WEBVTT 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.