Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch: Death Trap (S4E3)

I’m writing this shortly after covering Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, Season 4 Episode 2, “The Curse of the Aztecs,” which means I don’t have much information on the Ufology front. There is some news we can mention regarding UFOTwitter. Have you seen any of those articles flying around that are reporting multiple anomalous drones over military bases and airports across the globe? Well, it seems these drones have descended upon Capitol Hill. It seems.

A photo has been circulating the Twittersphere which reportedly shows four orb-like drones hovering over the Capitol. Only the photo doesn’t quite show the whole picture –literally. This cropped photo negates four equally spaced streetlights on the ground below. The image “taking the community by storm” is nothing more than a reflection of lights off a window. 

This photo revelation is frustrating because it stirs panic on a serious issue. Unknown drones approaching military bases, airfields, and government installations are an unquestionable risk to national security. Sharing and possibly creating photos to instill fear where it need not be is incredibly disingenuous. Moreover, it continues to make ‘D’isclosure look like a farce to those on the edge of believing. 

Anyways, that’s all I have for you on that front. It’s time for us to pack our bags, head to Utah, and try to reveal the Mystery…at Blind Frog Ranch. 

Calm Before The Storm

We start Episode 3, “Death Trap,” with half of the crew at the Bead Site. Josh Feldman and James Keenan are at the Shelter Area, which is what Josh has named the area to the left of the smoke vents. If you remember, they ended “The Curse of the Aztecs” by finding a copper bead in the dirt. While they continue their excavations, James sets up a Provinian Screen*, which is used to help keep track of coordinates on dig sites.

*The transcript of this episode spelled this word Provinian but I couldn’t find anything regarding this online.

Josh runs his expensive and highly official-looking metal detector over the dirt. Then, James finds an interesting object that points evidentiary fingers back toward the Aztecs. James has found a radial bead, which is a bead with a spiral pattern. The intricate design of the bead is carved into a green jade-like stone. They call Charlie Boy over, who is near the vents with Duane Ollinger, for him to take a look. Charlie Boy’s first thought is that the radial bead may be from a ceremonial necklace. 

James is fairly certain that Utah Territory tribes would not have used jade for trading or production. Rather, this type of mineral is usually found further down South in Mesoamerican areas. This also means that this jadeite bead is from a completely different era than the rest of the trade beads found at the Bead Site.

We learn the Aztecs prized two highly valuable minerals: gold and jade. Jade was revered as a symbol of life and purity, usually worn by those with power and Gods. James thinks they need to continue looking for this mineral in the area. Duane takes one look at this extraordinary find and is incredibly impressed. 

‘Wood’ You Like To Know The Results?

Chad Ollinger and Eric Drummond are at the Hideout, where they are joined by Duane, Charlie Boy, Josh, and James. Eric has the carbon-dated results of the wood from the Great Cavern, which he collected a sample of in the now-renamed Season 4 Episode 1 “Death Rumble” (previously titled “Into the Cavern Pt. 2”). There is some good and bad news here. Unlike the 500-year-old Chihuahua Pine/Yellow Pine from the Water Pit box, this wood is not the same. It is roughly 380 years old and is from a Douglas Fir. 

So this means the Aztecs were not the ones to be doing a mining operation within the South Cave, but it could mean the team is on the right track. Eric questions if the wood was placed by locals or Spaniards, who are trying to find the Aztec’s gold. James seems to believe it could have been a group of Spaniards looking in this area for gold. This doesn’t mean the treasure is gone by any means, as James and Josh seem to believe there would be news about the gold if it were found already. 

What are the next steps? Josh thinks Chad and Eric should continue their exploration of the Great Cavern in the South Cave. The hollow spot, Josh recommends, would be the next best thing for Chad and Eric to look into. James says he will join them with his magnetometer–this could reveal a deeper void covered up by a cave-in. Duane tells everyone to get back to it. 

Get Out Of The Cave!!

With a subtitle like ‘Get Out Of The Cave!!’ and an episode title like “Death Trap,” you might be putting two and two together. 

Chad, Eric, and James head to the South Cave a day later. James has his magnetometer, and the three men head in. Chad and Eric go first, leaving James more space to drag his equipment through. Once at the tunnel fork, Chad and Eric check in with James about his progress. “What the f*ck is that?” James asks. Right next to his hand, James sees a large animal footprint. Based on the paw print, this animal must be a pretty large size. 

James takes a photo with his hand for scale and prepares to move forward. Eric doesn’t notice any scat, while James makes an ominous statement that the tracks lead into the cave. That means whatever is in here…could be right in front of Chad! 

The three men push forward and eventually make it into the Great Cavern. The good news is that no large animal with sharp claws sinks into them. James pulls out his magnetometer and straps it to his ankle. This way, he can easily control where it measures. After walking around the cave for some time, he makes his way over to the hollow spot. Bingo. The display on his device shows a red-shaded area with a sloping downward slant. Chad believes this could be a curried ramp. Eric says it’s time to get the jackhammer.

While Eric and Chad step out of the cave to grab the portable jackhammer, James heads back to the Bead Site to tell Duane what they found. Back inside with the jackhammer, Chad and Eric get to work on the hollow spot. They don’t have luck initially, but after some persistence, they get a hole in the hollow spot. Chad starts to feel some cold air pumping out of this new hole, but things are about to go quite south.

Wood starts creaking, and everything starts to rumble. Rocks fall around Chad, Eric, and the production team. GET OUT NOW. Everyone runs to the pathway and crawls for dear life. Rocks fall all around them as they crawl through the narrow passageway. Thankfully, the wooden supports hold up, and everyone makes it out okay, albeit quite shaken up. Chad says there is no way they are going back into the South Cave at this point. We also learn that the team at the Bead Site felt the rumble, too. 

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

Eric brings Seismologist Hector Estrella onto the ranch. They must figure out where this rumbling is coming from and why. Before calling Hector, Eric makes sure to check the USGS report to see if there were any reported earthquakes in the area…there were not. 

Hector asks if there are any faults in the area, and Eric tells him there are, even though they are not active faults. Since it’s a fairly centralized location, Hector sets up a seismograph at the Hideout. This device will detect air pressure and ground shaking. Hopefully, it can give them some proper evidence. 

Concrete Evidence

Over at the Bead Site: Vent Holes, Duane continues the excavation process. Very quickly into our time with Duane, Charlie Boy tells him to hold off for a minute. Charlie Boy jumps into the disturbed dirt and pulls out a chunk of concrete. James thinks this looks like the side of a building. They radio Eric and say to meet at the Hideout. 

Eric and Chad meet the rest of the team at the Hideout. His first impression of the concrete is that it’s a finer-grain matrix, and you can see where it was poured when it was in a semi-liquid state. Duane confirms to the team that he’s never done a concrete pour in the Bead Site area. Eric decides to test this material to verify whether it’s concrete or not. 

Eric pulls out a vial of hydrochloric acid and drips some on the rock. It reacts positively to conclude it’s concrete. While we may know what it is, we cannot conclude when it’s from. James says the Aztecs created massive structures with mortar and concrete, meaning this could be part of a larger religious structure. 

James decides to conference in one of his friends, Dr. Roger Blomquest (an expert in Aztec history). Dr. Blomquest says when the Aztecs returned to Utah, they would have started rebuilding using familiar methods, creating a new home away from home. He also says this could be part of an altar and that they should look for larger, squared-off stones. 

“History changes with the turn of a shovel.” Dr. Roger Blomquest

Back at the Bead Site: Vent Holes, Duane decides to remove the excavator bucket and replace it with a rock wheel. He’s going to make his own hole now. Josh thinks figuring out where to dig could best be solved by determining the direction in which the vent holes slope. This leads Josh to grab an endoscope camera and feed it down the hole. We don’t learn too much from this, except that the hole slopes slightly to the right and opens up around 15 feet down. Josh marks the area in the dirt with a smiley face for Duane. 

We get some narration on the seismic history of this area. Seismic activity has been documented in America for hundreds of years. Aztec pictograms and manuscripts, dating back well into the 16th century, were the first written records of ‘tremblers’ in the Americas. Aztec mythology depicts earthquakes as the figure of Tepeyolot, the God of Darkened Caves. 

Eric and Hector meet up at the Hideout to check the seismograph. We see there are pulses between three, five, and 12 seconds. Eric double-checks the USGS report, and no events have been reported at this time. Based on the evidence, Hector seems to think these rumbles are localized to Blind Frog Ranch.

Back at the Bead Site, it’s all about Vent Holes. Duane starts up the rock wheel, and damn, this thing is IMPRESSIVE! It looks like a tool used by a character in Twisted Metal. Duane gets about 10 feet into the ground and still mainly hits sandstone. But that’s when Josh finds a piece of limestone, which he says isn’t natural to this elevation level on the ranch. James seems to think…it’s part of an altar.

Final Thoughts

WOW, what an episode! “Death Trap” is the most thrilling episode since the Season 2 finale! Obviously, I don’t want any of these explorers in harm’s way, but seeing them scramble to escape the Great Cavern was captivating. What does this mean for the team and their hopes to get into the Keyhole Cavern? Will Chad and Eric move their focus onto the Bead Site? 

I’d be curious to see Josh and Chad take a trip into the Water Pit. Josh seems incredibly adventurous, and he may be interested in taking a look at the ranch in that area. I’m unsure if the concrete and limestone pieces are the best examples of evidence. Personally, I think the Jadeite and copper pieces are more interesting to look into. 

And I guess Jamie is just gone at this point? Hmm. What about his files?! Nevertheless, I’m loving this season, and I’m beyond thrilled to have Eric back!