The American Southwest
This is a podcast of the people, places, and things of the American West. Think cowboys and Indians, bison and cactus, national parks and ghost towns, Mormons and prospectors, nukes and aliens, Tombstone, the Anasazi, Route 66, and everything in between. I’ll dive deep into historical people and events and the cultures and policies that helped shape this area of the American frontier world that’s left so many of the rest of the planet in envy of the mythic American Southwest.
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Episodes
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
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This is part 5 of the 5 part series over the exciting adventures of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776 that left Santa Fe for Monterey, California. I begin this episode with a flashback of Don Miera y Pacheco’s life and some more history over New Mexico. I then recount the final couple hundred miles of the expedition as they head from the Colorado River through Hopi land before finally arriving at Zuni, and then Santa Fe. At Hopi though, things won’t go as planned as snow is falling and tempers rising. I then finish the episode with a wrap-up of the Spanish in the American Southwest including Governor Anza & Don Miera y Pacheco’s war against the greatest Comanche fighter to have ever lived, Cuerno Verde, or Green Horn.
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
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This is part 4 of the 5 part series over the exciting adventures of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776 that left Santa Fe for Monterey, California. In this episode they will face the consequences of turning back and abandoning their journey to California. Which consequences include coming to the mighty, wide, & dangerous Colorado River. As the elements, starvation, steep cliffs, and an impossible ford close in on them like an ever tightening canyon, will the expedition be able to cross the river before freezing to death? Will they receive help from the locals? Will they make it out alive?! Listen now for the answers to these all important questions.
Hurricane Cliffs & Kolob Canyon at Zion NP
Hurricane Cliffs & Kolob Canyon at Zion NP
Sunset from Kolob Canyon
Coral Pink Sand Dunes & Hurricane Cliffs
Hurricane Cliffs & a Storm
North Rim of the Grand Canyon at Toroweap
Me at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at Toroweap
North Rim of the Grand Canyon at Toroweap
D&E Marker on Highway 89
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Confluence of the Paria & Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
Confluence of the Paria & Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
Confluence of the Paria & Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
The Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
The Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
The Steamboat at Lee's Ferry
The Colorado River at Lee's Ferry
Echo Canyon & Lee's Ferry Cliffs
Echo Canyon & Lee's Ferry Cliffs
Lee's Backbone at Lee's Ferry
Cathedral Rock at Lee's Ferry
Vermillion Cliffs at Lee's Ferry
Horse below Lee's Backbone at Lee's Ferry
Vermillion Cliffs
Vermillion Cliffs
Navajo Mountain
The Colorado River from the Navajo Bridge
Horseshoe Bend & The Colorado River
The Dominguez & Escalante Journal Edited by Ted J WarnerEscalante’s Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest by David RobertsWithout Noise of Arms: The 1776 Dominguez-Escalante Search for a Route from Santa Fe to Monterey by Walter BriggsThe Report of Fray Alonso de Posada in Relation to Quivira and Teguayo by S. Lyman Tyler & H. Darrel TaylorThe Myth of the Lake of Copala and the Land of Teguayo by S Lyman Tylerhttp://npshistory.com/publications/kessell/kiva-cross-crown/chap6.htm Kessell- Kiva cross and crownhttps://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/juan-antonio-maría-de-riveraThe Phantom Pathfinder: Juan Maria Antonio de Rivera and His Expedition by G Clell Jacobs The Rivera Expedition by Thomas G. Alexanderhttps://www.the-journal.com/articles/miera-y-pacheco-was-first-european-to-map-the-four-corners/
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
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This is part 3 of the 5 part series over the exciting adventures of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776 that left Santa Fe for Monterey, California. In this episode they will head northwesterly towards the Banks of Utah Lake and the Laguna Utes before making their way again towards Monterey. Will they continue their perilous journey or will they be forced to make drastic changes? Listen and find out!
Friday Jun 23, 2023
Friday Jun 23, 2023
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This is part 2 of the 5 part series over the exciting adventures of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776 that left Santa Fe for Monterey, California. In this episode they will head out from that old capitol, march through hills, mountains, mesas, streams, rivers, and more. All the while, it will mysteriously take the team 28 days to run into an American Indian.
Sangre de Christo Mountains from Santa Fe
Sangre de Christo Mountains & Santa Fe
Sangre de Christo Mountains
Downtown Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Burro in Santa Fe
Thomas Wayne Riley in Santa Fe
Don Diego de Vargas in Santa Fe
Sangre de Christo Mountains
Rio Grande del Norte
Rio Grande
Sangre de Christo Mountains at Sunset
Sangre de Christo Mountains
Sangre de Christo
Sangre de Christo
Sangre de Christo Mountains at Sunset
Elk at the Rio Grande
El Rio Grande del Norte
Rio Grande Gorge
Rio Grande Gorge
Land of the Rio Grande
Sangre de Christo at Sunset
Echo Amphitheater near Abiquiu
Echo Amphitheater near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Echo Amphitheater Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Kitchen Mesa Hike at Ghost Ranch Near Abiquiu
Sunday Jun 11, 2023
Sunday Jun 11, 2023
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In 1776, two Spanish Friars led a team of 10 men throughout the American Southwest and covered more ground unknown to Europeans than even Lewis & Clark. Their goal was to reach California. In this episode of The American Southwest Podcast, I lay the groundwork for the expedition and cover some history of the Spanish Southwest up to that point, and especially since the reconquest of New Mexico.
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
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This episode of the American Southwest Podcast is the 3rd in the series about the Spanish and the Native American inhabitants of the region and specifically about the 1692 Reconquest of the Territory of New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. I discuss the battles, the peoples, and most importantly, the Spanish leader of the Reconquest, a Spaniard named Don Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon y Contreras. The last male descendant in the Noble Vargas line of Madrid.
Selected Sources:https://santafelibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/04/History-of-Diego-de-Vargas.pdfWinds from the North, Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott OrtmanThe Lost World of the Old Ones by David RobertsThe Pueblo Revolt by David RobertsKiva, Cross, and Crown by John KessellThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Andrew L KnautPopay's Leadership: A Pueblo Perspective by Alfonso OrtizPope, Pose-yemu, and Naranjo: A New Look at Leadership in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Stefanie BeninatoNotes on the Lineage of Don Diego de Vargas, Reconqueror of New Mexico by J. Manuel Espinosa
Saturday Apr 08, 2023
Saturday Apr 08, 2023
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This episode of the American Southwest Podcast is the 2nd in the series about the Spanish and the Native American inhabitants of the region and specifically about the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. I discuss Popay, Poseyemu, Otermín, the revolution, and the first few Spanish attempts at retaking the territory. It's chock full of great stuff about everyone involved using as much of the record that's been preserved for us.
Selected Sources:Winds from the North, Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott OrtmanThe Lost World of the Old Ones by David RobertsThe Pueblo Revolt by David RobertsKiva, Cross, and Crown by John KessellThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Andrew L KnautPopay's Leadership: A Pueblo Perspective by Alfonso OrtizPope, Pose-yemu, and Naranjo: A New Look at Leadership in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Stefanie Beninato
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
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This episode of the American Southwest Podcast is the 1st in the series about the Spanish and the Native American inhabitants of the region and specifically about the Spanish Discovery, Exploration of, & Conquering of the territory of New Mexico and the lands adjacent. I discuss Esteban, Coronado, The Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, The Last Conquistador that is Oñate, The Puebloans, the Church, & a whole lot more. It also sets up the factors and reasons behind the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which will be covered in the next episode. This is a long one, but it’s exciting, engaging, and chock full of Land of Enchantment history, stories, quotes, & more.
Selected Sources:Winds from the North, Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott OrtmanThe Lost World of the Old Ones by David RobertsThe Pueblo Revolt by David RobertsKiva, Cross, and Crown by John KessellAncient Peoples of the American Southwest by Steven PlogA Study of Southwestern Archaeology by Stephen LeksonThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Andrew L Knauthttps://newmexiconomad.com/esteban-the-moor/
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
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This episode of the American Southwest Podcast is the 8th in the series about the original Native American inhabitants of the region and specifically about the Puebloans of the Rio Grande Valley, Zuni, Hopi Mesas, and others after the Anasazi Civil War and the Great Migration at the end of the 13th Century. The episode begins by defining the region as the Spanish would have seen it, despite the episode covering the time period spanning hundreds of years before that. It covers the migration of tens of thousands of Ancestral Puebloans out of the Mesa Verde Region and into the area around modern day Santa Fe, with a few stragglers heading to Jemez, Hopi, and Zuni. Expansion, starvation, war, art, migration, language, the boom and bust cycle of the pueblo, belief systems, and the Kachinas are all discussed. I hate to say this is an in-between episode… but it’s sort of a Epilogue to the Anasazi Civil War and Migration and Prologue to the coming Pueblo Revolt Episode. But I assure you there is enough exciting, interesting, intriguing, and engaging topics in this episode to be an over 2 hour standalone episode by itself. Again, calling it an in-between is really doing the piece a disservice. I know y’all will enjoy this in-depth study of the amazing people of the Puebloan world and their beliefs and history.
Macaw Petroglyph at Petroglyph National Monument
Kachina Petroglyph at Petroglyph National Monument
Wife & Macaw at Petroglyph National Monument
Kachina Petroglyph at Petroglyph National Monument
Lizard & Other Petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument
Petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico
Petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico
Petroglyph Boulder at Petroglyph National Monument
Cavates in Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico Carved by Ancestral Puebloans
View of Jemez Mountains from I-25
View of Jemez Mountains from I-25
View of Jemez Mountains from I-25
View of Jemez Mountains from I-25
View of Jemez Mountains from I-25
Rio Grande Valley with Jemez Mountains and Mormon Battalion Monument
Sangre De Christo Mountains in New Mexico
Sangre De Christo Mountains and Santa Fe
Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico
Sandia Mountains & Rio Grande Valley from K.K. Tent Rocks N.M.
Myself & the Jemez from Tsankawi
Myself & the Rio Grande from White Rock Overlook Park
Storm & Rio Grande from White Rock Overlook Park
Rio Grande from White Rock Overlook Park
Storm & Rio Grande from White Rock Overlook Park
Jemez Mountains, a Storm, & Rio Grande from White Rock Overlook Park
My Wife, the Jemez Mountains, Rio Grande Valley, and a Storm
My Wife on a Ladder with Sangre De Christo Mountains at Tsankawi
Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier National Monument
Rio Grande River at La Junta Campground
Rio Grande River at La Junta Campground
Rio Grande River at La Junta Campground
Rio Grande from la Junta Campground at Sunset
Sangre de Christo Mountains at Sunset from La Junta Campground
Sangre de Christo Mountains at Sunset from La Junta Campground
Sangre de Christo Mountains from La Junta Campground
Sangre de Christo Mountains & Rio Grande Valley from Tsankawi
My Wife & Cavates at Tsankawi
My Wife & Cavates at Tsankawi
Cavate at Tsankawi at Bandelier National Monument
My Wife & a Ladder at Tsankawi
My Wife & a Ladder at Tsankawi
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Sangre De Christo Mountains & Rio Grande Valley from Tsankawi
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
2019 Self at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Carved Foot Path by Ancestral Puebloans at Tsankawi
Cavates at Tsankawi in Bandelier National Monument
Myself in Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
Kiva & Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
Wife on a Ladder at Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
Anasazi Ancestral Puebloan Design at Bandelier National Monument
Wife and Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Wife & Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Wife & Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Ladder and Cavate at Bandelier National Monument
Wife & Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Ladder at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Kiva at Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
Frijoles Canyon & Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Jemez Mountains near Bandelier National Monument
Tusayin Ruins at Bandelier National Monument
Cavates at Bandelier National Monument
Ruins Above Bandelier National Monument
Selected Sources:Winds from the North, Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott OrtmanThe Origin and Development of the Pueblo Kachina Cult by E Charles AdamsThe Lost World of the Old Ones by David RobertsThe Pueblo Revolt by David RobertsIn Search of the Old Ones by David RobertsHouse of Rain by Craig ChildsAtlas of a Lost World by Craig ChildsAncient Peoples of the American Southwest by Steven PlogA Study of Southwestern Archaeology by Stephen LeksonBehind the Bears Ears by RL Burrillo A Note on a Rare Cranial Vault Modification Shared by Ancestral Puebloans in the American Southwest, Mesoamericans on Mexico’s Gulf coast, and Peruvians from Norte Chico in the Context of Twisted Gourd Symbolism; the Gallina case by Kathryn Devereaux, PhDPope, Pose-yemu, and Naranjo: A New Look at Leadership in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Stefanie BeninatoOrdinary, yet Distinct: The Allure of Gallina by J. Michael BremerSandals as Icons: Representations in Ancestral Pueblo Rock Art and Effigies in Stone and Wood by Polly SchaafsmaThe Abandonment of Chaco Canyon, the Mesa Verde Migrations, and the Reorganization of the Pueblo World by Stephen H Lekson and Catherine M CameronAuthoritative Control and the Society System in Jemez Pueblo by Florence Hawley EllisThe Zuni Scalp Ceremonial by Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson The 1992 Turtle Dance (Oekuu Shadeh) of San Juan Pueblo: Lessons with the Composer, Peter Garcia by Hao Huanghttps://www.archaeologybulletin.org/articles/10.5334/bha.2123/print/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805143527.htmhttp://www.passportintime.com/gallina-site.html
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
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This episode of the American Southwest Podcast is the 7th in the series about the original Native American inhabitants of the region and specifically about the migration of the Anasazi from the Four Corners region after the Anasazi Civil War down the Chaco Meridian to Northern Mexico and beyond. It discusses their interactions with the local Sinagua, Mogollon, Salado, Hohokam, and Paquime peoples they come into contact with and the destruction of burned pueblos, corn, and humans that they leave in their wake. It also discusses the possible origins of the Anasazi and the possible final iterations of that mysterious group of people after the Spanish arrive.
Selected Sources:In Search of the Old Ones: Exploring the Anasazi World of the Southwest by David RobertsThe Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest by David RobertsAncient Peoples of the American Southwest by Stephen PlogA Study of Southwestern Archaeology by Stephen LeksonHouse of Rain: Tracing a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest by Craig ChildsSecrets of the Tarahumara by Christopher McDougallhttps://indigenousmexico.org/sinaloa/the-original-indigenous-people-of-sinaloa/https://www.centerforconsciouseldering.com/2015/05/04/art-pilgrimage-meeting-ancient-wisdom-copper-canyon/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/spiral-mass-grave-mesoamerican-mexico-city.amphttps://lugares.inah.gob.mx/en/museos-inah/museo/opinion/13653-rasgos-distintivos-de-plazuelas-13653.html?lugar_id=1723http://westerndigs.org/new-evidence-reveals-violent-final-days-at-arizonas-montezuma-castle/https://www.crowcanyon.org/educationproducts/peoples_mesa_verde/post_pueblo_navajo_name.asphttps://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/paquime.htmlhttp://westerndigs.org/earliest-use-of-chocolate-in-america-discovered-suggesting-ancient-immigrants/