Brendan Jesus
We could take the time to discuss what has been happening on UFOTwitter over the past week, as we usually do. We could talk about how Ufologist Dr. Steven Greer and Lue Elizondo are coming at each other’s throats over something. Or how an author, who will remain unnamed, made a post that in the same breath complained about how troubling gatekeeping is in the world of disclosure AND that Lue Elizondo’s book will eventually be hailed as one of the best tools for disclosure. John Greenwald Jr. made a hilarious joke asking if disclosure should come with an ISBN number.
Most fascinating are two things that happened a couple of weeks ago, but I just found out about. One of the issues surrounding AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) and AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program) is a) did they have the 22 million dollars in funding Elizondo said it did and 2) who actually was in charge of it. Dr. Colm Kelleher has criticized, while not refuting its importance, a 2017 New York Times article in which AATIP is haphazardly Control+H’d to replace the word AAWSAP. This is singlehandedly one of the main sources that has fomented the confusion of AATIP and AAWSAP and that Lue Elizondo was the one in charge of it—who was the source for that New York Times article? Ding ding ding; Lue Elizondo.
If you want a very well-researched and well-versed rebuttal to Imminent, then you should check out Jeremy McGowan’s Twitter and Medium page. He’s been doing an excellent job at looking into claims throughout the book and finding the factual errors. On top of everything, McGowan asked a question that could throw all of Elizondo’s credibility out the window if proven factually inaccurate, and it all surrounds his actual military experience. I’ll be frank, all of this stuff goes way over my head and I get bogged down in the acronyms, so it’s best for me not to give my opinion on the military experience stuff.
Anyway, what are we here for…oh yeah! As quick as Season 1 was here, it has gone. Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, Season 1, has come to an end, friends. I didn’t realize going into this that the first season only had six episodes. But, I’m okay with that. Unlike one of my main complaints of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 5, where they had too much fat and little meat, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch has been very straightforward. It reminds me of the first few seasons of Skinwalker Ranch. It is back when Brandon Fugal and his team were hungry, back before they got Oak Island-ed. Will Blind Frog Ranch continue this valiant journey of balancing entertainment and discovery? Or will they soon fall into the curse that plagued Oak Island?
The only way to find out is to get into it and discuss the…Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch.
Recently On
The finale of Season 1 Episode 5 “Trespassers” ended with Chad Ollinger’s family in [possible] peril. An unknown man was spotted on a trail cam near the location where his wife and kids were camping. This man looked up toward the sky, a guttural growl escaped his mouth, and his body bent backward as if possessed by something. According to Charlie Boy, that something was a skinwalker.
The Chase Is On
After Chad had sped off, Duane Ollinger, Eric Drummond, and Charlie Boy stood in shock. What had they just witnessed? Producer Brian Kniffel broke the stunned silence as he recommended the three to grab their stuff and catch up to Chad. This incident was enough to shake Eric up, leading to him questioning if he should start wearing his gun. Charlie Boy, as usual, breaks the silence with some dry humor, “Why do you think I carry mine?”
The three men depart the Miner’s Shack and get in their vehicles. Following in Chad’s footsteps, they speed off. Duane, Eric, and Charlie Boy meet up with Chad, thankfully his family is fine. It’s now time to figure out who the heck this trespasser was. Charlie Boy leads the team to the exact location of the trail cam.
Being the head of security, Charlie Boy takes the lead on this response. He recommends splitting up as this would be the best chance to flush the trespasser into a set location. Duane and Eric get in their vehicles and drive down the creek. Chad and Charlie Boy take two different paths through the woods, presumably the direction this trespasser could have headed in. They plan to flush this person out to where Duane and Eric are driving.
After some careful trekking through the woods, they all come up empty-handed. Dejected, but glad everyone is safe, Duane doubles down on Charlie Boy’s thought: this was a skinwalker. Duane makes an interesting point in a talking head; oddities and high strangeness on the ranch take up too much of their time and focus from what they’re really attempting to do on the ranch.
A Man With A Plan
Once everyone is back on track, and safe, Duane reminds us what the goal is: find a dry entrance to the cavern. Finding a good dry entrance means finding better target points. Eric pipes up with a potential starting point, which is to run a geophysical. Duane has ER (electrical resistivity) survey equipment and this could provide the ability to pinpoint a better source. On top of this, Eric wants to look more into the unmapped fault (the location in “Trespassers” where the drill bit slid on top of the bedrock, rather than going through).
Winter is quickly approaching the Uinta Mountains, leaving the team with a fastly approaching deadline. Once the snow starts, the digging stops. If they can find a good spot before the snow hits, they’ll use the rathole rig to drill into it.
Chad, Charlie Boy, and Eric head out to do some ER testing. Chad explains how exactly this works. Two metal stakes are placed into the ground and an electrical wire is hooked up to each one. From there, a charge will be sent through the two stakes. The material between the two stakes will allow the wires to “talk” to one another. A number will come up on the resistivity device; a lower number reading means they’re on bedrock (basically, low resistivity, high conductivity). Seeing bigger numbers, as the stakes are placed further apart, indicates the possibility of an open air void beneath the surface. (If there is nothing conductive between the stakes the number gets higher.)
Charlie Boy reads the meter when the first test is run with the stakes roughly 20 feet apart. “3.87.” This first reading is a low number, indicating dirt, sediment, and other ground-based materials. They move the stakes farther apart. Charlie Boy reads out the next reading, “6.06.” The stakes are moved again, and Charlie Boy is still seeing 6.06.
Eric interrupts the experiment to point out a flaw in their method. Apparently, this technology doesn’t typically work on bedrock unless the bedrock surface has been breached. Chad points out a broken drillbit in the ground, which is confirmed to have broken through bedrock. This broken drillbit will be the perfect metal pipe to test. They hook it up and Charlie Boy says something that everyone wants to hear, “18.86.” It turns out that he misread the number. The device shows a number larger and anyone was expecting…1800.
Rat[hole] Race
The rathole rig is brought to this exact location, as all four men anticipate what could be. Duane reminds Chad of the price tag that comes with a rathole rig—for Chad’s sake, he better be right! The rathole rig starts drilling into the ground. Eight feet down and the digging sounds solid. (We’re told this is a good sound.) 14 feet and the dirt starts to get wet. 17 feet, even more wet. Then we hit 20 feet, 24 feet, 29 ½ feet, and finally…32 feet. Nothing. Duane says to shut it down, but Chad requests just a few more feet. 34 feet down reveals nothing. Chad storms off.
Later that night, all four men stand in front of the Miner’s Shack as a light blanket of snow covers the ground. Duane says they have time for one final drill and it has to be a mutually agreed-upon spot. Chad thinks they should dig at the Energy Zone. Eric agrees while adding out of the hundreds of GPR surveys he has run, he’s never seen a reaction from the GPR as he did at that spot. Charlie Boy agrees on the Energy Zone. Duane is happy with the mutual agreement and says they will do it now and fast.
The rathole rig is brought out to the Energy Zone, and the digging quickly starts. Six feet, 18 feet, 25 feet, 50 feet, 75 feet, 85 feet. Nothing. No cave, no void.
A Man With A New Plan
Duane is, rightfully, bummed at this drilling attempt’s lack of cave. That’s when he has a thought. Something is creating this Energy Zone and come hell or high water, he’s going to figure it out. Since it’s unsafe to send someone 85 feet down into the hole, Duane says he’ll just bring the answers TO him. Eric says a dirt sample from the Energy Zone might bring some answers.
Duane starts building and crafting a giant scraper. This makeshift device will be lowered down into the hole. Once it hits the bottom of the hole, multiple spikes will release from the sides, and dirt will be scraped into a collection basin as it is brought up.
The heavy metal scraper is maneuvered over the hole and attached to a winch. Slowly, they lower it down into the hole, taking it a few feet at a time. Eventually, the scraper reaches the bottom of the pit. The spikes release and the object is slowly raised from the pit. At one point it does get stuck, but this setback is only momentary and it ultimately is successfully recovered. The collection basin is full of samples for Eric to sift through.
Eric starts looking through the collection of dirt and is immediately struck by something fascinating: BLUE. He keeps mentioning how there are blue flakes throughout the dirt and sediment. And he is very intrigued by this. His first thought is that it could be Iridium. This is a game-changer. Iridium is worth (in 2019) much more than gold. The running price for gold is about $1.9K/oz and Iridium goes for about $3K/oz.
Iridium is used in objects like electronics and microchips. It is also something that’s debated on a moral and ethical level. As with the avocado trade, fraud, death, and much more lie at the heart of the Iridium trade. It’s found in meteorites. When a meteorite hits the earth and bursts apart, Iridium is thrust into the air and eventually into the ground. The meteor that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs was Iridium rich. This is a major discovery for this highly conductive material.
The next day, Eric and Chad explore for more Iridium. They stop at a water trap runoff near the base of one of the mountains. Instead of finding more Iridium, the two find an actual chunk of a meteorite! In a talking head, Duane says how his search was for gold, but who knows what he’s looking for at this point?
Eric heads out on his own to grab one more sample for testing. He’s on his own with either a GoPro or a handheld camera. As he starts to collect a sample, he hears thunder. His camera pans up to reveal an ominous storm on the horizon—as if the Gods were angry at him. The lightening cracks with thunderous rage and Eric books it back to the Miner’s Shack. Holding a metal shovel, he wants to be back before he turns into a walking lightning stick. That’s when he slips and falls (he says he’s covered in blood, but we don’t see it at any point). Eventually, he makes it back to the shack unharmed any further.
There’s Iridium In Them Hills!
Eric briefly mentions that while he’s still here for the truth, and as a scientist, he’s starting to enjoy this treasure-hunting angle.
Later on, they take the three samples (a surface sample, the Energy Zone/blue sample, and the meteorite sample) to the edge of the water pit. It’s time to start panning the samples to see if there is more Iridium. The surface and meteorite samples reveal nothing. The sample from the Energy/Blue Zone? Now that’s a different story. After panning that sample, Eric and Chad notice multiple blue specs. If they can find the load source of this Iridium, this could be a huge find.
To be sure these blue specs are Iridium, they decided to test it with the XRF gun. We are told that anything above 20 parts per million (ppm) would be a good sign. They test the sample. The initial reading shows 80 ppm! This is huge, but the XRF gun is still running an internal report. Once the XRF gun is complete we hear shocking news…800,000 ppm! This is PURE Iridium.
Later that night, the four men share a beer outside of the Miner’s Shack. Eric says that Iridium can affect electrical equipment, due to its conductivity. It can affect things like drones, GPRs, electrical equipment, etc. Duane says they solved one small part of this mystery, but there is still more to go. No risk, no fun. The men celebrate the end of a productive season with a cheers of their beer.
Final Thoughts
This season seemed to go by like the blink of an eye, even though I covered this over six weeks. I am all on board. Everything we are met with in this show is interesting and head-turning. From learning about the Lost Rhoades Mine, to the Aztecs, to the Mormons, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch has undoubtedly been edutainment. Unlike The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, this show has led to me doing my own research and digging into the facts, lore, and half-truths of this area.
While this show does its best to give a voice to the native inhabitants of these lands, it still does a good job of sugar-coating the more nefarious of aspects. It’s clear this is done to keep an air of levity to the show. I would recommend anyone who likes this show to do their own research to understand more what went into an oil magnate owning hundreds of acres of land that was once federally, and forcefully, taken through eminent domain (among other ways).
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch balances the entertainment with progressing the natural story. It raises questions, answers some, and lets others linger. While Skinwalker Ranch focuses on pure entertainment, exaggeration of facts, misuse of machinery, and tries to pass itself off as over-produced and over-polished science, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch is a physical representation of Duane Ollinger. From the beginning, Duane has made it clear what he wants to do, what he believes, and how he will go about it. His enthusiasm and charisma carry this show beyond a 45-minute television episode.
