1 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:16,039 Speaker 1: In the fall of nineteen ninety three near Columbiana, Ohio. Ray, 2 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,160 an engineer from northeast Ohio, was raccoon hunting on a 3 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,199 cool fall night with a friend. At that time in 4 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,199 nineteen ninety three, the men were nineteen years old. Each 5 00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:32,119 man carried a flashlight and a twenty two rifle. They 6 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,359 had no dogs. They were creep hunting. It was a 7 00:00:36,359 --> 00:00:39,240 beautiful night and the moon was full. They could see 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,079 everything around them, so they turned their lights off while 9 00:00:42,079 --> 00:00:44,960 they walked to the place. They knew the raccoons had 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,679 been active and to save their batteries. As they approached 11 00:00:49,679 --> 00:00:52,079 the woods they wanted to hunt, the men split up 12 00:00:52,119 --> 00:00:54,799 to cover more ground and soon were out of sight 13 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,479 of each other. Ray sat down after climbing a steep 14 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,240 hill to catch his breath. Steam from his jacket rose 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,640 off his shoulders in a weird wave as he regained 16 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,040 his strength. The longer he sat on that log, the 17 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,120 more comfortable he got, and soon he laid his head 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,519 over against a tree and fell off into a deep sleep. 19 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,239 Ray woke up, thinking he had only been asleep for 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,799 a few minutes, but he looked at his watch and 21 00:01:21,879 --> 00:01:25,879 saw that he had been out for three long hours. 22 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,280 All sorts of thoughts went through his mind. One, how 23 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,040 the hell and why had he slept so long out 24 00:01:33,079 --> 00:01:36,799 in the coal like that? He knew better last he 25 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,040 figured his hunting partner would be worried about him by now. 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,200 He was pretty hard on himself for sleeping that long. 27 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:47,359 He never took naps that long, even at the house, 28 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,480 and this made no sense, but whatever, it was done, 29 00:01:51,519 --> 00:01:55,000 and now he had to find his buddy. Ray got 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,120 up and started walking. The woods were beautiful in the 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,359 light of the full moon, and his anxious mood changed 32 00:02:01,359 --> 00:02:05,599 to a peaceful one. The forest floor was open and clear, 33 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,599 and he was able to make good time. His blood 34 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,599 was pumping now and he picked up his pace. The 35 00:02:11,719 --> 00:02:14,680 nap had had good effect on him, and Ray climbed 36 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:16,960 a hill, one like the hill that had put in 37 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,159 to sleep earlier, But this time he was not winded 38 00:02:20,159 --> 00:02:22,759 when he got to the top, so he bailed off 39 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,319 the other side in a trot down to the bottom, 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,800 where he crossed a running crete. And then he looked 41 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,199 up the next hill to pick a path to the top, 42 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:36,319 and he froze at what he saw outlined against the 43 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,840 moonlit sky at the top of the ridge was a 44 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,960 silhouette of a massive animal standing on two legs. It 45 00:02:44,159 --> 00:02:48,159 swayed back and forth, not even attempting to be still 46 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,759 so that it would not be seen. Ray thought for 47 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,240 a second that the body of movement was unmistakable agitation. 48 00:02:56,199 --> 00:02:59,639 This thing was piste, but it just stood there, three 49 00:02:59,719 --> 00:03:04,120 quarters of its body visible against the moonlight. He described 50 00:03:04,159 --> 00:03:08,400 the head and shoulders as massive and well overwhelming, like 51 00:03:08,439 --> 00:03:10,439 there was no way he was going to get away 52 00:03:10,439 --> 00:03:13,520 from this thing if it came at him. It just 53 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:18,680 stood there, swaying. Several thoughts went through Rai's mind. Should 54 00:03:18,719 --> 00:03:21,159 he turn on his flashlight finally and get a good 55 00:03:21,199 --> 00:03:24,400 look at it. The creature was a good forty yards way, 56 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:26,919 and he doubted he would even see it with the 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:31,479 weak light from his light. He started to raise his rifle. 58 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,120 He knew he had sixteen rim fire twenty two bullets 59 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,599 in the tube of his little auto loading rifle. That 60 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,080 should be enough to take it down if it attacked. 61 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,039 It's a small bullet, but with enough of them in 62 00:03:44,159 --> 00:03:47,560 the animal, almost anything would back off, if not drop 63 00:03:47,599 --> 00:03:51,479 out wounded. Something in the back of his mind told 64 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,680 him not to do that, no matter how many times 65 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,680 he hit the creature. This thing was enormous, so he 66 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,599 just stood there, both the creature and Ray in a 67 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,639 stare down, nobody moving forward, and Ray damn sure wasn't 68 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,680 going to run. For five or ten minutes, the two 69 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,680 just stared at each other until Ray decided to move 70 00:04:12,759 --> 00:04:16,079 down the creek that he had crossed parallel to the creature. 71 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,480 He did that, and the creature kept pace with him. 72 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:23,319 At the top of the ridge, Ray couldn't keep his footing. 73 00:04:23,519 --> 00:04:26,360 He kept falling and tripping on rocks and roots because 74 00:04:26,399 --> 00:04:28,879 his eyes were focused at the top of the ridge, 75 00:04:29,079 --> 00:04:32,519 not at what was in front of him. Ray walked 76 00:04:32,519 --> 00:04:36,240 at least a mile along this winding creek, taking him 77 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,879 east and then north and then back east again, and 78 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:41,199 by the time he thought about it, he didn't know 79 00:04:41,199 --> 00:04:43,720 where the hell he was. And when he looked up 80 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,000 at the creature for reference, he could see that the 81 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,639 silhouette had almost vanished. But what he didn't know was 82 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,680 on which side of the ridge had the thing walked. 83 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,319 Was it going away on the other side of the hill, 84 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,079 or was it coming toward him? He didn't know. He 85 00:05:00,079 --> 00:05:01,759 broke out in a cold sweat, and he tried to 86 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,199 be quiet and listened for the sounds of an approaching attacker. 87 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,319 The minutes ticked off, there were no sounds. It was 88 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,279 safe to keep moving. He thought the monster at the 89 00:05:13,319 --> 00:05:17,360 top of the hill had gone away. Ray had walked 90 00:05:17,399 --> 00:05:20,600 no less than ten paces when he heard a rumble 91 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,519 like that from something very close, and he felt the 92 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:28,360 rough palm of a leathered hand wipe across his face 93 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,240 and neck. It was right on him, and he panicked 94 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:36,639 and he ran until he could not run another step, 95 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,879 and he collapsed in a ditch beside a gravel road 96 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,519 that was lit by that fabulous moon. But he knew 97 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,759 the thing was on him, and Ray gave up and 98 00:05:46,879 --> 00:05:51,639 prepared for a horrible death. But that death never came. 99 00:05:52,639 --> 00:05:55,920 Lights came around the corner, and tires cracked in the gravel, 100 00:05:56,439 --> 00:05:58,480 and with the headlights of a truck in his face, 101 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,040 he stood up from the water that stood in the ditch, 102 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:07,040 heaving from exhaustion. A car door opened and his friend 103 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,839 called out that he had been looking for him for hours, 104 00:06:10,199 --> 00:06:14,240 and did he know what time it was. Ray looked 105 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,439 at his watch. It was three forty five am. Ray 106 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,040 got in the truck and he shivered. His buddy asked 107 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:24,959 him all the way home. What had happened. Ray was 108 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,199 acting weird and the guy knew it, but Ray never 109 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,959 said a word. And finally, in Ray's driveway, he told 110 00:06:30,959 --> 00:06:33,560 his friend he had fallen asleep and had laid there 111 00:06:33,639 --> 00:06:36,519 for hours and when he woke up he was lost. 112 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:39,879 Ray told him thanks for looking for him, and he 113 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,240 got out of the truck and walked inside. Ray says, 114 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,480 those guys never hunted together again, and he has not 115 00:06:46,639 --> 00:06:52,319 been in the woods in thirty three years. Everybody, welcome 116 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,839 to the podcast. My name's Cam Buckner. This is the 117 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,240 what If It's True? Podcast. I'm so glad you clicked 118 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,439 on this podcast when I got to waste him more time. 119 00:07:00,519 --> 00:07:06,680 Let's get right into the stories, all right, here we go. 120 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:17,160 In nineteen forty a reporter came through West Virginia looking 121 00:07:17,199 --> 00:07:22,000 for odd stories to write in a magazine. She stopped 122 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,000 at a place called Sawmill Holler in Willcoe, West Virginia, 123 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,000 and it is spelled holler Sawmill h O l l 124 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,399 e Er. She ran across a woman named Rosa Morgan, 125 00:07:34,959 --> 00:07:40,839 and this is her story. Mountain people are primitive lovers 126 00:07:40,879 --> 00:07:43,720 of nature, like the primitive beauty of the mountains. They 127 00:07:43,759 --> 00:07:47,480 live in there is a peaceful tranquility about living among 128 00:07:47,519 --> 00:07:51,879 the tall trees of the forest, with crystal clear, rushing streams, 129 00:07:52,079 --> 00:07:55,279 the distant call of birds, and the cool, crisp, clean 130 00:07:55,399 --> 00:07:59,600 mountain air. Our homes set far back in the Appalachian 131 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,560 Mountains of West Virginia, four or five miles from the 132 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,360 nearest neighbor. It was late in the summer of nineteen forty. 133 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,720 People everywhere were still feeling the pain of poverty from 134 00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:15,600 the depression. Times were hard about The only way we 135 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:20,199 mountain folks had of making a few dollars to buy flour, sugar, coffee, 136 00:08:20,279 --> 00:08:24,319 and other staples was by selling moonshine or cutting timber 137 00:08:24,399 --> 00:08:27,800 and selling the props to the coal mines. Some of 138 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,680 the larger trees were cut and taken to the sawmills 139 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,240 for lumber. The coal company owned all of the land. 140 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,000 We could lease it for ninety nine years, but we 141 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:40,720 could not buy it. People sold a lot of while 142 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,120 gen sing route. The Chinese bought it for some kind 143 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,559 of medicine, and the mountains were full of it. My 144 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,279 husband and I had gone out in the early afternoon 145 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,759 to dig for gensing and had gathered three one hundred 146 00:08:53,799 --> 00:08:58,320 pound chopsacks. Full chopsacks were made of hemp chopped that 147 00:08:58,399 --> 00:09:02,840 we feed to livestock, mainly the hogs. We were two 148 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,879 miles from the house. It was almost dark. One could 149 00:09:06,919 --> 00:09:09,480 see the ring of the moon beginning to rise over 150 00:09:09,519 --> 00:09:13,240 the hilltops. We sat down on a log under a 151 00:09:13,279 --> 00:09:16,919 thick clump of bushes to rest. Just beyond there was 152 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,679 a clearing. The timberman had been through the area of 153 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,240 the forest and cut away most of the bigger trees. 154 00:09:23,919 --> 00:09:26,879 A lot of the young saplings had sprung up. The 155 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:32,399 stumps had sprouts growing all around them. My husband nudged 156 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,120 my arm, which meant for me to be quiet, and 157 00:09:35,159 --> 00:09:39,279 he pointed toward the sky. I madey three years old. 158 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,919 It was a long time ago, but I can still 159 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,960 recall what we saw as if it were yesterday. It 160 00:09:46,039 --> 00:09:49,320 was a strange looking thing, all right. It looked like 161 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,879 a big ball inside of a ring, kind of like 162 00:09:51,919 --> 00:09:55,639 a bicycle wheel. The whole thing looked as bright as 163 00:09:55,759 --> 00:10:00,399 new silver or polished new aluminum. We sat ever so 164 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,399 still and watched it. It was pretty high up, but 165 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,039 it kept floating closer toward the clearing. We could see 166 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,960 it real good. By now, the big ball was turning 167 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,879 around slowly. We were frozen to the log with freight, 168 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,360 because it was now one hundred feet above us. But 169 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,879 strange looking feelers came out all around it, that bobbed 170 00:10:20,879 --> 00:10:24,879 this way, and that we eased ever so quietly back 171 00:10:24,919 --> 00:10:29,679 into the thicker bushes. Some other odd looking legs unfolded 172 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,600 from the sides, and another bigger leg unfolded from the 173 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,159 bottom with a wheel on it. It glided right down 174 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:41,120 over the treetops into the meadow. It was big, bigger 175 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,600 than anything I had ever seen in the sky or 176 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,919 on the ground, except for an airplane, of course, we 177 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:52,159 hadn't seen many airplanes. It floated right over into the clearing, 178 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,000 about twenty feet from where we were sitting, and we 179 00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:00,879 never moved a muscle and almost stopped breathing. Leggs folded 180 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,840 all the way out, and the ball stopped turning and 181 00:11:03,879 --> 00:11:06,360 began to spread out inside the ring until it was 182 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,799 almost flat, and the top pushed out upward in layers. 183 00:11:11,639 --> 00:11:15,120 It reached the height of twenty feet maybe fifteen feet 184 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,600 in diameter. There was not a sound of any kind 185 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,120 coming from it, just the odd looking feelers bobbing all 186 00:11:22,159 --> 00:11:25,480 over it. It had become full dark by now, but 187 00:11:25,519 --> 00:11:28,759 the moon was well up. We left our gin sing 188 00:11:28,759 --> 00:11:32,240 and we moved slow and quiet for some distance, and 189 00:11:32,279 --> 00:11:34,440 then we ran all the way back to the house. 190 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,759 Whatever this was, it stayed there for a week, maybe more. 191 00:11:40,639 --> 00:11:43,080 We crept back every day or so on the ridge 192 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,159 above it, never getting too close. One afternoon we went 193 00:11:47,279 --> 00:11:49,799 up on the ridge to look, and it was gone. 194 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,600 We didn't see any lights or any sign of life. Now, 195 00:11:53,639 --> 00:11:57,440 my husband was well educated, he was well read and 196 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,559 had traveled a lot. He said it didn't looked like 197 00:12:00,639 --> 00:12:04,039 anything he had ever seen or read about. He thought 198 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,919 it might be something the revenuers had put there to 199 00:12:06,919 --> 00:12:12,399 find moonshine stills. Many times before this and afterwards we 200 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,399 saw strange lights in the sky, and in later years, 201 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,559 when so much talk started coming out about UFOs, I 202 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,799 believe I can say with all honesty and truth that 203 00:12:23,919 --> 00:12:27,480 I saw a Ufo land and stay on the ground 204 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,159 for over a week. We later went back to the 205 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,200 log where we had left our GenZ and it was 206 00:12:34,279 --> 00:12:42,240 exactly where we left it. Rosa Morgan I am a 207 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,279 bow hunter. I live in the southern part of Iowa. 208 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,039 I was known for big dear and I've hunted for 209 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,159 many years, and I know the woods very well. But 210 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,480 after the experience I'm about to describe, I love it 211 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:56,679 a lot, but I don't care if I ever go again. 212 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,639 Several years ago, maybe ten or more, I was hunting 213 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:04,759 a heavily wooded, large timber area. I've been there many 214 00:13:04,799 --> 00:13:08,039 times and I knew most of it really well. On 215 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,120 this particular afternoon, I devised a very clever way of 216 00:13:11,159 --> 00:13:13,840 getting a shot on a deer, at least I thought 217 00:13:13,879 --> 00:13:17,360 it was clever. I laid dough scent all over a 218 00:13:17,399 --> 00:13:20,960 little knoll just along the timber edge. My hope was 219 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,399 their buck might follow the trail on the other side 220 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:26,919 of the fifty or sixty yard noll. I set up 221 00:13:26,919 --> 00:13:29,919 in a ground blind just at the top of the knoll. 222 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,200 I put a little scent just off the trail in 223 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,679 a low hanging oak limb. It was about four feet high. 224 00:13:36,519 --> 00:13:39,240 My plan was, should the buck follow the trail, he 225 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,559 just might sniff the low hanging limb and turned broadside 226 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,039 to me as I sat in my blind. Well, that 227 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,360 is exactly what happened. A big buck came up to 228 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,000 the top of the knoll and carefully followed the trail. 229 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,399 At thirty yards. He turned broadside to me to smell 230 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,080 the scent on the limb, and that was my shot, 231 00:13:59,159 --> 00:14:03,120 and I took it. The buck took off away back 232 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,360 up the trail, but he was well shot. I sat 233 00:14:06,399 --> 00:14:10,080 for several minutes, really silent, waiting to hear the crash, 234 00:14:10,399 --> 00:14:13,960 but it never came. It was getting dark quickly as 235 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,200 the clouds blocked the last rays of an October day's dusk. 236 00:14:17,919 --> 00:14:20,480 I decided the safest way to recover this deer would 237 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,080 be to wait until morning and try to follow the trail. 238 00:14:23,919 --> 00:14:26,799 This would prevent the deer, hopefully from moving even further 239 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,320 away from where it had been hit. I went home, 240 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,159 and I went to sleep, and I set the alarm 241 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,480 for early. As I left the house the next morning, 242 00:14:35,519 --> 00:14:39,000 my heart fell. It had rained in the night that 243 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,120 might have erased the blood trail, and more discouraging, the air 244 00:14:42,279 --> 00:14:45,120 was filled with dense fog, but I went to the 245 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:49,120 spot anyway. There was nothing else I could do. I 246 00:14:49,159 --> 00:14:51,360 slowly picked my way to the site where I had 247 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,039 a shot at the deer in the dense fog, and 248 00:14:54,039 --> 00:14:56,120 then I began looking for a trail from where I 249 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,879 last saw him. It had rained really hard, and sa 250 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,120 all no blood anywhere. Well, I was downhearted, and I 251 00:15:04,159 --> 00:15:07,840 slowly walked into the dense timber and fogg The deer 252 00:15:07,879 --> 00:15:10,559 had gone into the very rough area of the timber 253 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,639 in the deep gullies, filled with all kinds of growth, 254 00:15:14,799 --> 00:15:18,279 and I saw nothing on the ground that disappointed me. 255 00:15:20,279 --> 00:15:24,320 I continued down the first ravine, very close vegetation and 256 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,759 full of thorns. In the close fog, I could only 257 00:15:27,799 --> 00:15:30,519 see a few feet and chances of finding a deer 258 00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:33,000 was low, so I decided to give it up and 259 00:15:33,039 --> 00:15:35,799 return to my truck and hope for better conditions later 260 00:15:35,879 --> 00:15:39,000 in the day. I climbed out of the ravine, which 261 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,720 was at least twenty feet deep, and as I got 262 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,399 to the top, I entered a large pine forest. I 263 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,200 knew this forest well, but in the fog, I couldn't 264 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:53,080 tell my direction. And then I smelled a very vile smell. 265 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,200 It drifted from far beyond the area I just left. 266 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,720 The smell was so heavy, so vilet all that I 267 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:04,679 never ever smelled something like it, something like a hundred 268 00:16:04,919 --> 00:16:08,480 very wet dogs. I had no idea what this was. 269 00:16:09,679 --> 00:16:13,000 And then I noticed everything was silent. It was too silent. 270 00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:18,759 Nothing was moving now I said, I knew this pine forest. 271 00:16:19,279 --> 00:16:23,200 It was hundreds of yards in every direction. Although I 272 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,840 had been through this area many times, I had never 273 00:16:25,879 --> 00:16:29,399 been in them in such close fog, and I realized 274 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,519 I didn't know what direction to go to get back 275 00:16:31,519 --> 00:16:34,600 to my truck. The fog was so thick that I 276 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,120 could not see more than a few yards. Well, that 277 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,879 was no problem. Any hunter has a compass, maybe more 278 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,960 than one. I had three. One was a very small 279 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,000 one that came with a hunting bag I bought to 280 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,840 carry my binoculars, and another hung on my jacket zipper. 281 00:16:52,559 --> 00:16:55,320 I had a third one, a good one, in my backpack. 282 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,000 So I first read the one on my jacket. It 283 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,639 said I was facing east northeast. That didn't sound right. 284 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,240 So I checked the second one and it said I 285 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,839 was facing south almost dead on. Well, that didn't feel 286 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,319 right either, So I took my backpack off and I 287 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,839 dug out the good compass. To my surprise, this one 288 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,519 said that I was facing south southeast. None of them agreed, 289 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:25,720 and more important to me, none of them agreed with 290 00:17:25,799 --> 00:17:28,880 the internal compass in my head. I've always had a 291 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,720 good sense of direction. I couldn't make sense out of 292 00:17:32,759 --> 00:17:35,640 any of this, so I moved several yards off into 293 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,759 the eternal grave to a second reading. There were still 294 00:17:39,799 --> 00:17:43,640 at more variances, and I was really confused. I've never 295 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,680 had such a problem. I decided to put the compasses 296 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,000 away and follow my mental direction. So I slowly walked 297 00:17:51,039 --> 00:17:54,880 in that direction north northeast. That was the direction my 298 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,240 brain told me to go. I walked for forty five 299 00:17:58,279 --> 00:18:01,160 minutes or more in the endless gloom, and finally I 300 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:05,559 came across a shallow depression. A step away was a 301 00:18:05,599 --> 00:18:08,440 small rut, and then a few feet there was another, 302 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,960 and I knew where I was. This had been an 303 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,279 old tractor trail that led through the north side of 304 00:18:14,319 --> 00:18:17,599 the pine forest. So I turned east and I followed 305 00:18:17,599 --> 00:18:20,200 it another three quarters of a mile out to the road. 306 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,039 I later calculated I had walked more than three miles 307 00:18:24,079 --> 00:18:27,880 in the timber and in the fog. I cannot explain 308 00:18:28,039 --> 00:18:30,799 any of this, but it was the most puzzling thing 309 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,240 I can ever remember. I did go out after the 310 00:18:34,279 --> 00:18:37,519 fog lifted, but I never found the deer. I never 311 00:18:37,599 --> 00:18:41,599 had the smell experience again. Was it a bigfoot? I 312 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,000 really don't know, but I never go into the woods 313 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:49,640 anymore with just a bow and a knife. In the 314 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,160 fall of twenty eighteen, while teasing my wife about the 315 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,920 size of my shoes, I said something about bigfoot to 316 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,359 get her laughing. I had never mentioned bigfoot before, and 317 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,359 I was just joking around when I blurted out bigfoot 318 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,759 in relation to my shoe size. The comment got my 319 00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:09,799 wife to laughing, which was the whole point of the conversation. 320 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,400 The very next day, an article popped up onto my 321 00:19:13,559 --> 00:19:18,160 phone about some dude having an encounter with Bigfoot. Was 322 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,000 my phone listening in on my conversation at home the 323 00:19:21,039 --> 00:19:24,920 previous evening. I had never done a search on my 324 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:29,960 phone or anywhere else for subjects related to bigfoot. Twilight 325 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:33,960 Zone music began playing in my head. I clicked on 326 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,079 the bigfoot article, and I became totally intrigued with what 327 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,799 I learned. The subject of Bigfoot had me hooked, and 328 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,160 I spent many hours over the next two months researching 329 00:19:44,319 --> 00:19:47,240 and gathering as much knowledge as I could about this 330 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,599 fascinating creature. There came a point in my study where 331 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,880 I concluded that one Bigfoot does exist, and two I 332 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,920 hope I never meet a bigfoot close up. In personal 333 00:20:01,279 --> 00:20:05,319 I was born in Guardina, California, in nineteen fifty two, 334 00:20:05,559 --> 00:20:09,160 and I lived pretty much in southern California until nineteen 335 00:20:09,319 --> 00:20:12,039 sixty eight, when my mom and dad moved the family 336 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,400 to Arizona. Mom was born and raised in Arizona, and 337 00:20:16,519 --> 00:20:20,160 Dad was just ready for a change, ready to move 338 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,599 out of the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Los Angeles 339 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,440 into a more laid back lifestyle. We moved to Prescott 340 00:20:28,559 --> 00:20:31,119 and a year later ended up in the Phoenix area. 341 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,960 My mom's brother lived in Arizona his whole life, and 342 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,240 by the time our family arrived from California, he was 343 00:20:38,319 --> 00:20:43,000 having good success in residential construction. He enjoyed getting away 344 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,240 from the crowds, and he built a cabin in a 345 00:20:45,279 --> 00:20:50,240 remote area called Bonita Creek. The cabin is nestled in 346 00:20:50,319 --> 00:20:54,960 tall pine trees, scrub pine and manzanita just a short 347 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,559 hike from Bonita Creek. Artesian spring water gushes from the 348 00:20:59,559 --> 00:21:03,599 base of the Mogolon rim feeding Bonita Creek, and it 349 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,799 flows year round with fresh, clean water. The banks of 350 00:21:07,839 --> 00:21:11,200 the creek are lined with tall grass, pine trees, flowers, 351 00:21:11,559 --> 00:21:16,720 sticker bushes, and wild berries. It's beautiful and it's peaceful 352 00:21:17,039 --> 00:21:23,160 and it's quiet. Arizona, north of Payson is thick with wildlife. 353 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,079 On one drive to the cabin, I had to stop 354 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:29,400 for an entire herd of elk crossing the road. That 355 00:21:29,559 --> 00:21:34,160 was a surprise for a city guy. Elk, deer, bird, squirrel, cattle, 356 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,400 wild horses, and even bald eagles are things I've seen 357 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:40,559 on the trek to the cabin. Little did I know 358 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,200 there's an even larger animal out there in the forests 359 00:21:44,279 --> 00:21:49,839 of Arizona. It is a massive primate predator. It's Bigfoot. 360 00:21:50,599 --> 00:21:53,880 My first encounter with Bigfoot happened on a weekend camp 361 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,960 out in the high country of Arizona. I was with 362 00:21:57,079 --> 00:22:01,680 friends near the Moglon Rim. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. 363 00:22:01,759 --> 00:22:05,079 If I'm not, just forgive me. We picked out a spot, 364 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,519 not a designated camping area, and circle the wagon, so 365 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:13,119 to speak. We had campers, trucks, tent starks, ice chests, 366 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:15,480 and plenty of grub to cook over an open fire, 367 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,640 and we built a huge one that first evening. As 368 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,279 the sun was slipping behind the mountains in the west, 369 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,799 one guy enjoying the sunset with me, decided to call 370 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,400 out for Bigfoot. Seriously, I had never heard of such 371 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,400 a thing. He cupped his hands to his face and 372 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,880 he let out the loudest, longest whoop that he could. 373 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,680 I was thinking to myself, oh my, surely this will 374 00:22:40,759 --> 00:22:45,759 yield nothing. Is Bigfoot even real. Nonetheless, the guy let 375 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:49,559 out one or two more whoops. The valley before us 376 00:22:49,599 --> 00:22:53,119 and the mountains in the distance remained quiet. He got 377 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,640 no response. I didn't really think there would be a response. 378 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,119 After dark, we sat around in portable campmpchairs, enjoying a 379 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:07,279 crisp mountain temperature and a star sparkled sky. Partway through 380 00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:10,160 the evening, two of the gals suddenly reported seeing eye 381 00:23:10,279 --> 00:23:13,079 shine at the west edge of the camp site, between 382 00:23:13,079 --> 00:23:15,799 a vehicle and the tree that it was parked next to. 383 00:23:16,799 --> 00:23:20,319 They said the eye shine was a neutral color, like silver, 384 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:22,880 and close enough to the ground that it could have 385 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:27,160 been a coyote or a deer or something similar. Light 386 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,039 from our campfire must have been enough to get a reflection. 387 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,759 Since the gal seemed concerned about what they had seen, 388 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:35,960 we kept a vigil for a while, but there was 389 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,960 no investigation. After all, we were in the forest and 390 00:23:40,039 --> 00:23:44,680 one would expect to encounter some wildlife. A while later, 391 00:23:44,799 --> 00:23:48,000 there was a loud, blood curdling scream maybe two hundred 392 00:23:48,079 --> 00:23:51,519 yards off to the woods to the northwest, something that 393 00:23:51,599 --> 00:23:55,599 sounded like a woman under attack that got my attention. 394 00:23:56,599 --> 00:23:58,599 I really wasn't sure what to make of it, and 395 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,160 I waited to see if the screen would happen again. 396 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,119 No one went into the dark to investigate, and the 397 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,720 scream was not repeated. The evening wound to a close 398 00:24:09,759 --> 00:24:14,480 around midnight and everyone turned in. After drifting off to sleep, 399 00:24:14,559 --> 00:24:17,640 there was a disturbance at our capsite that woke up 400 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,599 some of the lady campers, but I slept through it. 401 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:23,920 The ladies weren't sure what it was that caused them 402 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,240 to wake up. The next morning, I got up with 403 00:24:27,319 --> 00:24:29,920 the sunrise and walked to the edge of the overlook, 404 00:24:30,279 --> 00:24:33,400 just soaking in the view and inhaling the fresh pine 405 00:24:33,519 --> 00:24:37,000 scented air. As I turned a walk back to camp, 406 00:24:37,039 --> 00:24:39,920 I noticed a structure near the edge of the overlook. 407 00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:44,480 It was rather primitive in appearance, an uprooted pine tree 408 00:24:44,559 --> 00:24:47,480 leaning at an angle, with one end resting in the 409 00:24:47,519 --> 00:24:51,039 fork of a second tree. Along both sides of the 410 00:24:51,039 --> 00:24:54,279 pine angling to the ground, there were broken off branches 411 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,559 leaning against the trunk. It was sort of a crude, 412 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,000 lean to shelter with an interior that would be shielded 413 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:05,640 from the elements, especially if the exterior was covered with snow. 414 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,720 As I considered the structure, I thought maybe some boy 415 00:25:09,799 --> 00:25:12,480 scouts had built this thing, But it was odd that 416 00:25:12,559 --> 00:25:15,160 they had not used the saw to cut the branches. 417 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,799 Everything was just busted off and added on. It looked 418 00:25:19,839 --> 00:25:23,319 as though it had been there quite a while. After 419 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:27,359 contemplating its construction, I headed back to the camp, having 420 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,720 no idea of this type of structure was sometimes seen 421 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:35,440 in Bigfoot habitat. I didn't even know Bigfoot existed. The 422 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,160 fuzzy clips from the Patterson film were intriguing, but I 423 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,559 wasn't sure if Bigfoot was the real deal or not. 424 00:25:42,599 --> 00:25:46,759 All this happened about twelve years ago. It wasn't until 425 00:25:46,799 --> 00:25:50,720 studying Bigfoot in the fall of twenty eighteen that I 426 00:25:50,799 --> 00:25:54,720 realized Bigfoot was perhaps responsible for some of what I 427 00:25:54,759 --> 00:25:59,000 had experienced on that camp out. My second encounter with 428 00:25:59,039 --> 00:26:02,119 Bigfoot happened on a forest road not far from the 429 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,039 cabin at Bonita Creek. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon 430 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:10,079 in the fall of twenty fourteen. The sun was slipping 431 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,599 down in the west, and there was no one around, 432 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,920 no neighbors, no one. The cabins close by were vacant, 433 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,759 and it was just the three of us, my friend, 434 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,119 her daughter, and me. It was very quiet and peaceful. 435 00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:28,720 We were meandering towards the driveway leading to our cabin. 436 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:33,200 The gals were selectively collecting rocks to use back home 437 00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:38,640 for decorating the edge of planters, walkways, etc. While engaged 438 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:42,319 in this process, suddenly a rock flew in from somewhere 439 00:26:42,319 --> 00:26:45,400 behind us and bounced to a stop at the feet 440 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,559 of the ladies. It wasn't very large, maybe smaller than 441 00:26:49,599 --> 00:26:52,559 the size of a baseball, and it didn't really hurt anyone. 442 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,359 It just flew in and landed near their feet. We 443 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,680 stopped immediately and turned around, looking to see who might 444 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,680 have this rock at us, But there was no one 445 00:27:02,759 --> 00:27:07,400 out there. The whole area was dead quiet, no neighbors, 446 00:27:07,519 --> 00:27:11,359 no one. It was just us at that point. There 447 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,319 was nothing that we could do. There wasn't even anyone 448 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,359 out there to yell at, but somehow a rock had 449 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,279 just been thrown at us. After looking around a while 450 00:27:21,319 --> 00:27:24,640 and seeing nothing, we turned and continued the short distance 451 00:27:24,759 --> 00:27:27,920 to the cabin to settle in for the night. For 452 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,759 whatever reason, I never felt comfortable about leaving the security 453 00:27:31,799 --> 00:27:36,000 screen and front door unlocked when staying overnight at this cabin. 454 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,359 Although my mind's normal reasoning said there was nothing to fear, 455 00:27:40,759 --> 00:27:44,880 no danger, no undesirables anywhere close to this remote location 456 00:27:45,079 --> 00:27:51,680 of Arizona, I still felt uneasy about omitting precautions. I 457 00:27:51,759 --> 00:27:55,319 never left any of the windows open at night. I 458 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:59,440 never felt comfortable about leaving the blinds open either, even 459 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,000 though one of the windows on the south side was 460 00:28:02,039 --> 00:28:05,599 about eight feet off the ground at the bottom, that 461 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,240 window in its blinds could have been left open with 462 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:12,079 no apparent danger, but I closed them anyway. I know 463 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,839 that sounds paranoid, but for whatever reason, I felt uncomfortable 464 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,319 until daylight in the morning. Then I would open the doors, 465 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,359 the blinds, and push the windows open. Looking back at 466 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,680 that overkilled precaution and knowing what other people have experienced 467 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:31,319 with bigfoot, I'm glad I did lock those security screens 468 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,960 and doors. I've learned that bigfoot will grab and turn 469 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,799 a doorknob, and sometimes they peer through screens and windows. 470 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:45,200 Maybe my precautions weren't unfounded. After all, Bigfoot have also 471 00:28:45,279 --> 00:28:49,359 been known to throw rocks, sticks, pine cones, and other objects. 472 00:28:50,039 --> 00:28:53,000 Thinking about that rock that was hurled at us, was 473 00:28:53,079 --> 00:28:57,880 that thrown by a bigfoot? Maybe there wasn't anything else 474 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,519 out there. Perhaps this bigfoot was curious and just wanted 475 00:29:01,559 --> 00:29:04,279 to see what we would do, or maybe it wanted 476 00:29:04,319 --> 00:29:07,000 to let us know that it was there, or perhaps 477 00:29:07,079 --> 00:29:10,720 it was just messing with us for fun. Whatever the case, 478 00:29:10,759 --> 00:29:13,519 I believed that rock was most likely thrown by a 479 00:29:13,519 --> 00:29:19,160 bigfoot Because of my next encounter. In June of twenty sixteen, 480 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,880 I married a lovely woman. My bride is full of 481 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:28,640 life and a great lover of the outdoors, hiking, biking, spring, wildflowers, fall, 482 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,799 colors changing, and the wild blackberries growing along Bonita Creek. 483 00:29:33,799 --> 00:29:36,319 We decided to slip away for a weekend at the 484 00:29:36,359 --> 00:29:41,200 cabin for some time alone, well almost alone, we did 485 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,680 have our two dogs with us. We arrived at the 486 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,839 cabin on Saturday afternoon. We dumped our stuff inside the 487 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,039 front door and headed down to the creek. It was 488 00:29:52,119 --> 00:29:56,400 beautiful and serene, as always, We hiked a loop that 489 00:29:56,559 --> 00:29:59,279 ended up back at the cabin for a barbecue dinner 490 00:29:59,359 --> 00:30:02,920 on the deck. The table was set for two overlooking 491 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,960 the forest, with a gentle sound of Bonita Creek in 492 00:30:06,039 --> 00:30:10,640 the distance. It was perfect. The next morning, my wife 493 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,839 was up and heading out with the dogs before I 494 00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:16,039 could get my shoes on. She and the boys reached 495 00:30:16,119 --> 00:30:18,759 the creek way ahead of me and turned east to 496 00:30:18,839 --> 00:30:22,519 hike up stream. By the time I arrived, they had 497 00:30:22,519 --> 00:30:26,359 disappeared into the thick trees, the brush, and the tall grass. 498 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,160 While hiking in their direction, I noticed an area across 499 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,720 the creek where the tall grass had been pushed down 500 00:30:32,839 --> 00:30:37,200 somewhat like a nest. The depression was a circular and 501 00:30:37,319 --> 00:30:42,599 maybe fifteen foot in diameter. It was perplexing. I wondered 502 00:30:42,599 --> 00:30:45,519 what had made that flattened pattern, but I kept on moving. 503 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,839 A side note here, my logical mind is saying there's 504 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,680 no danger, and my wife is okay taking off with 505 00:30:52,759 --> 00:30:55,759 the dogs on her own without me, but I still 506 00:30:55,799 --> 00:31:00,200 felt uneasy. After about fifteen minutes, I caught up with them, 507 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,200 and as all the natural beauty was just too much 508 00:31:03,279 --> 00:31:07,200 to rush past, and my wife had stopped to pick blackberries. 509 00:31:08,279 --> 00:31:10,839 By noon, we were headed back down the creek towards 510 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:15,119 the cabin. We emerged from a somewhat densely forested area 511 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,119 into a more open, grassy location, spreading out on both 512 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,880 sides of the creek. It was lovely, but what was 513 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,279 that nasty odor? It smells something like a skunk, but 514 00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:31,200 not quite like a skunk. I surveyed the grassy area, 515 00:31:31,279 --> 00:31:34,079 thinking maybe I would see a skunk or something out there, 516 00:31:34,079 --> 00:31:37,319 but I couldn't see anything. The grass was too tall. 517 00:31:38,039 --> 00:31:42,079 There was just that smell that had suddenly arrived. I 518 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,039 asked my wife, you smell that. What is that? She 519 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:50,000 shrugged her shoulders and headed on towards the cabin. I 520 00:31:50,079 --> 00:31:53,079 decided I'd better move on before I met whatever this 521 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:57,440 was that smells so badly. I paused in the grassy 522 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,000 area and turned to take a picture of that beautiful 523 00:32:00,119 --> 00:32:02,839 part of the creek we had just walked through. It 524 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:08,000 was twelve forty seven pm on Sunday, September the twenty fourth, 525 00:32:08,119 --> 00:32:12,440 twenty and seventeen. I looked at the photo on the 526 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,240 screen and it looked a bit washed out. There was 527 00:32:15,279 --> 00:32:19,119 too much light. I changed the camera setting while standing 528 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,680 in the same spot, and I took a second picture. 529 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,319 It was twelve forty eight pm, and even though I 530 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,759 did not know it at the time, I had just 531 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,920 taken my first picture of a bigfoot. He was right 532 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,559 there across the creek from the path I had just 533 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,319 walked down, not more than twenty yards from where I 534 00:32:37,359 --> 00:32:40,880 had been. He never made a sound. I didn't even 535 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,079 know he was there until fifteen months later when I 536 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,599 remembered the skunky smell that Sunday at Bonita Creek and 537 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,680 I began looking carefully at my photos. Sure enough, there 538 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,720 he was. He was not in the first photo, but 539 00:32:55,799 --> 00:32:59,000 he was in the second photo. Head and shoulders were 540 00:32:59,119 --> 00:33:02,480 visible across the top of the bushes to see what 541 00:33:02,599 --> 00:33:06,640 I was doing. That was my third encounter. I wonder 542 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,759 how many other people have had similar experiences, having been 543 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:14,319 in such close proximity to a bigfoot and not even 544 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,640 know it. I'm going to jump ahead a bit to 545 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,960 one more experience at Bonita Creek. Candy and I made 546 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:26,359 another visit to Bonita Creek in July of twenty nineteen. 547 00:33:27,079 --> 00:33:29,960 My intent was to check out the area more thoroughly 548 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,839 for evidence of bigfoot and see if they might respond 549 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:38,720 to a gifting. Here's what happened. I tried putting out 550 00:33:38,759 --> 00:33:42,119 some apples, M and MS, peanuts, and a few other 551 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,599 goodies for the Bigfoot animals at Bonita Creek, and then 552 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,759 proceeded to knock on a wooden bench with a stick. 553 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,119 I did that twice and then went back up to 554 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,519 sit on the deck at the cabin to wait to 555 00:33:54,559 --> 00:33:57,839 see what would happen. It was late in the day 556 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,640 and I was hoping Bigfoot would get the goodies down 557 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:03,519 at the creek, maybe come later to pick them up. 558 00:34:04,519 --> 00:34:07,720 No luck on that, but something strange did happen. About 559 00:34:07,759 --> 00:34:12,480 fifteen minutes after I got situated on the deck, Suddenly, 560 00:34:13,079 --> 00:34:15,719 just upstream from the place where I did the knock, 561 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,280 I heard this very strange animal sound coming from down 562 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,239 there by the creek. It was some repeated garble sound. 563 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,519 The pattern repeated maybe three or four times, followed by 564 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,599 quack quack quack, and then the same sounds were repeated again, 565 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,800 followed by the same quacking. Mind you, these sounds were 566 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,000 not made by a duck, and there were no ducks 567 00:34:38,079 --> 00:34:41,440 up there at Bonita Creek. I didn't hear any sounds 568 00:34:41,519 --> 00:34:43,400 like that the rest of the four days that we 569 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:47,119 were there. I believe the garble sounds were made by 570 00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:49,760 a bigfoot who came to check out the origin of 571 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,760 my double set of wood knocks made by whacking on 572 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,159 that bench with a stick. At least that's what I think. 573 00:34:57,239 --> 00:35:00,320 The next morning, Candy and I and our dog Robby 574 00:35:00,639 --> 00:35:04,079 decided to hike to the east along Bonita Creek all 575 00:35:04,119 --> 00:35:07,320 the way to the headwaters where Bonita Creek bubbles up 576 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,800 out of the ground. It's about a two and a 577 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:14,280 half mile height. After we had hiked about a mile, suddenly, 578 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,559 from the north side of the canyon, up in a 579 00:35:16,559 --> 00:35:20,599 wooded area with a dense cover, sounds started coming from 580 00:35:20,639 --> 00:35:24,639 the hillside overlooking the creek. I turned to check out 581 00:35:24,679 --> 00:35:28,239 the origin of the sounds, as did Candy. Her immediate 582 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,880 question was what was that? To her, it sounded like 583 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,719 a child making noises. To me, it sounded like some 584 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,000 sort of very large, loud bird. The sounds were coming 585 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,000 from three separate areas on the side of the hill. 586 00:35:43,639 --> 00:35:46,199 We could see nothing up there, We just heard the 587 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:50,800 loud sounds. On the way back, Candy and I got separated. 588 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:54,480 She hikes a lot faster than me, she said. When 589 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,480 she got back to the same spot, the sounds started 590 00:35:57,599 --> 00:36:00,760 up again, only this time they were much louder than before. 591 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,920 Strangely enough, when I hiked past there, there was no 592 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:09,199 noise at all. We had one other strange noise incident 593 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,199 as we left the headwaters of the creek. This was 594 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,719 while we were still together, before she left me in 595 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,199 the dust with her fast hiking pace. Up on the 596 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:21,079 other side of the canyon, the south side, up on 597 00:36:21,119 --> 00:36:25,559 the crest of the mountain, came another unusual sound. Once again, 598 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,400 I thought it sounded something like a big bird, but 599 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,119 Candy said that she thought it sounded like a child screaming. 600 00:36:33,159 --> 00:36:35,880 We were in plain view of the mountain at that point. 601 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:38,760 I stared at the point of origin for the sound, 602 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,639 but I didn't see anything. My thinking was that perhaps 603 00:36:42,679 --> 00:36:46,119 it was Bigfoot a century alerting the rest of the 604 00:36:46,159 --> 00:36:50,239 Bigfoot animals as to our location. That's only my thinking. 605 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,599 One other point of interest. Bobby was hiking with both 606 00:36:54,639 --> 00:36:57,079 of us on the way up, but with Candy on 607 00:36:57,159 --> 00:37:00,760 the way back. Walking along quietly by by myself, I 608 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,320 saw too deer on my track back. They were on 609 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,880 the north side of the creek in some tall, dense 610 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,400 ferns and grass. I only saw them briefly, but it 611 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,119 was fun to see them. There were plenty of deer 612 00:37:13,159 --> 00:37:16,880 and elk tracks along the trail leading to the spring. However, 613 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,920 I did not see any Bigfoot prints, even though I 614 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:24,519 made a conscious effort to find some. My analysis of 615 00:37:24,559 --> 00:37:28,280 the whole habitat is that Bigfoot animals moved east away 616 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,199 from the populated area of Bonita Creek where our cabin is, 617 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,599 the area inhabited by people. I wish they could have 618 00:37:36,679 --> 00:37:39,000 received the goodies I had for them, but maybe that 619 00:37:39,039 --> 00:37:42,519 will happen at some point in the future. Now back 620 00:37:42,559 --> 00:37:46,679 to my fourth encounter with Bigfoot. In the fall, my 621 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:51,840 wife loves to collect colorful leaves for holiday decorations. Her 622 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:55,320 favorite place to find these little treasures is ten miles 623 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:59,000 north of Sedona, at the West Fork of Oak Creek. 624 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:04,280 This part of Arizona is stunningly beautiful. The West Fork 625 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:08,599 meanders through a narrow canyon with vertical walls of multiicolored 626 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,559 layered stone, all capped by a crystal clear blue sky. 627 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,960 The trees are evergreen, splattered among the maples with changing 628 00:38:17,079 --> 00:38:21,519 leaves of yellow, red, gold, brown, and fading green. It's 629 00:38:21,559 --> 00:38:25,800 a leaf hunter's paradise. When the time came for the 630 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:30,960 twenty eighteen Sedona leaf collecting expedition, there was a secondary 631 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,480 purpose for me. While my wife was finding just the 632 00:38:34,559 --> 00:38:38,119 right leaves. I planned to critically survey the West Fork 633 00:38:38,159 --> 00:38:42,639 area for Bigfoot evidence and snap photos of everything I found. 634 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,760 As soon as we hiked into the canyon, I had 635 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,880 to get the camera and start taking pictures of saplings 636 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:53,280 bent over forming arches, large limbs snapped off from tree 637 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:57,079 trunks and laying on the ground. Very large diameter trees 638 00:38:57,119 --> 00:39:00,000 pushed over with their root balls ripped out of the ground. 639 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:05,719 Trees wedged and threaded horizontally between other trees, tree trunks 640 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:10,400 arranged to form giant xes, tree trunk rubble piled up 641 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:14,679 to prevent passage into the area. Large sized tree trunks 642 00:39:14,679 --> 00:39:18,760 that had been snapped into like popsicle sticks, tree trunks 643 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,239 leaning upside down against canyon walls, and way off in 644 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:25,079 the distance, way up on the side of the canyon, 645 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:31,079 an indistinct, dark brown, motionless object. In addition to bigfoot 646 00:39:31,159 --> 00:39:34,000 on Bonita Creek, it looks like there might be bigfoot 647 00:39:34,079 --> 00:39:37,719 on the west Fork of Oak Creek as well. Imagine 648 00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:43,000 that bigfoot in Arizona. Then from way upstream, around a 649 00:39:43,039 --> 00:39:46,039 bend in the canyon and way off in the distance, 650 00:39:46,559 --> 00:39:50,519 came the faint sound of a five wack wood knock 651 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:54,880 who do you think did that? Thank you for all 652 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:59,039 your diligent study on behalf of Bigfoot. Thanks for sharing 653 00:39:59,079 --> 00:40:02,559 my story. Best wishes to all who have seen or 654 00:40:02,639 --> 00:40:05,840 hope to see someday one of these giant miracles of 655 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:10,400 the forest. The creature we know is Bigfoot. Thank you 656 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:13,639 for listening to this podcast. I really appreciate you joining 657 00:40:13,679 --> 00:40:16,559 me here. If you've got a minute, make sure and 658 00:40:16,679 --> 00:40:20,639 follow the podcast on whatever app you're using. If you've 659 00:40:20,639 --> 00:40:23,320 got time, leave a review for me on Apple or 660 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:27,159 Spotify or whatever podcast app that you use. I would 661 00:40:27,159 --> 00:40:30,719 sure appreciate that. That'll help me reach more people. I 662 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:32,800 know you hear that all the time, but I've got 663 00:40:33,039 --> 00:40:34,719 you know, a lot of people don't think about it, 664 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:37,239 and about one out of a thousand will do it, 665 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,800 and that is fine with me. I just appreciate the 666 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,119 people who do, and I appreciate the people who just listen. 667 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,039 I don't care if you do all that stuff, but 668 00:40:45,079 --> 00:40:47,559 I thought i'd remind you just in case you're so 669 00:40:47,679 --> 00:40:49,840 inclined to do it. So thanks for listening, and we'll 670 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:55,320 see you guys on the next one.