Psychic mediums are the lifeline between the living and the dead – whether connecting the living to deceased loved ones – or removing disruptive ghosts from homes or land.

I have had abilities as a psychic medium for the past ten years or so, and they started when I was working on my second novel in The Ancient Ones series. Yes, creative abilities are an amazing way to connect with the other side – angels and spirit guides included. Along with meditation, these are probably the two strongest ways to build your bond with the afterlife.

I enjoy using my abilities to work with paranormal investigators, historians, law enforcement and other professionals to help locate and tell stories for the living and the dead, including missing people/cold cases, detecting history associated with objects, homes, or land, and investigating/exploring ancient civilizations.

So, when I was invited by Tom Foster, Executive Director of the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum in Miami, Az., to come up and use my abilities as a psychic medium to pick up on some of the history of the area and Q Ranch Pueblo, I jumped at the chance. It is a four-hour drive from North Phoenix to Young, Arizona (land of the Pleasant Valley War, which is the infamous feud between the Graham family and the Tewksbury family in the late 1800s).

The scenery on 288 to Young was spectacular, beginning with some harrowing turns going uphill, which rewards the adventurous off roader with high desert vistas providing views of Roosevelt Lake, then transitioning to gently rolling hills and dark red canyons with a peek of the lake beyond. One particular turn guides the driver through a tucked away, shady riparian area. It was one of my favorite parts of the drive as it sneaks up suddenly and unexpectedly.

The ever-winding, highly scenic road transitions after about 15-20 miles into the forest and eventually dips back down into the quiet valley of Young after another 20 miles. Young is a charming, peaceful town with great sites and places to see, including the Pleasant Valley Historical Museum, Bruzzi Vineyard, quaint restaurants, and endless wilderness exploring.

Q Ranch (once home to the Mogollon or now called Prehistoric Western Pueblo people) is in the midst of a Ponderosa Pine and Oak valley surrounded by the Tonto National Forest offering four seasons with mountain meadows and hidden history awaiting the curious explorer.

Elk, coyote, black bear, and mountain lion inhabit the region (a scary thought when you are out roaming in waist high prairie grass at night). We were fortunate enough to spot a couple of elk crossing Forest Road 202 as we returned in the early evening upon exploring the gravesite of John Payne and Hampton Blevins on the land of what was once the Middleton Ranch. The only remnant of the ranch includes the marker honoring the two who died in a gun battle, and an old brick fireplace. Yet there was more than meets the eye. A heavy vibe – perhaps from this complicated and unfortunate incident resulting from the Pleasant Valley War – hung in the pine-scented and tranquil atmosphere. I noticed the spirit of a young man standing next to a tree as we approached the marker, and we could both feel eyes upon us as we wandered through the forest.

The Pueblo, which is located on the Q Ranch, is composed of two main pueblo room blocks divided by what is now a deep drainage divider/arroyo. According to the archaeologists who have been studying the site for 30 years, these pueblos include well-constructed, banded masonry walls with living and storage rooms surrounding large interior courtyards or plazas. Overall, the pueblo complex covers about four acres.

Pueblo I, the larger of the two pueblo units (picture above) has approximately 90 ground-floor rooms, with 43 being two stories in height and up to six rooms being three stories tall. The smaller Pueblo II has approximately 65 ground-floor rooms, 25 of which were probably two stories tall. Additionally, there appear to be several outlier rooms. Thus, the total site complex appears to have once had over 260 rooms.

Evidence of daily life lie scattered throughout the wide open expanse of meadow. Potshards and lithics are remnants of the ancient past. My spirit guides warned me repeatedly to not take anything other than rocks since that would not go over well with the prehistoric spirits who resided in the area. There is so much more under the surface that is not meant to be revealed. Nor should it be. The archaeologists working at the Q ranch for the past 30 years have catalogued thousands of ceramics, body ornaments and stone tools. Room size and room numbers, along with the number of artifacts found suggests at its height of occupation, the pueblo had from 800 – 1,000 people living there. Not to mention the number of ancient inhabitants living at other nearby sites.

According to the article on the Q Ranch website, absolute dating results (radiocarbon and archaeomagnetic), along with ceramic analysis, suggests site construction began at approximately A.D. 1270 and that site abandonment occurred around A.D. 1385-1390. Both pueblos are theorized to have been abandoned when a large forest fire burned the structures down, as there is no evidence of warfare. The residents appeared to have escaped the fire but did not rebuild either of the pueblos. It is believed the prehistoric residents of Q Ranch moved to Grasshopper Pueblo and lived there until that site was abandoned.

I could detect quite a few ancient residents who still called this pueblo home, both before and after the night investigation on Saturday. There were some prehistoric inhabitants who roamed the property (not just where the pueblos were located) and I noticed three spirits standing on the back patio of the ranch house when we first arrived. Apparently, they were curious to the newcomer, which happened to be me. John’s affectionate Chocolate Lab, Chloe, must have noticed something also, for she went to the sliding glass doors and was staring at something by John’s vegetable garden. My spirit guides stated that there were no animals out at the time, only the ghosts from the past.

After exploring the Q Ranch property Saturday afternoon and taking a tour with the owner of Q Ranch, John Rogers, (whose father Jefferson purchased the property in 1956 and ran it as a cattle operation until his retirement in 1988) to some nearby remnants of the Flying V Ranch, Tom and I returned to the Q Ranch for an amazing dinner prepared by John, which included homemade meatloaf and potatoes and the most decadent and light chocolate mousse I’ve ever had. About 10p or so, we headed out with EMF Meters and flashlights in hand for an interesting investigation.

Pueblo I is close to the ranch house and though it was too dark to really see most of the features, I was able to see the square shapes of the pueblo. We spent a few minutes wandering around Pueblo I; however, I didn’t really sense too much spirit energy. Not to mention, the EMF Meters didn’t pick up much either, other than a couple of quick bursts of electricity.

We found our way down into the arroyo dividing the pueblos (keep in mind, that drainage ditch would not have been there during the time) and scrambled up the other side to Pueblo II. We had asked if any ghosts or spirits could let us know of their existence by touching myself or Tom or reaching out to the equipment so that their energy would set the meters off.

They didn’t disappoint. I could see a young male reaching out to touch Tom’s Mel-Meter, then he would giggle and run away. A few others continued to do the same, letting us know we weren’t alone.

Keep in mind, as a medium, I was aware before the investigation that we were not in any danger. If so, my guides would have told me not to go at night. I was actually more concerned about the local wildlife than spirits. At one point, I believe the ancient residents outnumbered my spirit guides, as I could see my guides trying to keep an eye on myself and Tom.

I also sensed a spirit standing about ten feet behind us – one of the Shaman of the tribe. His head looked to be shaved except for a strip of dark hair in the center and he wore what looked like robes, though later I found out they were animal skins. He did keep a watchful eye on us but was not a threatening presence. He followed us around the next day around the pueblo and provided some additional information about the land. Apparently, the first image above with the Alligator Juniper growing through part of the pueblo, acts as a portal (it was also a portal prior to the tree being there). Interesting since that is where I first sensed the Shaman.

An interesting note: about a week after the trip to Young and Q Ranch, my spirit guides told me that the pueblos had a couple of Shaman or medicine men; however, the one I picked up on looked quite different than most of the other inhabitants, which really surprised me and my guides. He didn’t seem to fit into the general population of prehistoric people. My own Native American spirit guides informed me that he actually looked more Iroquois than the Western Pueblo Culture (the people who built and inhabited the pueblos) from about 1270 AD to 1380 AD. Of course, the Iroquois appeared about two- three-hundred years after the prehistoric era, so perhaps this is coincidental.

What I originally thought to be robes, were buffalo hides. According to the Arizona Game & Fish Department’s article on Bison, several recent studies in the southwest have concluded plains bison are native to the southwest, placing northern and eastern Arizona within the species’ historical continental range. However, I am unsure if buffalo would have resided in the region at the time when the pueblos were thriving.

The residents of the Pueblos did not have an official medicine man at the time, and they were in desperate need since sickness had been running rampant. The Shaman had unexpectedly appeared to the residents of the pueblo where the Alligator Juniper (not there at the time of the ancients) and portal is located during the end of the Pueblo’s hey-dey. He informed my guides that he had stayed on as their medicine man for the last ten years at the Q Ranch Pueblo. Yes, I did previously mention the portal there so who’s to say if his sudden appearance and the portal are related.

The Q Ranch has a house with 8 rooms upstairs (bathrooms are not attached but there are 3 or 4 available), if you want a tranquil place to explore, hike, bird-watch, and learn about the ancient history as well as the Pleasant Valley War. The town of Young is about 22 miles west.

This is an amazing respite for those escaping from the city, those looking for a spiritual retreat, or for group outings. John does reside in Phoenix but he will return to the ranch with his adorable chocolate lab, Chloe, for those who make reservations. Check out their website as they also have archaeological-related events.

https://www.qranch.com/how-to-get-here