From the time I had my earliest awareness that there were "strange" or unexplained things in this world, I wanted to know more. I lived in a very small Colorado mountain town in the late 70's. The summer between Kinder and first grade was the summer I started to realize the world was unlocked by my basic reading skills. I would walk my myself to the town library, roam the stacks unsupervised, and was allowed to check out anything.
That was the summer I realized that the library had adult books, collected together in useful categories. In particular I was transfixed by the fact that there were unexplained, mysterious things documented in books. That meant they were real. I spent a lot of time in the shelves finding books about metaphysics, philosophy, occult topics, ancient civilizations, UFO's, paranormal and cryptids. (Dewey Decimal Fans will know the section: 110's with metaphysics, up to the 130's with parapsychology and occultism and a bit beyond.) I especially loved the books with as many pictures as possible, and captions I was able to sound out. There was no way I could actually read half of the books I lugged home that summer! I remember vividly the joy of feeling the world was unlocked for me that year. I checked out enough books to win the summer reading program for my age category!
I am still enchanted by and drawn into the unknown and unexplained. I have spent the last 8 years with my primary focus being UFO's. have been a team lead for a paranormal investigation team, I have learned about ancient civilizations around the world. I have dreamed of going to places like Egypt, the deep jungles of Mexico to explore Mayan ruins, or the Turkish countryside to see Gobekle Tepe. I have listened to podcasts about ley lines and earth energies in England and Europe, followed travels to Antarctica, and imagined. I dreamed of being at Stonehenge for the solstice.
It felt like so many of the incredible mysteries were far away. In other countries, hidden in other cultures. Far away, hard to access, and shrouded in mystery.
What I didn't realize, and you may not realize either, is what an incredible ancient civilization is beneath our very feet at this minute.
Like every 80's child, I received a highly filtered version of the history of my country. In general, the history began with the entrance of Europeans to the story. I learned how brave white settlers slowly conquered this land, after surviving and then controlling the native inhabitants. Those inhabitants were made up of the post-Columbian tribes that then blend into the stories of cowboys and Indians and Little House on the Prairie. Learned a bit more about the tribes in my state (Colorado) through school, but again that history was more in relation to how those tribes effected the settlers.
As I grew to adulthood my understanding of that history has broadened. I am able to see that it was missing a huge part of the story. I am able to feel great sadness for what happened to the Indigenous people of this land, and feel outraged at the social issues plaguing Native Americans today.
However I neglected to go out and learn more of the story. I didn't know what I was missing, and I have a feeling you may not know either!
Our move to St. Louis 2 years ago meant I had a new region of the country to explore. I was intrigued by Cahokia.
I remember the moment I first learned that there had been a CITY in the middle of the country, well before European explorers tried to claim the land. I was in bed reading, with my husband beside me. He set his book down to tell about this real ancient city he was reading about. It was in a book about Atlantis. Having grown up with a history of the Indians living in small bands, it seemed almost as crazy as the story of Atlantis.
Now over a decade later, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cahokia is just a 20 minute drive away from my home. It took a few visits and some additional research to have my mind absolutely blown away by the secret ancient history of the land we call the United States!
Are you curious enough to follow along and see where my journey takes me?
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