1 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,160 So, I'm from the beautiful small town of Princeton, Indiana. It's grown 2 00:00:08,199 --> 00:00:12,000 a bit in recent years, but back when I was seventeen the time when 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:16,920 this encounter happened, it was still a typical small town America kind of place. 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,120 I grew up in a hunting and fishing family. We were taught how 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:27,440 to live off the land and respect life at an early age. My dad 6 00:00:27,519 --> 00:00:31,640 took each of us kids squirrel hunting at the young age of ten. He 7 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:37,679 taught us proper gun handling and safety and the best techniques for hunting. I 8 00:00:37,719 --> 00:00:42,079 did pretty well on my first outing, but my brother Gary not so much. 9 00:00:43,039 --> 00:00:46,960 Dad said he had never been aimed at so much in his life. 10 00:00:47,079 --> 00:00:51,200 Every time he turned around, he was staring down the barrel of Gary's gun. 11 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,399 That probably wouldn't have bothered him nearly so much if it hadn't been for 12 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:02,119 my brother's evil grin. And for me, hunting was a man's ride of 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,920 passage. I had my dad and older brother as examples of everything a hunter 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,200 should be, and I was bound and determined to meet their standards, and 15 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,480 it was not easy. The first squirrel that I ever killed was on a 16 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:21,439 hunt with my dad, and it was the biggest thrill of my life until 17 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:26,799 I had to feel dress it. Mom's awesome fried squirrel biscuits and gravy didn't 18 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:32,280 quite taste the same. That night, as I stared down at my plate 19 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,040 of food, all I could see was that little squirrel staring back up at 20 00:01:36,079 --> 00:01:40,920 me while I was pulling its guts out. Finally, Dad leaned over and 21 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,799 he said, God provided our food, and it's wrong to kill anything you're 22 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,719 not going to eat. Those were Dad's standard, So I tried to ignore 23 00:01:49,799 --> 00:01:53,680 the tiny little Alvin in the chipmunk's voice whispering from my plate, telling me 24 00:01:53,840 --> 00:02:00,560 all about his wife and kids, and I finished off every bite. Over 25 00:02:00,599 --> 00:02:04,319 the years, I toughened up a bit and it became a little less bothersome, 26 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,719 until eventually I couldn't hear Alvin talking at all. Every year, I'd 27 00:02:09,719 --> 00:02:15,080 get more and more excited waiting for August, when squirrel season would begin. 28 00:02:15,479 --> 00:02:19,960 On the first day of the season. The year I was seventeen, I 29 00:02:20,039 --> 00:02:23,199 called my best buddy to go with me. He was busy, so I 30 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:29,520 asked my dad and my older brother. They were both working. I wasn't 31 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,479 about to risk being shot at by my other brother so I decided to man 32 00:02:32,599 --> 00:02:38,280 up and go alone. This is something I never did, but I saw 33 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:44,080 this as my path to manhood laid out before me. The night before, 34 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,039 I told Mom and Dad where I'd be hunting. It was a great spot 35 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,120 down by the river and known to be the home of lots of squirrels. 36 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,680 Then I cleaned my rifle, a birthday present from my dad that I was 37 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,400 especially proud of, and I gathered my gear and did my best fall asleep. 38 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:06,479 It seemed like my head had just hit the pillow when the alarm sounded. 39 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,759 Feeling a little groggy but anxious to get out there and hunt me some 40 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,719 squirrels, I jumped out of bed and threw on my clothes and grabbed my 41 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,759 gear, and I headed out, wolfing down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich 42 00:03:17,759 --> 00:03:22,479 as I drove. I needed to be in the woods and settle down before 43 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:28,280 sunrise or the squirrels might see me. I went down the old winding road 44 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,400 across the creaky bridge, and I parked by an oil well in the field. 45 00:03:32,199 --> 00:03:36,800 The sky was beginning to pale and I could see a light fog rising 46 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,199 off the river. I walked a short distance across the field and into the 47 00:03:40,199 --> 00:03:44,919 woods along the river with my gun in hand, and I was covered in 48 00:03:45,039 --> 00:03:49,800 skeeter dope. It was a beautiful morning, despite the fact that the fog 49 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:54,759 gave everything a slightly creepy feeling. The waist high grass was covered in dew 50 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:00,280 as I quietly made my way down to my hunting spot, making sure be 51 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,719 very very quiet so as not to spook the squirrels. My dad my brother 52 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:10,680 were like squirrel hunting ninjas in the woods, capable of walking right up behind 53 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:15,719 a person without breaking a twig. I moved more like a squirrel hunting bull, 54 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,759 breaking twigs and crunching leaves with every step. I came to a fallen 55 00:04:20,879 --> 00:04:26,439 tree about four feet in diameter that had fallen away from the river and into 56 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,600 the field. As I approached it, trying to figure out how I was 57 00:04:30,639 --> 00:04:34,639 going to get over it or around it, I stepped on a small branch 58 00:04:34,759 --> 00:04:41,000 that snapped like a rifle shot. Well. I cursed under my breath as 59 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,279 the sound echoed through the fog. A nearby beaver slapped his tail on the 60 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,279 water in protest, and I jumped a little at the loud splash it made, 61 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:55,120 But I was mentally prepared for run ends with most any animal that morning, 62 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:01,480 I just wasn't prepared for what happened next. I watched as the angry 63 00:05:01,519 --> 00:05:06,519 beaver swam off and was about to resume my journey when I caught movement out 64 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:12,079 of the corner of my eye. I froze as I watched what looked to 65 00:05:12,079 --> 00:05:16,120 be a grall hooded cobra rising up from behind a tree not more than six 66 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,800 feet in front of me. As my eyes focused in the low light, 67 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:27,720 reality set in. This was a no snake, and it continued to rise 68 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,920 until it was at eye level with me. Its neck was long, with 69 00:05:30,959 --> 00:05:36,279 two large golf ball sized shiny black eyes perched on top. It did not 70 00:05:36,399 --> 00:05:42,720 make a sound or blink. It just stared at me. My mouth went 71 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,360 dry as the adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I tried to rationalize what 72 00:05:46,439 --> 00:05:49,800 I was seeing. But all I could think of was a story my brother 73 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:55,120 in law had once told me. He and some friends were out in the 74 00:05:55,160 --> 00:06:00,639 country one night having a party when he had to answer nature's call at the 75 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,920 edge of a cornfield, he came face to face with a classic, big 76 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,600 headed, large black eyed, gray alien wearing a silver jumpsuit. My brother 77 00:06:11,639 --> 00:06:15,000 in law jumped and the alien jumped, and each ran back in the direction 78 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:20,120 from which they came. My brother in law told his friends about it, 79 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:26,439 but they all accused him of just being drunk in anger. He insisted they 80 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,240 come and see. When they finally went out there, they found seven to 81 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:34,199 eight inch long, three toed tracks like a chicken would mate. They tried 82 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:39,160 following the tracks toward the neighbor's field, but it started raining, so they 83 00:06:39,199 --> 00:06:43,839 gave up. The next morning, the sheriff showed up, accusing them of 84 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,519 making a big circle in the neighbor's cornfield. With that story running through my 85 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:54,319 head, I couldn't help but compare the alien my brother in law described with 86 00:06:54,439 --> 00:06:58,199 the alien that was currently staring at me from the other side of the fallen 87 00:06:58,319 --> 00:07:02,959 tree. This wasn't a classic gray though. It was more like the alien 88 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:08,680 in Close Encounters of the Third kind. I wondered, should I whistle that 89 00:07:08,759 --> 00:07:14,480 tune to protect myself? I slowly took the safety off my gun. I 90 00:07:14,519 --> 00:07:17,800 didn't point it at the creature for fear of making things worse, but at 91 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:23,399 least I would be ready if I needed it. In response, it began 92 00:07:23,439 --> 00:07:26,839 to rock from side to side as it moved a little closer to me. 93 00:07:28,079 --> 00:07:30,920 Fear was setting in and I felt beads of sweat trickle down my face. 94 00:07:31,639 --> 00:07:38,519 Why doesn't it speak, I wondered, Maybe it's telepathic. After what felt 95 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,839 like a millennium, it turned its head. I didn't expect this, and 96 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,360 I caught my breath Anticipating the worst. It was staring at me from its 97 00:07:47,439 --> 00:07:53,959 left eye. Now, my knees grew weak and my stomach churned a little 98 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:59,600 as I saw the protrusion on its face. It looked just like a bill. 99 00:08:00,319 --> 00:08:03,000 In fact, it looked just like the bill of a sand crane. 100 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,920 I exhaled in relief as I saw the alien before me for what it really 101 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:11,560 was. It was a sand crane. Just as I was beginning to laugh 102 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,120 at myself, the beaver slapped the water again, getting one more startled jump 103 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:22,680 out of my already jangled nerves. That was enough for me. I had 104 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,920 manned up and had gone hunting alone, but I didn't enjoy it. I 105 00:08:26,959 --> 00:08:33,159 put the gun on safety and turned and left the alien sand crane still standing 106 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,720 behind the tree. I walked back to my car, ignoring the squirrel that 107 00:08:37,879 --> 00:08:41,639 was barking at me. I was too shaky to even shoot. He probably 108 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:46,960 knew that, and I'm sure if I could still hear Old Alvan's voice, 109 00:08:46,159 --> 00:08:50,360 he was probably making fun of me. I didn't care. I was kind 110 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:56,360 of laughing at me too. The next weekend, I went hunting with my 111 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,879 brother and had a great time. The story is all true, as best 112 00:09:00,879 --> 00:09:09,200 as I can remember it. I've had three encounters with Bigfoot in my life, 113 00:09:09,399 --> 00:09:13,320 one at the age of five, the second at the age of eight, 114 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,679 and then another at thirty two. I am currently forty two years old. 115 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,440 Two of these encounters are face to face encounters, and one of them 116 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:30,519 was an incredibly eerie experience that, looking back, was a sound encounter. 117 00:09:31,159 --> 00:09:35,799 I went away to college on the East Coast, and I lived there still. 118 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,679 My encounter pushed me to take anthropology as one of my majors, to 119 00:09:39,759 --> 00:09:45,360 try to figure out what I saw as a kid. My other major was 120 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:50,360 history, and I told people the anthropology was to answer the why question in 121 00:09:50,519 --> 00:09:54,320 history. It is not true. Did it help, sure, but it 122 00:09:54,360 --> 00:10:01,679 was not the full reason. I am now a reference librarian at a public 123 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:05,159 library. When people come to me with what would be thought of as a 124 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:13,720 crazy research question, I'm the last person to question them the first seventeen years 125 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,759 of my life. I grew up in southern Humboldt County, California, in 126 00:10:16,799 --> 00:10:20,600 the town of Riodell, and when I was a bit older, we lived 127 00:10:20,639 --> 00:10:30,120 in Scotia. These two towns reside side by side along the Eel River and 128 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:35,480 were sustained by the logging industry. The way she spells this river is ee 129 00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:39,279 l Eel. I don't know. To live in the town of Scotia, 130 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,440 you had to work for the lumber company. Work whistles told you when to 131 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,440 wake up and go to lunch or when it was time to go home, 132 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,559 and as a kid, you knew it was time to head home when the 133 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,200 four point thirty pm whistle went off, because the dads were headed home for 134 00:10:54,279 --> 00:11:01,600 dinner and would usually be ready soon after. I'm the oldest of four kids. 135 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,840 My mother was deaf, and we used the American sign lang, which 136 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:11,039 is our form of communication in the home. We didn't have much money growing 137 00:11:11,159 --> 00:11:13,720 up, so when we did go on vacation, it was to go camping 138 00:11:13,759 --> 00:11:18,759 with my mother's parents on a bit of land about an hour and a half 139 00:11:18,799 --> 00:11:24,600 from Riodell. The town is called Edersburg and is next to the King Range 140 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:30,519 Mountains. The year was nineteen eighty one, and my grandparents, my mother 141 00:11:30,639 --> 00:11:33,000 and my father, and my sister who was two at the time. I 142 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:37,960 was age five, and we would all pile into a nineteen sixty four white 143 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,840 station wagon and head out there for a week to enjoy the small creeks and 144 00:11:43,879 --> 00:11:48,600 the sounds of the wilderness. My grandpa had friends who were kind enough to 145 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,639 let us camp on that piece of land from the nineteen fifties through the early 146 00:11:52,759 --> 00:11:58,120 nineteen nineties. Just as a side note, we stopped in the early nineties 147 00:11:58,159 --> 00:12:03,039 because of the elle marijuana grows by the Mexican cartels in the area and that 148 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:09,039 made camping too dangerous. My family would set up in the same place every 149 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,039 year. My sister and I would play in the forest the entire time. 150 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:18,279 In the area, the forest wind was comforting, the rain made me want 151 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:24,679 to just fall asleep. The sounds of the animals were soothing. I never 152 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,759 saw any black bears in the area. We did see a small cougar once 153 00:12:30,039 --> 00:12:35,000 and it hurt us kids and it ran away. The area had a small 154 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:41,240 creek that my grandparents enjoyed fly fishing in. There was a huge cast iron 155 00:12:41,399 --> 00:12:46,960 dark blue colored eighteen nineties range that my parents would put the camp stove one 156 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,039 two to do the cooking, and finally a large nineteen sixties army surplus tent 157 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:58,799 that would fit all six of us with army cots. The front flaps would 158 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,879 be tied back and the would be zip closed to keep the flies and the 159 00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:07,080 gnats out. The first thing my sister and I wanted to do was go 160 00:13:07,159 --> 00:13:11,480 swimming. We were not very good swimmers at the time, so we would 161 00:13:11,519 --> 00:13:16,840 just drag ourselves along the bottom of the creek with our hands while we floated 162 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:22,679 on the surface. We were never allowed family because we signed to each other 163 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:28,559 if we were I don't remember us being so the only noise coming from the 164 00:13:28,639 --> 00:13:33,600 camp was us two kids. We also had a habit of banging rocks together 165 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:39,840 to see if we could find different ocean snails in them. The area was 166 00:13:39,879 --> 00:13:43,879 heavy with fossils and the river rocks. We had a lot of fun trying 167 00:13:43,879 --> 00:13:48,600 to see what type we could find. After quite a few nights at the 168 00:13:48,639 --> 00:13:52,080 camping spot, it was time to go to bed, had gotten dark and 169 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,840 the night sounds had already started to fill the air. My parents made sure 170 00:13:56,919 --> 00:14:01,120 the fire was just embers, and we all went into the tent to lie 171 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,960 down to sleep. We all enjoyed a breeze coming into the tent, so 172 00:14:07,039 --> 00:14:11,679 we kept the screens zipped but the flaps open. Now I also remember the 173 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,840 backflap open. That was a type of roll down window that tied at the 174 00:14:15,879 --> 00:14:20,879 bottom, but would still have zipped netting to keep the bugs out. I 175 00:14:20,919 --> 00:14:24,480 fell asleep quickly, and I slept for a long time. When I woke 176 00:14:24,559 --> 00:14:28,519 up in the middle of the night, I could see a dark brown, 177 00:14:28,679 --> 00:14:35,000 furry creature squatted next to the embers. I remember looking over my shoulder and 178 00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:39,200 seeing everyone in their cots. My sister was next to me asleep, and 179 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:43,879 so was the rest of my family. I looked back outside and I could 180 00:14:43,879 --> 00:14:48,720 see this creature playing with a stick and drawing in the embers. I saw 181 00:14:48,799 --> 00:14:54,639 really dark eyes and hands like mine, and I remember thinking that this creature 182 00:14:54,799 --> 00:14:58,080 was really furry, except for a bit on its upper chest near its neck, 183 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:03,720 and its face and its palms. It was so absorbed in playing in 184 00:15:03,799 --> 00:15:09,519 the embers of the fire that it didn't see me watching it. The creature 185 00:15:09,639 --> 00:15:13,679 was intent on playing and would try to catch the end of the marshmallow sticks 186 00:15:13,679 --> 00:15:18,240 on fire. The creature was smaller in size, about the size of my 187 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:22,960 father, so it was about six feet tall. Looking back, I think 188 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:28,639 it was a teenager or even a juvenile. Its chest was flat, so 189 00:15:28,759 --> 00:15:33,279 it wasn't a female, and I remember thinking it was odd to see something 190 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:39,039 out there and just closed my eyes and I went back to sleep. The 191 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,399 next morning, I got up and my parents were signing back and forth to 192 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,639 each other about large footprints that were in the dirt around the campfire. My 193 00:15:48,759 --> 00:15:52,240 father saw us kids coming out of the tent and he walked over to the 194 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,320 footprints and he kicked dirt over him. I didn't say anything to my parents 195 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,600 at the time because I thought they would think I was just imagining things. 196 00:16:02,759 --> 00:16:06,960 Years later, I asked if anyone saw anything, and no one said they 197 00:16:07,039 --> 00:16:14,159 did. My second encounter that stuck with me happened in Pepperwood, California. 198 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,600 I was eight years old. My sister would have been five years old. 199 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,720 It is a plot of land right at the beginning of the avenue of the 200 00:16:22,799 --> 00:16:27,519 Giants. When the trees open up to farmland. My family would go to 201 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:33,399 a friend's farm and help them plant weed and harvest on the weekends. It 202 00:16:33,519 --> 00:16:37,720 was a way to help my parents keep some extra food on the table, 203 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:42,639 but also to let us kids play outside. To this day, there's nothing 204 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:47,320 to me that is as fun as a game of hide and seek or tag 205 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:52,000 in a fully grown cornfield at night. This farm had an upper and lower 206 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,320 field. The upper field had mostly corn and the lower field was things like 207 00:16:57,399 --> 00:17:03,839 squashing tomatoes. This lower field backed onto the Eel River and had a band 208 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,960 of woods before hitting the river bar. In between the two fields was a 209 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,720 strip of dense red woods, and it was long enough to run the length 210 00:17:12,759 --> 00:17:17,519 of the fields, but wide enough that you couldn't see straight through to the 211 00:17:17,559 --> 00:17:22,519 lower field. There was a small shaded dirt area that they would park the 212 00:17:22,559 --> 00:17:27,440 tractors and disc harrows and the wagons. On one of these summer days, 213 00:17:27,559 --> 00:17:33,000 my sister and I were making a log cabin out of sticks. It was 214 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:37,400 late afternoon and my parents were in the lower field planning squash seeds. We 215 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,759 were playing in the turnaround area and built it high enough that we could squat 216 00:17:41,839 --> 00:17:45,920 in it and were able to put a bunch of more sticks to make a 217 00:17:45,039 --> 00:17:49,720 roof. We were singing a bunch of songs that we had just learned in 218 00:17:49,839 --> 00:17:55,480 Bluebirds, part of the Campfire Girls, and we were having a fun time. 219 00:17:56,039 --> 00:17:59,920 My little sister got tired and said that she was going down next to 220 00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:04,599 Paw and Maul and lie down on the softly tilled dirt. We both liked 221 00:18:04,599 --> 00:18:08,559 the softly tilled dirt, especially when it had been worn by the sun all 222 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,519 day. I said I was going to play by myself for a little while 223 00:18:12,599 --> 00:18:18,240 longer. Well, I was there humming to myself for about ten minutes or 224 00:18:18,319 --> 00:18:22,880 so, and I was piling dirt up on the clay cabin when I noticed 225 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:27,839 that the woods went absolutely quiet. There was no wind, no bird sounds, 226 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,240 not even the sound of flies or nights buzzing. I looked around and 227 00:18:33,279 --> 00:18:38,000 I saw that the woods were starting to get dark. The redwoods get dark 228 00:18:38,079 --> 00:18:42,799 and cold quickly because of the amount of tree canopy, but this seemed darker 229 00:18:42,839 --> 00:18:48,559 than usual. I started to look through the cracks of the cabin to see 230 00:18:48,559 --> 00:18:52,119 if I could see anything, and I spun slowly on my knees and looked 231 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:57,079 three hundred and sixty degrees around me. I didn't see anything, but I 232 00:18:57,119 --> 00:19:03,640 could feel someone or something watching me, and my body instantly went cold. 233 00:19:04,319 --> 00:19:10,640 I remember thinking, don't run. I was afraid of whatever was watching me 234 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,440 would chase me, so I crawled out of the cabin, and instead of 235 00:19:14,519 --> 00:19:19,119 running, I skipped toward my parents. You were reading an email from a 236 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,920 woman who has never skipped in my entire life. But it was the only 237 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:29,279 thing I could think of doing without making whatever was watching me chase after me. 238 00:19:30,519 --> 00:19:33,680 I went and sat on the wagon and I just stared at the ground 239 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,599 for a bit, just trying to calm down. This didn't last very long, 240 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,359 because about five minutes after I sat down, I heard a whoop, 241 00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:48,359 whoop. The sound started low and it got high sounding, and it echoed 242 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,920 all over the farm area. My father's sister and I looked around trying to 243 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:59,799 find the sound. Mama saw us looking around and she signed what. Papa 244 00:19:59,799 --> 00:20:03,519 got my mama's attention by waving at her and told her that we all heard 245 00:20:03,519 --> 00:20:08,920 a sound. My Papa looked nervous, and he told us kids it was 246 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:14,839 an owl. I never heard owls make sounds like that before, and we 247 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,640 heard them all the time. This was so loud that we heard it in 248 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:23,279 our chests. Papa called us kids over to be near to him in the 249 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,319 rows and made me start poking the holes to plant the seeds, while my 250 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:33,400 sister followed behind and threw a few seeds in, and Papa put fish meal 251 00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:37,400 on the seeds and covered them. When we finished that row, we left 252 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,000 for the day. I don't know what was watching me, but it was 253 00:20:41,039 --> 00:20:48,920 an encounter with something that still gives me nightmares. My last encounter was in 254 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:53,200 two thousand and nine. Those of you who live in Humboldt County know how 255 00:20:53,240 --> 00:21:00,839 hard it is to always have a reliable plane ride from San Francisco to McKinleyville. 256 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,319 I was trying to fly north from San Francisco after an early morning flight 257 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:11,519 from Boston because my grandmother had died. The flight was hard enough emotionally, 258 00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:15,319 but when the flight north was canceled due to fog, so I had to 259 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,960 get a rental car. It was a four tourists. It was the last 260 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,079 minute, so now I had a four hour ride ahead of me. On 261 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,519 top of the very early morning flight from Boston the weekend humble was exhausting and 262 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:32,559 heartbreaking. Now I then had to get up at one am to drive to 263 00:21:32,599 --> 00:21:38,160 San Francisco to catch my six am flight back to Boston. The beginning of 264 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:44,559 the ride south was fine. There were clear skies and not much fog except 265 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,480 a few in the lower depths next to the rivers. There were no cars 266 00:21:48,519 --> 00:21:52,599 going or coming, and I was truly alone on the road until I hit 267 00:21:52,599 --> 00:21:59,480 the straightaway. Just before coming to Leytonville. I could see something big squatting 268 00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:03,400 on the right hand side of the road. First, I had no idea 269 00:22:03,519 --> 00:22:07,160 what I was looking at, but as I slowed down to stop next to 270 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:11,440 it, the creature turned its upper body and it looked at me. I 271 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:17,200 got a glimpse of red eye shine as I stopped next to it. My 272 00:22:17,319 --> 00:22:22,640 eyes got wide and my mouth fell open. My thought was, oh my 273 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,119 god, I'm not really crazy. This is what I saw when I was 274 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:33,079 a kid. My next thought was, don't show teeth. Teeth mean aggression. 275 00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:37,400 So I closed my mouth and tried to smile the best I could without 276 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,559 showing my teeth, and I waved at the creature. The creature kept looking 277 00:22:41,599 --> 00:22:45,640 at me, and then down at the road, and then back at me, 278 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,240 and then further down the road, and it did not respond to me 279 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:53,319 when I waved at it. I sat there debating with myself if I should 280 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:57,720 get out of the car to try to speak with it. The anthropologist in 281 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,519 me was freaking out excited. The child that saw the creature felt excited, 282 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,319 and all of me wanted to get out of the car and say something to 283 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,279 this creature that I had begun to think I had made up in my mind. 284 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:17,759 The creature was dark brown. The windows were up, so there was 285 00:23:17,839 --> 00:23:22,200 no smell. The eyes and face reminded me of a human. The eye 286 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:29,119 color was dark black, but then again it was dark. The nose was 287 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,839 flat, the chest was broad like a bodybuilder, but the hair looked fine. 288 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,559 The creature was squatty and was still as tall as the car I was 289 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:42,720 driving. Logic kicked in and I remembered that I needed to make it to 290 00:23:42,759 --> 00:23:47,880 the airport one time, and I didn't have the money to be rebuked, 291 00:23:48,039 --> 00:23:52,519 so I didn't get out of the car, and I waved goodbye. The 292 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:56,319 creature began to stand up. I began to drive, and I tapped the 293 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,400 brakes and looked behind me. The creature was crossing the road and I could 294 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:06,400 only see as high as the creature's hip in the red brake lights. My 295 00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:12,039 guess is the creature was between seven and eight feet tall. Thirty yards further 296 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:17,799 down the road was a slight right in the highway. Along the side of 297 00:24:17,839 --> 00:24:22,640 that dep there was a cluster of ferns and about five deer. That's when 298 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,880 it hit me what the bigfoot was looking at. He was looking at dinner. 299 00:24:29,039 --> 00:24:33,920 This is when I felt a chill run down my spine. While I 300 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:38,359 personally don't think bigfoot are very aggressive in the Pacific Northwest, I'm pretty sure 301 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,400 the need to get to the airport saved me for making a terrible mistake. 302 00:24:44,839 --> 00:24:48,559 I kept driving until I got to Yukaya and found the first open gas station 303 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:55,640 and told the attendant I needed a bathroom key. I thought better of telling 304 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,759 this attendant I had just seen a bigfoot, and I went and stood in 305 00:24:59,799 --> 00:25:03,200 the beat up, dimly lit bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. 306 00:25:04,759 --> 00:25:10,440 On one hand, I was thrilled that I could finally verify to myself what 307 00:25:10,519 --> 00:25:14,960 I saw when I was five years old. But on the other is when 308 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,359 I realized I had been in the city way too long. I'd forgotten the 309 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,480 very thing that kept me alive all those years growing up in Humboldt County, 310 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:29,720 and that was to always be careful in the woods. Needless to say, 311 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:34,240 my mind was racing for days afterward, I got to the airport on time, 312 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,519 and I wanted to tell people, Hey, I just saw a bigfoot. 313 00:25:38,279 --> 00:25:41,559 However, I also wanted to get back to Boston, and I'm pretty 314 00:25:41,599 --> 00:25:47,039 sure I would have been committed at the time if I'd started telling people what 315 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,880 I saw. Oh, that's so funny. As a side note, I 316 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:55,680 don't know why when I saw the creature, I was never afraid. I've 317 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,440 only ever been afraid when an animal makes an aggressive stance toward me, and 318 00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:00,880 neither one of these did that.