Brendan Jesus
Hey, fellow treasure seekers! I’m happy to report we have some Ufology news this week. Just to reiterate, as it may not seem, I believe in aliens/NHI. I understand that I occasionally go hard on grifters like Lue Elizondo and Anna Paulina Luna, but that’s because what they do is a disservice to Ufology. Their blatant lies are nothing more than attempts to have their names and faces in the limelight to shift the narrative in ways they see fit.
That being said, constantly proving Elizondo and Luna to be liars has become frustrating. And I don’t want to keep doing it because it makes me feel mentally unwell. All I will say is that recently FOIA’d emails prove a photo that Elizondo claims as definitive proof of NHI, which has been proven to be not in the hands of the people he said have claims of it. You can read the full article about it here or you can take my friend Jeremy McGowan’s word when he says, “Called it three years ago. . .Elizondo was full of sh*t.”
Enough is enough, let’s head back to Utah and join our intrepid treasure hunters as we try and get to the bottom of the Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch.
There’s [Actually] Gold In Them Hills
At the end of Episode 3 “Aztec Evidence”, Chad Ollinger found gold ingot slags hidden behind some rocks after Duane Ollinger pointed out the odd rock formation. While James Keenan said the gold was low purity, it didn’t matter. This is enough for Duane to know that there is gold, in some sort, on the ranch.
Duane, Chad, Charlie Boy, and James reconvene at the Miner’s Shack. Duane says this was a very lucky break for them, and Charlie Boy wonders if they had found a sort of 1800s safety deposit box. James is certain this gold is not Aztec gold and provides a good piece of evidence for that claim. Just outside Mexico City in one of the barrios, construction workers found a gold bar that was eventually traced back to the Aztecs–the ingot slag they found looks completely different from how the Aztecs kept/formed their gold.
James thinks the best option from here will be to go to the Uinta Historical Center in Vernal to look at some maps. This could show what the ranch looked like centuries ago and possibly could reveal a dry cave entrance.
Map Attack
Chad and James arrive at the Uinta Historical Center in Vernal. They start by looking at a map of wagon routes from 1858. Who would have guessed that a wagon route went right through Blind Frog Ranch? The second map they look at is a geological map, which reveals something interesting. About a mile northwest of the Keyhole Cavern is what looks like a cave opening.
While Chad and James are elbow-deep in research, Charlie Boy makes an unfortunate finding. He’s at the Bead Site and finds a new poacher hole. It’s only 100 yards away from the hole they dug at the Bead Site. Duane is pissed and uses his excavator to fill in the poacher hole.
Wagon Trail
Chad and James decide to check out the Wagon Trail they found on the map to see if it leads anywhere. They park their Side-by-Side and start walking the trail. Shortly after their trek begins, James notices a mining tailing with a portal entrance. The two men throw their headlamps on and head inside the cave opening.
This cave they have entered is vast and goes back hundreds of feet. They notice nails in the wall and holes that were blasted–the digging implies the use of hand tools, and the flat floor implies heavy foot traffic at one point. James also makes note of the limestone and quartz mineral makeup.
As they walk back, they find a winch system that goes straight down, vertically. They can’t see the bottom of the hole, so they decide to lower a GoPro camera down. But this proves useless as the hole stops roughly 20 feet down with no cave offshoots. Even though this cave didn’t lead anywhere, Chad is happy with finding it because it proves that the stories they’ve heard are true.
Back at the Miner’s Shack, Chad and James fill Duane and Charlie Boy in on what they found. James also goes on a bit of a monologue here, so bear with me while I recount it as best as possible. Here is the new information James found: the Rhoades family (from the Lost Rhoades Mine, which is first discussed in Season 1 Episode 3 “Mormon Gold”) had mining claims on the entire Unita Basin region. James also went through the old journals of people who knew Thomas and Caleb Rhoades. They believe Thomas left clues to guide Caleb to the mine. It mentions an ancient eye beam carved into a cave wall; you are to put your back to the eye and look out the cave entrance and this will lead you to the cave entrance for the Lost Rhoades Mine. The Mormons were specific that there are these seven stone monuments (the 7 Sisters/7 Dragons) that are location markers of the Lost Rhoades Mine. This seven-stone monument looks somewhat like a dragon’s back.
*Takes a deep breath*
James wants to go look for this monument, but Charlie Boy is worries this will take their focus off the ranch/poachers. Duane says that there isn’t much they can do on the ranch at this time due to the flooding. Duane’s flooding comment sparks an idea in James’s head…Mosby Sink. Mosby’s Sink sits about 3,000 feet above Blind Frog Ranch and feeds water to the underground caverns. Duane informs the team that Ryan Skinner will be joining.
The Sink Is Draining
Chad and James head out to Mosby’s Sink with Ryan Skinner (Uinta Basin expert). They quickly find the sink and notice the extreme amount of water that’s flowing underground. Chad and Ryan get close to the hole and stick a GoPro inside of it–the suction of the water quickie pulls the camera. Unfortunately, the water is too murky to see anything. But one thing is clear: their flooding problem won’t be going away anytime soon.
Wagon Trail Pt. II
Chad, Ryan, and James head back to the Wagon Trail and start heading north. Shortly into their trek, they find a smelter. James says there had to be mining operations in this area. Their momentary stop at the smelter proved useful as they notice a pile of rocks purposefully placed high on a ridge. James points out that it’s a cairn. After climbing up the side of the mountain, they make a discovery…the cairn is a pointer.
We take a quick side-track to Duane and Charlie Boy. Charlie Boy is at the Water Pit looking for signs of poachers and finds something unique. A long, singular trail is coming from out of the Water Pit and goes on for who knows how long. He calls Duane who comes to take a look at it and the two of the follow the track all the way to the beaver ponds. It looks like a snake track but they believe it’s the poachers dragging something from the Water Pit.
Back with Chad and his crew, they are joined by climbing expert John Gillam. They start to hike up the 250-foot ridgeline and make another discovery–cut tree tops. Native Americans would cut tree tops to use as markers for treasure and this information was passed on from the Native Americans to the Mormons. This is a good sign. The crew finally gets to the top of the ridgeline to make one final discovery of the episode.
James sees the 7 Sisters.
Final Beliefs
I love this episode. Seeing Chad and James crawl through the cave is exciting to watch and a visual we haven’t seen much of recently. One of my favorite aspects of Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch is when they do proper research and then use that research to fuel their actions. It’s the perfect kind of cause and effect that creates fascinating television. I’ve always been fairly lukewarm about Ryan Skinner. He brings a level of sensationalism to the show that either works for you or doesn’t. His exuberant energy is a breath of fresh air, but I just wish he contained himself slightly.
Overall, this episode takes the show in a positive direction and is mainly devoid of any digging or drilling. And I can’t complain too much about that. One thing is clear: Season 3 Episode 4 brings us one step closer to getting to the bottom of the Mystery…at Blind Frog Ranch.
