At one point we've all dreamed of going on a grand adventure in the wilderness in search of a lost treasure. Indiana Jones and the Goonies inspired more than one generation.

There's a local father-daughter team of treasure hunters who are awfully close to living out that very dream, and finding a legendary lost treasure.

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The Wild Frontier And Legends Of Lost Treasure

I grew up around stories of lost treasure. In fact, I've recently written about one of those stories that is based in the Quartz Mountains of western Oklahoma.

After writing that, I was contacted by someone in Amarillo who had an incredible story they wanted to share. The daughter in a father-daughter treasure hunting team wanted to tell me about the La Mina Perdida de la Ventana.

La Mina Perdida de la Ventana

The legend goes that there is a mine up in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. The Spanish worked the mine, and then took the ore to other locations in order to smelt it.

Depending on who you ask, one belief is that the Spanish worked the mine until the Ute Indians attacked the miners. Those who were lucky enough to escape that initial attack were finished off in a subsequent ambush. Only one man survived, who passed along the location of the mine to his son. His son was never able to find it.

An addition this series of events is the belief that the French stumbled upon the mine when they made their way through the area. They left behind a series of markers, carving out a path to the mine.

The Father-Daughter Team Closing In On The Legendary Mine

For decades, the Smith team has been searching. In that time they've found clues, markers, and have put their blood, sweat, and tears into uncovering this lost treasure.

Photo by Pascal Garten on Unsplash
Photo by Pascal Garten on Unsplash
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And they think they're really close to making their discovery.

They've been able to secure all necessary permits needed in their search, which is no easy feat. If you were to ask the daughter, she would tell you they're so close they can smell it.

So, What's The Hold Up?

The only thing holding them back now is access to imaging technology to give them an idea of what's under the surface of where they want to dig, so to speak.

Photo by Suhash Villuri on Unsplash
Photo by Suhash Villuri on Unsplash
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Once they have that, it's back to the mountains to uncover the lost mine.

Time is of the essence, though. Permits eventually expire, and age is friend to no one. Hopefully someone can help, and this team can make a legendary find.

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Can You Guess These Towns From Their Satellite Photos?

I'm always down for a good brain challenge. This one however got the best of me.
It's always a fun time looking up address or cities and seeing them from a satellite point of view. You start pointing out landmarks and things you recognize.

One thing you don't account for however is something looking bigger or smaller than you seemed to think it was. So we started grabbing a bunch of these satellite pictures of cities and towns around Amarillo.

As we looked at them, we thought to ourselves, "how fun would this be to actually have to GUESS what these places are?". So away we went.

Go ahead and try to see how many you can guess correctly!

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