Sacred places, North America : 108 destinations

2008·24.3 MB·English

by  Olsen, Brad, 1966-

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"Aninteresting bookforboth the armchairandthe
adventuroustrave—ler,this(book)isrecommended*
LibraryJournal
Sacred Places
north America
108 destinatio
Second Edition
Copyrightedmaterial
Reviews from Sacred Places North America
"An interesting bookfor both the armchairandtheadventurous
traveler, this (book) is recommended." —LibraryJournal
"The bookisfilledwith fascinatingarcheological, geological, and
historical material. These 108sacred placesin the United States,
Canada, and Hawaii offerampleopportunityforquestingbyspiri-
tualseekers." —SpiritualityEtHealth
"Arevealing, useful, andenthusiastically recommended guidefor
thevacationerseekingtofulfilltheirspiritualaswellastheirrec-
reationalyearnings." —Midwest BookReview
"Worldtraveler BradOlsen hascompiledabookthatdocuments
108 destination spotsfor 'feelingtheenergy'ofourspiritualhis-
torical roots. Pilgrimageisonewaywecan findourselvesandthis
bookwill provideaguide." —Twin Cities Wellness
"The book'schapterscorrespondtoten regionalsectionsofthe
U.S. andCanada, which arefurthersubdividedintospecific U.S.
StatesandCanadian provinces. No lessthan 38ofthe 50 United
Statesare revealedtocontain sacredsites — someofwhich
areverypublicandeasytoaccess, such asthe HouseofDavidin
Michigan, andsomeofwhich aremoreobscure, like Shiprock, 'the
stand-alone neckofan ancientvolcanocore'in NewMexico. But
neverfear: Olsen provides lucidand detailed directions, aswellas
tantalizingand historicallywell-informedessay-portraits, foreach
destination. The bookisalsopeppered with excellentmaps, illus-
trations, and photos." —FearlessBooks
"Fortravelerswho preferdestinationswith spirit...juxtaposing
localfolkloreand NativeAmerican legendwith scientifictheoriesto
providecontext." —OrlandoSentinel
"It'san oddlot, theplacesthathaveawayoftouchingyourheart:
mountainsandhomesteads, cavesandmonasteries, lakesandpath-
ways.AuthorBradOlsen hasrecognizedthatvarietyinthisbringing
togetherof108placesthatstirthesoul. Manyofthedestinations
mentionedcomeasnosurprisein acollectionofthehallowed: Ohio's
SerpentMound,Wyoming'sYellowstone, Colorado'sMesaVerde,for
instance. Butotherentriesserveasadelightfulreminderthatthereis
room inourheartstoexpandthedefinitionofsacred: Massachusetts'
Walden Pond, Michigan's HouseofDavid,andTennessee's (and Elvis')
Graceland,forinstance." —ChicagoTribune
"Olsen mapsoutobscure destinationsbrimmingwith intrigueand
history, placeswhereyou will nothavetofightthousandsoftour-
ists. You'llfind lotsofmaps, drawingsand photos. It'satravelguide
fortheindividualist." —AshleyTribune
Copyrightedmaterial
Sacred Places
north America
Second Edition
108 DESTINATIONS
Written, photographed, and illustrated by
BRAD OLSEN
CONSORTIUMOFCOLLECTIVECONSCIOUSNESS
www.cccpublishing.com www.bradolsen.com www.stompers.com
Copyrightedmaterial
Sacred Places North America
108 Destinations
secondedition
Copyright©2008byBradOlsen
PublishedbytheConsortiumofCollectiveConsciousness™
Allrightsreserved.
Reproductionortranslationofanypartofthisworkbeyondthatpermittedbysection107
or108ofthe 1976UnitedStatesCopyrightActwithoutthepermissionofthecopyright
ownerisunlawful. Requestsforpermissionorfurtherinformationshouldbeaddressedto
CCCPublishing, 5308thAvenue#6,SanFrancisco,CA94118USA. FAX[phone].
Asis common in a historic and reference book such as this, much of the information
included on these pages has been collected from diversesources. When possible, the
informationhasbeencheckedanddouble-checked. Evenwithspecialefforttobeaccu-
rateandthorough,theauthorandpublishercannotvouchforeachandeveryreference.
Because thisisabookabout traveling, manyspecificscanchangeovernightandwith-
out priorwarning. The readerwillfind ampleinformation collected from experienced
adventurers, writers, and travelindustryexperts. Theauthorand publisherassume no
responsibilityorliabilityforanyoutcome,loss,arrest,orinjurythatoccursasaresultof
informationoradvicecontainedinthisbook.Aswiththepurchaseofgoodsorservices,
caveatemptoristheprevailingresponsibilityofthepurchaser,andthesameistruefor
thetraveler.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data:
Olsen, BradfordC.
Sacred PlacesNorthAmerica: 108Destinations/BradOlsen
p. cm.
Includesindex
ISBN 10: 1-888729-13-9 (Pbk.)
ISBN 13: 978-1-888729-13-9
1.Spirituality—Guidebooks. 2.Travel—Guidebooks. I.Title
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2005904373
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
1098765432
Front Cover Photos: © 2008, Brad Olsen: Waubansee Stone, IL; Old Oraibi, AZ;
Aztalan,Wl. NationalParkService: DevilsTower,WY.
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ALSO BY BRAD OLSEN
Sacred Places Europe: 108 Destinations
2007
Sacred PlacesAround the World: 108 Destinations
2004
World Stompers: A Global Travel Manifesto
2001
In Search ofAdventure: A Wild TravelAnthology
1999
ExtremeAdventures Northern California
1997
ExtremeAdventures Hawaii
1997
TheDatingSystemusedinthistextisbaseduponthemodernmethod
ofusing Before Current Era bce instead ofBefore Christ B.C. , and
CurrentEra ce ratherthan"intheyearoftheLord"annoDomini AD. .
Thoseunfamiliarwiththisdatingsystem shouldtakenotethatiB.C.is
the same as ibce and everythingthen countsbackwardjustthe same.
Similarly,iad.isicewithalltheyearscountingforwardtothepresent,
orCurrent Era. To assistinuniversalunderstanding, allmeasurements
oflength, distance, area,weight, andvolume are listedbothin the old
Britishstandardandthemetricsystem.
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08 SACRED PLACES NORTH AMERICA
1 IN
Author'sKarmaStatement 10
ForewordbyDavidHatcherChildress 13
IntroductiontoNorthAmericanSacredPlaces 15
THE SOUTHWEST
ARIZONA: Arcosanti 28
CanyondeChelly 29
MonumentValley 33
OldOraibi 36
SanFranciscoPeaks 39
SedonaVortices 41
SouthernSinaguaPueblos 44
Wupatki 48
NEVADA: Area51 51
BlackRockCity 54
LakeLahontansites 57
NEWMEXICO: ChacoCanyon 65
ChacoanOutlierGreatHouses 67
Chimayo 71
RoswellandtheWhiteSandsRegion 74
Shiprock 76
UTAH Canyonlands 79
Hovenweep 81
SaltLakeTemple 83
ZionNationalPark 86
WEST COAST STATES
CALIFORNIA: BayAreatoPointConception 92
BlytheIntaglios 97
DeathValley 99
JoshuaTree 10
LakeShrine 103
LavaBeds 107
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MissionTrail 112
MountShasta 114
OREGON: CraterLake 118
WASHINGTON: CascadeVolcanoes 122
ColumbiaRiverGorge 125
ALASKAAND HAWAII
ALASKA: Denali MountMcKinley 131
Sitka 133
HAWAII: Pu'uhonuaOHonaunau CityofRefuge 138
Pu'ukoholaHeiau HilloftheWhale 141
Kilauea 143
WaipioValley 146
KAUAI: WaimeaBay 149
LANAI: GardenoftheGods 152
MAUI: Haleakala 155
IaoValley 157
MOLOKAI: KalaupapaPeninsula 159
OAHU: KaenaPoint 162
WaimeaValley 164
OUTERISLANDS: NihoaandNecker 167
WESTERN CANADA
ALBERTA: EllisMedicineWheel 173
LacSainteAnne 176
MajorvilleMedicineWheel 178
BRITISHCOIXJMBIAQueenCharlotteIslands HaidaGwaii 180
SproatLake 183
MANITOBA: GrottoesofManitoba 186
SASKATCHEWAN: MooseMountainMedicineWheel 189
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
COLORADO: ManitouSprings 195
MesaVerde 197
SanLuisValley 201
IDAHO: NezPerceHomeland 205
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MONTANA: Glacier/WatertonInternationalPeacePark 208
WYOMING: BighornMedicineWheel 211
DevilsTower MateoTepee 213
Yellowstone 215
CENTRAL PLAINS
IOWA: EffigyMoundsMonument 222
NewMellerayAbbey 224
KANSAS: PawneeSpiritSites 227
NEBRASKA: BlackbirdHill 230
OKLAHOMA: Heavener 233
SpiroMounds 236
SOUTHDAKOTA:Badlands 240
SacredPeaksoftheBlackHills 243
TEXAS: IndianHotSprings 245
GREAT LAKES REGION
ILLINOIS: CahokiaMounds 251
WaubanseeStone 254
MICHIGAN: HouseofDavid 257
SleepingBearDunes 260
MINNESOTA: KensingtonRunestone 262
Pipestone 266
OHIO: NewarkEarthworks 269
SerpentMound 273
SpruceHill 277
WISCONSIN: Aztalan 283
DevilsLake 287
MadelineIsland Moningwunakauning 289
EASTERN CANADA
ATLANTICPROVINCES:LAnseauxMeadows 296
ONTARIO: EasternCanadianGreatLakes 299
LakeSuperiorSites 301
PeterboroughPetroglyphs 304
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QUEBEC: Hochelaga 308
SaintJoseph'sOratory 311
SainteAnneDeBeaupre 313
NEW ENGLAND
PrehistoricStoneBuildingsofNewEngland 319
MAINE: MountKatahdin 322
SabbathdayLake 324
MASSACHUSETTS: WaldenPond 329
NEWHAMPSHIRE: America'sStonehenge 333
NEWYORK: AuriesvilleandFondashrines 337
ChautauquaandLilyDale 339
RHODEISLAND: NewportTower 344
THE SOUTH
TempleMoundsoftheSouth 351
ALABAMA: Selma 356
FLORIDA: BiminiandAtlantis 358
CoralCastle 361
GEORGIA: MartinLutherKing,Jr.Birthplace 364
KENTUCKY: Gethsemani 366
MammothCave 368
MISSISSIPPI: Natchez 370
NORTHCAROLINA: PilotMountain 374
TENNESSEE: Graceland 377
VIRGINIA: AssateagueIsland 380
WESTVIRGINIA: GraveCreek 383
Conclusion 387
Acknowledgments 392
Bibliography 393
Appendix 397
Index 399
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"
AUTHOR'S KARMASTATEMENT
"Societytodayhas corruptedhumans. Allseem tobe caughtup
in thesearchformoney, fameandpower. Butasmallerfewofus
have kept thevaluesoftheoldworldand tryto live thisway. We
come to the mountainsandcommune withnature. We visit the
relicsofhumankind'sgloriouspast to rememberourown. Wehave
not lostsightofGodandmoralreasoning. Therefore, withour
quests, Icansafelysaywearebetteringsocietal values; weare
helpingfuturegenerations.
-Anonymousjournalentry, MountShasta Base Camp
IthasbeenoveradecadesinceIclimbedMountShastaandcopiedthisquote.
Thatclimbingtripin 1997, muchlikemyfullmoon ascentofEgypt's Great
Pyramidin1994,inexorablychangedmylifebyoverwhelmingmewiththepower
ofsacred places. It occurred to me then, and I still believe it today, that the
bestaspectofacivilizationisalmostalwaysexpressedintheholylocationsthat
werehonored. Nomatterwho thepeoplewereorwheretheylived, somekind
ofprioritywasgiven to divine interpretation.Theyare the settingswhere the
populationworshipped,performedceremonies, anderectedbuildings todefine
their collectivevision ofthe divine.Theyremain an interpretation to eternal
questions. Others traveledlongdistances,sometimesunderadverseconditions,
toworshipataholyplace.Fromthemostprimitiveofshrinestothetallestcathe
dral,fromlegendarymountainstoprehistoricmedicinewheels,thediscoveryof
sacredplaces takes onmanyforms.Therefore,wemustbehelping societyand
ourselves with our journeys to visit the
relicsofhumankind'sgloriouspast.There
isacollectivewisdomthatresidesatthese
worldwidelocations,somethingthatreso
nateswiththosereverentfewwhodecide
to pay a visit. This book is, after all, a
travelguide.
My readers routinely tell me of their
ownprofoundexperiencesregardingtrips
they'vetakentoasacredplace.Thereare
people who experience past life recalls,
othersadeeperunderstandingofthefolk
lore or historyofalocation. Some have
reported being witness to supernatural
phenomena during theirvisit, such as a
AAuthor'sself-portraitatop UFO flyby or a ghost sighting. Others
Dreamer'sRockinCanada. report a feeling of deep serenity. Some
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