At our last meeting, the club welcomed Alan Ehrgott, founding director of the American River Conservancy and author of the recently published book The Elusive Conquest of Queen Califa.  Ehrgott shared the remarkable story behind a research project that spanned more than five decades and ultimately inspired his book.

The journey began 51 years ago when Ehrgott, his brother, and a friend completed a remarkable 1,200-mile backpacking journey through Baja California.  Along the way, Ehrgott became fascinated by indigenous cave paintings and the history of the region’s native tribes. That experience launched a lifelong study of early California history and the interactions among native peoples, Spanish explorers, missionaries, and conquistadors.

The first two-thirds of his book blends history, historical fiction, and indigenous storytelling to revisit the early history of California and Baja California. It explores the origins of California’s name, the impact of Spanish exploration and missionary expansion, and the resilience of the indigenous peoples of the Baja Peninsula.  The final third of the book recounts the trio’s arduous trek through Baja California and the adventures they encountered along the way.

Following the journey, colleges and universities invited Ehrgott to speak about the petroglyphs and indigenous history of Baja California, particularly to anthropology students. Those presentations led to educational expeditions into Baja and eventually to Ehrgott founding Pacific Adventures- a wilderness travel company that conducted tours throughout Baja California, Alaska, Southeast Asia, and South America.  After 10 years in the adventure travel business, Ehrgott and his wife opened a bed-and-breakfast in Coloma.  He then founded the American River Conservancy.