Gentlemen:
A while back I posted the following:
Hello Ponchosportal,
i believe what we are seeing is the birth of a new legend not the birth of truth.
First you control the information flow, next you discredit anyone who does not buy into the new reality, and you hold out the promise of complete disclosure. That is after the gold is found, the book is published, and the movie is in the theaters. By then everyone will have forgotten what the truth is and be celebrating the new heroes of the Superstitions. Barry Storm has been reborn.
I would imagine that getting the right to dig in the SWA will add at least 2 years to the drama.
Should be a great ride, a lot of money will be made and nothing will be solved. Everyone involved will get their 15 minutes of fame or perhaps more.
This is all about theater and not really good theater at that. Before this is over Travis will probably be credited with carving the stone found in the Bat Cave.
Starman
Assuming for the moment this is all about theater then several possibilities arise.
1. Perhaps the family used the dirt map and found what there was to find years ago. It seems in one of the videos the comment was made that Travis had found something of value in the Superstitions. Don`t believe the point was made that the dirt map led to the discovery but perhaps. If this is the case the only thing left is to make money off of a search of the Superstitions. Much the same way the tv production on the Superstitions was basically a tour of some very beautiful country and an introduction into some of the legends that surround the Superstitions. Imagine that will be enough for most folks and would be a lot of fun to follow.
2. Since the family has already indicated that Travis`s book is fatally flawed, in that the stone maps were made and not found, and that the stones only represent a small portion of the dirt map, then the only reason to buy the book is to gain a greater understanding of Travis and his search. Since the book is in error why buy it if there is no possibility it will lead to anything of value. That is unless one views it as a work of fiction that can be viewed solely on its entertainment value. From that perspective Ely`s and Bark`s contributions would be far more valuable to understand the Superstitions than say this fictional account. Never less presenting the book as leading to an area of the Superstitions that is dark and foreboding would entice some to buy the work. Much the same way Barry Storm`s work is a history of the range.
3. Another possibility is that while all of this is theater a bit of truth has been exposed. That is based on the possibility that if the dirt map is more fundamental than the trail maps how was it that Travis knew what was important and what was not? Given that the dirt map may have very well have not lead to anything then the trail maps maybe truly be what was important and Travis did not recognize this and gave the farm away early on.
Having said this the one thing is certain the trail maps do lead to things of interest in the Superstitions. What is uncertain is does the dirt map have any value other than theater. That is yet to be seen.
Personally I suspect it does but whether or not that will ever be understood is debatable. What is clear is the trail maps lead to the heart and soul of the range, the dirt map perhaps to other things.
Starman
