curiosities, and Serendipity III

Posted on March 3, 2014 by waterhigh

Fertility Frog Pipe Bowl

Yesterday was annual artifact ID day at the local museum. My last springs finds were designated likely Matanzas of the Mid-Archaic age, pushing 6,000 BP (before present). Curiously, the older the artifacts, the fancier the stonework. Mostly I had a lot of flakes and some ‘blockies’, a new term for me, meaning just a rock, not a prehistoric artifact.

As I browsed the museum, lots of things reminded me of Forrest Fenn and the Chase.

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest

No surprise there; it invades the mind. [Not unlike the virus in the Preston/Child book I was in the middle of reading. More on that in a moment.]

The frog, of course.

The stone faces — think one of his bronze jars.

Mackinaw Cache

A cache, not the Fenn Cache.

Red ochre…..

Surveyor’s Compass…

This strangely shaped stone piece…….

And, okay, not a Clovis in a Mammoth (on Forrest’s bucket list), but how about a spear point that nicked a bison’s rib?

Bison Kill found in Illinois River at ‘water low’

Lots of interesting maps and letters on the walls, showing the moving Indian boundaries, the Military Land Grants on the (then) frontier, settlement of Illinois from the south toward the north. (I’m awaiting a copy of An Illinois Reader, editor Walton.)

Cover of Fever Dream

Back to the book — Fever Dream — the finding of which was in itself, serendipitous. Think second-hand shop. It was an advance reader’s copy.

I was most of the way through the book before yesterday’s outing. When I came to this cabinet, I did a double take.

Carolina Parakeet

Yes. The extinct cornuopsis carolinensis, or Carolina Parakeet.

What were the odds! The bird and the artist Audubon play an intriguing role in the thriller, which I went right home to finish.

Happy hunting! Or should I say Chasing…..

Audubon’s Parakeets

Polar Vortex III?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by waterhigh

Embracing this winter. Who knew I’d have use for Minnesota things down here.

There’s been so much fluffy stuff, I snow-shoed tracks for the skinny skis.

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest

In training —not for the biathalon, but the Chase.

Searchers are getting cabin fever waiting for the big melt out in the Rockies.

Polar Vortex I — made raspberry jam

(Snow shoed)

Polar Vortex II — made marmalade

(Skied) (Pruned fruit trees)

Polar Vortex III — don’t know yet

I won’t ski or snow shoe — the fluff was turned into a bone-shattering layer of ice on stone-hard ground. Sometimes it’s good to stay inside and smell the lemon blossoms.