Ok, if my big brother, travel editor Ed Boitano, can do, then so can I. Though, I must confess this pilgrimage piece is also inspired by John Lennon. His passage in In My Life goes something like this...

There is a horrific period in America’s consciousness that is not generally covered in history books. It is a heart wrenching piece of U.S. history that is shrouded in greed, blood and injustice. It all started with the discovery of a single golden nugget.