In 1996, my wife and I were the directors of the Mormon Trail Sesquicentennial Wagon Train across Iowa. It was at that time that I was shown a different way to find history. I learned from Karla Gunzenhauser of Garden Grove, Robert Brown of Mount Pisgah and Michael Zahs who worked both of those sites. I learned how to use divining rods to find wagon trails, grave sites and the location of old cabins. With this knowledge, Karla Gunzenhauser said, "Mike, go out and find the Mormon Trail across Lee County, put it on a map and send it to me so we can print a book for all visitors."

On the tour I will refer many times to a resource book, The Iowa Mormon Trail, published after a 1996 seminar held at the Iowa State Historical Society building. Each county on the Mormon Trail is represented, as well as essays from noted Trail historians. The book is well worth reading, but is out of print.