Articles
Historical research, treasure hunting, outdoor knowledge, practical regret-prevention advice, and the occasional rabbit hole that somehow started with one simple question.
Beyond the North Fork Malheur, the 1845 Meek Cutoff becomes harder to trace. Part II follows the diaries toward the South Fork and another possible route west.
At Glass Buttes in Oregon’s high desert, dark volcanic glass can suddenly reveal an extraordinary spectrum of color. A personal find, ancient obsidian history, modern science, and an old rainbow story come together in this edition of The Treasure Outside.
The Illinois Valley has always been a little wild. From the rough mining camps of Browntown and Waldo to remote roads, old legends and the Triskett Gang’s missing gold, Part I follows the history of a place that has never felt completely tamed.
Before the Lost Blue Bucket became a legend, the Meek emigrants first had to cross the country where the story began. Part I follows the surviving 1845 diaries back to the road itself and one of the Oregon Trail’s most enduring mysteries.
A small nineteenth-century friendship album preserves handwritten names, dates and messages from Damascus, Eagle Creek and early Clackamas County.
History is almost everywhere we go. This article explores the author’s fascination with following old traces, learning from the past, and the rare possibility of reaching somewhere no one may have stood before.
Years spent living near and exploring Althouse Creek offered a close look at Southern Oregon gold country, old mining remains, surviving cabins, local stories, and the landscape that later shaped a search for the truth behind the Lost Cabin Mine.
Rich placer ground reportedly appeared above and below a puzzling section of Althouse Creek. Part II examines what that missing gold could have represented, why miners kept searching, and one historical interpretation of what may have happened.
For generations, miners searched the Althouse Creek country for a lost lead they believed could explain one of Southern Oregon’s richest placer districts. Part I follows William Mackey, his father Martin Mackey, and the extraordinary effort spent chasing that answer.
An abandoned shaft, a shovel left in stone, and two nearby cabins raise new questions about repeated occupation in one of Southern Oregon's richest mining districts.
Two nearby cabins, older framing, square nails, canvas fragments, and reclaimed mine workings suggest a site used and rebuilt across generations.
The final chapter presents the author's historical conclusion, bringing together the earliest Lost Cabin accounts, the mining history of Althouse Creek, and the evidence examined throughout the investigation while clearly distinguishing documented history from historical interpretation.
