1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,519 Speaker 1: I grew up in a small rural community in eastern Tennessee. 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:14,560 Were located on I seventy five, equal distance between Knoxville 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,440 and the Kentucky state line. Although I don't remember the 4 00:00:18,519 --> 00:00:22,640 exact years of these encounters, I'm now fifty six, I 5 00:00:22,719 --> 00:00:25,239 must have been around fourteen or fifteen when the first 6 00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:29,640 incident occurred. My mom and dad were friends with a 7 00:00:29,679 --> 00:00:32,479 family that lived up the road from us. They had 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,039 several boys, the youngest of them being about my age. 9 00:00:37,079 --> 00:00:39,079 When we were at their house, we would hang out 10 00:00:39,119 --> 00:00:41,119 with the boy who was my age and his two 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,640 brothers who were a little bit older. We'd swim and 12 00:00:44,759 --> 00:00:47,320 hunt and hike and do whatever we thought was fun 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,719 to do at any given moment. Meanwhile, my dad had 14 00:00:51,719 --> 00:00:53,960 a drinking buddy and my mom had a friend to 15 00:00:54,039 --> 00:00:58,200 talk to. One day, their youngest son and I were 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,039 out wandering around the mountain above his house and doing 17 00:01:01,079 --> 00:01:04,760 what teenage boys do when we came across an abandoned 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,959 strip mine. We were walking along what had once been 19 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,079 a road, and we came to a pile of dirt 20 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,480 that was twelve feet high. It had deliberately been placed 21 00:01:15,519 --> 00:01:18,799 there to keep vehicles out these days, it wouldn't have 22 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,719 stopped at ATV, but back then ATVs were unheard of. 23 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,280 We were fifteen feet from the roadblock when my buddy 24 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:34,239 told me to go on ahead. Had to take a dump. Yes, 25 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,680 that's the way people do it. If you gotta go, 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:38,519 you gotta go, and you just go right there in 27 00:01:38,519 --> 00:01:41,719 the woods. I've done it many times since. I had 28 00:01:41,719 --> 00:01:45,000 no desire to watch that. I kept walking. About the 29 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,680 time I put my foot on a huge pile of dirt, 30 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,920 something on the other side of it roared. It was 31 00:01:51,959 --> 00:01:55,319 a kind of loud, tooth rattling, angry roar that told 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,799 me that this thing was big and it was pissed. 33 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,560 I passed. My buddy was running with his pants still 34 00:02:01,599 --> 00:02:04,280 around his knees, and I jumped over the bank from 35 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,920 the road and didn't stop till I got back to 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,560 his house a mile away. My buddy did a pretty 37 00:02:10,599 --> 00:02:13,159 good job of keeping pace, even with his pants not 38 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,439 quite fastened. No one wanted to believe us when we 39 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,639 told our story. We never did see anything, so in truth, 40 00:02:21,719 --> 00:02:24,800 it could have been a bear, and this area isn't 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,840 known for bears, though, and I've hunted and searched for 42 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,039 gensing in these mountains all my life, and I've never 43 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,639 once seen any sign of a bear, not once. But 44 00:02:35,719 --> 00:02:38,479 we didn't see anything, so a bear can't be ruled 45 00:02:38,479 --> 00:02:41,879 out entirely. And I can't speak for my buddy, but 46 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,599 I never ventured back up there again. It was a 47 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,680 couple of years after that, and some twenty five miles away, 48 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,680 when I was out Genseeng hunting one morning with two 49 00:02:52,759 --> 00:02:57,360 of my dad's brothers. One was my age, maybe sixteen 50 00:02:57,439 --> 00:03:00,080 or seventeen at the time, and the other was a 51 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,560 few years younger. We were allowed to go into the 52 00:03:03,599 --> 00:03:07,159 woods by ourselves, but the only weapons we carried would 53 00:03:07,159 --> 00:03:10,120 have been something to dig the gensen with and maybe 54 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:15,759 a pocket knife. The area we were in was called Clenchmore. Now. 55 00:03:15,759 --> 00:03:18,280 I don't remember if we had much luck that day, 56 00:03:18,759 --> 00:03:20,960 but we were on our way back to their house, 57 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,560 my Mama and Papa's house as a crow flies. It 58 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:27,639 wasn't that far, but we were going to have to 59 00:03:27,719 --> 00:03:30,439 walk almost a mile further down the little creek that 60 00:03:30,479 --> 00:03:33,560 we were following and cross a bridge to our left, 61 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,680 and then turned back in the direction from where we 62 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,879 were coming. On the opposite ridge. I argued that we 63 00:03:40,919 --> 00:03:43,280 should go up the ridge and down the other side, 64 00:03:43,639 --> 00:03:46,960 and then we'd be home in half the time. My 65 00:03:47,039 --> 00:03:50,039 younger uncle was all for that, but my older uncle 66 00:03:50,159 --> 00:03:53,319 said that it would put several more ridges between us 67 00:03:53,319 --> 00:03:58,039 and home, thus making the walk a lot longer. Today, 68 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,840 I know he was right, but on that day I 69 00:04:00,879 --> 00:04:03,919 could not be persuaded to follow that stream any further. 70 00:04:05,479 --> 00:04:08,800 My older uncle was just as determined to stay his course, 71 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,199 and after a few more minutes of arguing, we kept 72 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,759 on walking down the creek while my younger uncle and 73 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,759 I started up the small dry wash that fed the 74 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,519 water off the ridge into the creek. After a rain. 75 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:24,319 On that day, there hadn't been any rain, so it 76 00:04:24,399 --> 00:04:26,920 was dry and climbing up the wash from rock to 77 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,240 rock was pretty easy. We made it one hundred yards 78 00:04:31,319 --> 00:04:33,800 up that ridge when the same thing happened again. That 79 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,519 happened to be and my friend, something big and angry, 80 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,560 roared at us. It sounded like it was maybe fifty 81 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,839 feet ahead of us, but we never saw anything, and 82 00:04:44,879 --> 00:04:49,000 then again we didn't stop to look. We just turned 83 00:04:49,199 --> 00:04:51,319 and did our best not to break our necks as 84 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,839 we flew back down the wash. My older uncle was 85 00:04:54,879 --> 00:04:57,399 several hundred feet down the creek when we caught up 86 00:04:57,399 --> 00:05:01,879 with him. His distance us and the creek splashing and 87 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,399 gurgling alongside him drowned out any chance of him hearing 88 00:05:05,439 --> 00:05:08,319 what we had heard, and we told him about it, 89 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,199 but he just laughed and called us liars. He said 90 00:05:12,199 --> 00:05:14,480 we made it up because we realized that he was 91 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,000 right and didn't want to own up to it. Again. 92 00:05:18,319 --> 00:05:20,879 I admit that it could have been a bear, but again, 93 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,560 that area is not known for bears, and all my 94 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,800 years I've never seen a single track or any sign 95 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,120 of a bear in that area. So was it a bigfoot? 96 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,680 I don't know, but if it was, he probably got 97 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,639 a good life both times as he watched us running 98 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,560 for our lives, just as an afterthought. When I was 99 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,360 very young, my papa owned a farm where he grew 100 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,519 enough food to raise a very large family, and he 101 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,240 and my mama had fourteen kids and my dad was 102 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,839 the oldest boy. The farm probably wasn't as large as 103 00:05:56,879 --> 00:05:59,800 I remember it. I was only ten or eleven when 104 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,720 they sold it and moved up the road, but as 105 00:06:02,759 --> 00:06:06,800 a child it felt like it was huge. Beside the 106 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,519 normal crops, they raised a large garden and canned most 107 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,040 of it for later use. Papa raised pigs and chickens, 108 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,120 and he had a couple of horses. He even owned 109 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,360 a mule that my dad used for plowing. On the side, 110 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,240 I think he and my dad made a bit of 111 00:06:24,319 --> 00:06:28,959 shine to make ends meat. The farm bordered a river 112 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,759 on one side, but past the river was miles and 113 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,079 miles of wilderness. As for their side of the river, 114 00:06:35,319 --> 00:06:40,079 except for an occasional house, there wasn't much across an 115 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,279 old swing bridge that isn't there anymore, was a small 116 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,519 settlement of fifteen houses in a church. There were no 117 00:06:47,759 --> 00:06:51,800 stores outside of one little place that sold bare essentials, 118 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:57,399 and the entire area was sparsely populated. On the farm, 119 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,720 we kids would often venture out towards the back of 120 00:06:59,759 --> 00:07:02,279 the house to play, and when we'd get a little 121 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,839 too close to the woods, my ever watchful Mama would 122 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,480 stick her head out the back door and warn us 123 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,720 not to go into those woods. That old harry man, 124 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,199 I'll get you, she'd say, that old harry man. And 125 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,160 I always wondered where the idea of a hairy man 126 00:07:19,279 --> 00:07:22,839 came from. I never thought to ask until it was 127 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:29,199 too late to do so. On a summer weekend in 128 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,480 two thousand and nine, three twenty something men hiked into 129 00:07:33,519 --> 00:07:37,759 the Colorado Rockies for a week of backpacking. I was 130 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,040 good friends with one of those men. All three were 131 00:07:41,079 --> 00:07:44,680 in good shape, so a week at those elevations was easy. 132 00:07:45,439 --> 00:07:49,399 The hike was uneventful and fun for the first two days. 133 00:07:50,199 --> 00:07:53,120 They woke from their second night at camp at an 134 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,279 elevation of ninety five hundred feet. The small fire was 135 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,720 warm and the coffee was good. The unusual thick fog 136 00:08:01,839 --> 00:08:05,319 surrounded the area. They had been in the mountains all 137 00:08:05,399 --> 00:08:09,160 their lives and not seen a fog. This thick visibility 138 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,160 was only ten feet. The plan was to wait out 139 00:08:13,199 --> 00:08:16,160 the fog and hope it dissipated so they could continue 140 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,120 their hike until the fog lifted. They agreed that none 141 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,399 of them would venture beyond the small radius of the tents. 142 00:08:24,639 --> 00:08:27,720 One of the men needed to relieve himself after coffee. 143 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,720 He told his mates he was walking just beyond the 144 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,240 tent and for them to keep talking so he could 145 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:38,240 find his way back just in case. Minutes passed and 146 00:08:38,279 --> 00:08:41,840 the men called for their friend. They walked in the 147 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:46,600 direction he had walked, and their friend had vanished. Within 148 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:51,679 an hour, visibility had improved, but the third man was gone. 149 00:08:51,799 --> 00:08:54,399 They searched for him as best as two men could 150 00:08:54,399 --> 00:08:58,080 in that terrain, and through the morning they climbed to 151 00:08:58,159 --> 00:09:01,600 an elevation they thought they might have achieve a cellular signal. 152 00:09:02,399 --> 00:09:05,080 They called nine to one one for help, and they 153 00:09:05,159 --> 00:09:10,879 continued their search, combing the area for hours. They found nothing, 154 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,840 so they backtracked past the last two nights camp sites 155 00:09:14,879 --> 00:09:17,799 and finally back to their vehicles late the next day. 156 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,960 When they met up with the search team, they were 157 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,879 discouraged to hear their friend was still missing. The next day, 158 00:09:26,039 --> 00:09:29,559 fifty miles away as the crow flies, and probably one 159 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,879 hundred and fifty if he had walked it, the man 160 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,720 was found by state police walking a dirt road away 161 00:09:36,799 --> 00:09:41,440 from the area. He was confused and disoriented. He was 162 00:09:41,519 --> 00:09:44,639 unsure of his location and had no idea how he 163 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,720 had got there. Otherwise, he was in good health, no 164 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,080 exposure to the elements. It's just that he was a 165 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:57,360 blank on what had happened last month. I asked my friend, 166 00:09:57,639 --> 00:10:00,720 who was his hiking partner on that trip, if he 167 00:10:00,759 --> 00:10:04,559 had talked to the lost man since this episode. He 168 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,720 responded with a hearty yes. They were best friends and 169 00:10:07,799 --> 00:10:11,600 they talked all the time, I asked the obvious question, 170 00:10:12,159 --> 00:10:15,639 had he figured out what had happened that week? He 171 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,279 had not, and to this day doesn't understand or remember 172 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,879 how he made it to that mountain dirt road so 173 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,600 far away. I asked my friend what he thought. He 174 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,360 only shrugged and told me that no human could walk 175 00:10:29,399 --> 00:10:32,320 that distance in the mountains during the timeframe that he 176 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,600 was missing. He went on to say, they all agreed 177 00:10:35,639 --> 00:10:40,559 that it would remain a mystery. There is an explanation, though, 178 00:10:40,799 --> 00:10:43,879 but you would have to believe in alien abductions for 179 00:10:44,039 --> 00:10:50,120 it to work. My encounter took place in the Arkansas 180 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,759 National Forest of northwest Arkansas. But before I tell you 181 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,279 my story, I'd like to give you some background about myself. 182 00:10:58,399 --> 00:11:01,399 My family roots run deep, deep in the Ozark Mountains 183 00:11:01,399 --> 00:11:06,200 of northwest Arkansas, but I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, 184 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,000 and I was raised as a NASA brat. My father, 185 00:11:10,399 --> 00:11:13,639 in his youth, as his father and his father before that, 186 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,720 lived and worked on the land just outside of Goshen, Arkansas, 187 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,399 just a few minutes drive east of Fayetteville. My father 188 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,080 seek to life outside of the farm life and was 189 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,799 known to read his share of science fiction novels. As 190 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:33,519 a teenager, he was fascinated with anything outer space. He 191 00:11:33,639 --> 00:11:37,320 later attended the University of Arkansas in Fayettville and he 192 00:11:37,399 --> 00:11:41,919 acquired a PhD in geology. He then moved to Pasadena, 193 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,720 California to do graduate studies, and a short time later 194 00:11:45,799 --> 00:11:48,320 he took a job at NASA as a scientist at 195 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:53,399 the Johnson Space Center in Houston. During the Apollo missions. 196 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,480 One of his early tasks was to study the moon 197 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,159 rocks that were brought back. He would sometimes sneak me 198 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,960 into his NASA lab, located on the top story of 199 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,799 the NASA building that made space food, amongst other things. 200 00:12:07,919 --> 00:12:10,960 His office was in Building thirty one. In his lab 201 00:12:11,159 --> 00:12:14,279 was in Building thirty four. If I remember all this correctly, 202 00:12:15,279 --> 00:12:17,440 the building next door to his lab was where the 203 00:12:17,519 --> 00:12:22,360 Saturn rockets were constructed. Upon one visit, I actually saw 204 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,960 the moon rock's first hand. So having lived the Apollo 205 00:12:27,039 --> 00:12:29,480 mission's first hand, it gave me an open mind to 206 00:12:29,519 --> 00:12:33,679 the unknown. As a teenager growing up in the outside 207 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,759 suburbs of Houston, I was also able to make my 208 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,200 way into the great outdoors. I was a boy scout 209 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,440 and we would take numerous camping trips throughout Texas, the 210 00:12:43,519 --> 00:12:47,600 hill country and the piney woods alike. My mother's parents 211 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,240 owned a ranch in northeast Texas and it was a 212 00:12:50,279 --> 00:12:54,799 frequent family destination for holidays and sometimes just for a 213 00:12:54,799 --> 00:12:58,879 family vacation. I learned how to fish, hunt and pitch 214 00:12:58,919 --> 00:13:02,759 a tent in basic survival skills at the early age. Now, 215 00:13:02,759 --> 00:13:05,399 I would often take tracks into the woods by myself, 216 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,159 without a care in the world. Thinking back on certain 217 00:13:09,159 --> 00:13:11,960 events that happened back then, I now look back on 218 00:13:12,039 --> 00:13:15,679 it with a different viewpoint, mostly because what I'm about 219 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,039 to tell you is my later experience in the Ozark 220 00:13:19,159 --> 00:13:22,720 National Forest at night, and it has profoundly changed the 221 00:13:22,759 --> 00:13:27,000 way I look at my life. I moved to northwest 222 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,360 Arkansas in two thousand and four. I was burnt out 223 00:13:30,399 --> 00:13:33,080 with the status quo of what Texas life had for me, 224 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,600 and I was looking for a change. My parents had 225 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,360 since divorced, and my brother and mother had moved to 226 00:13:39,519 --> 00:13:43,200 Rai's Mill, Arkansas. They had already run into the hills, 227 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,879 and now it was my turn. Their house, along with 228 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,159 the small house behind, is on several acres of land. 229 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,039 There was once a mill there, hence the name Ray's Mill. 230 00:13:55,159 --> 00:13:57,960 That spot was where the Union Army during the Civil 231 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,279 War was stationed during the Battle of Prairie Grove. My 232 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:08,159 brother has even unearthed the cannonball on their land. Shortly 233 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,639 after I moved to northwest Arkansas, I would frequently fish 234 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,399 at a small local lake just down from Ray's Mill, 235 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,360 and I would often park my truck a short walking 236 00:14:17,399 --> 00:14:19,840 distance from the dam and then walk up and over 237 00:14:19,879 --> 00:14:24,360 the dam, and then fish from the dam bank on 238 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,120 a later visit, hoping I would have better luck bagging 239 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,120 some brim I began to work my way off the 240 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,039 dam and into some thick brush and trees to get 241 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,279 to the larger boulder protruding over the lake's bank. As 242 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,799 I approached the tree line, I began have an eerie 243 00:14:39,879 --> 00:14:43,919 feeling came over me out of nowhere. Now I've been 244 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,120 in the woods alone many times before and have never 245 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,360 felt the jeepers creepers. I quickly grabbed my ride and 246 00:14:51,399 --> 00:14:53,639 reel along with my tackle box, and I made it 247 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,799 back to my truck. I've not been back to Lincoln 248 00:14:56,919 --> 00:15:01,600 Lake since a year later, around two thousand and six, 249 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:05,399 I was working and living in Springdale. I was forty 250 00:15:05,399 --> 00:15:08,720 five minutes from my mom's I had just gone into 251 00:15:08,799 --> 00:15:12,720 business for myself, and I was single and I lived alone. 252 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,759 I would often get bored and I was known to 253 00:15:14,759 --> 00:15:17,799 take drives throughout the mountains and sometimes even at night. 254 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,799 I had an older model Chevy Suburban four wheel drive 255 00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:25,039 that I had jazzed up with some awesome stereo speakers. 256 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,759 I found that late night cruises while listening to some 257 00:15:28,919 --> 00:15:32,720 tunes was quite soothing. I would often take cruises to 258 00:15:32,799 --> 00:15:35,360 my mother's and stop in to say hello and rob 259 00:15:35,399 --> 00:15:39,519 her a refrigerator. One late night, I decided I need 260 00:15:39,559 --> 00:15:41,919 to get out for a cruise. I was going to 261 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,559 head to moms. I started down the freeway and then 262 00:15:45,639 --> 00:15:49,600 exited off onto Highway sixteen. It's a two lane highway 263 00:15:49,639 --> 00:15:54,679 that resembles a roller coaster. I continue down Highway sixteen 264 00:15:54,799 --> 00:15:58,679 twenty miles and then I turned left onto Weddington Blacktop. 265 00:15:58,879 --> 00:16:01,840 It was County Road thirty three, and then it would 266 00:16:01,919 --> 00:16:04,360 just be another ten miles or so before turning off 267 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,559 to get to Molms. I crossed the Illinois River Bridge 268 00:16:08,559 --> 00:16:11,320 and made a sharp curve to the left. It went 269 00:16:11,399 --> 00:16:14,679 up a steep hill and then entered the Ozark National Forest. 270 00:16:15,879 --> 00:16:19,000 It was dark, only my headlights lighting up what little 271 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,080 road that had constant turning of my truck to stay 272 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,200 in the unstraightened winding road ahead of me. No shoulders 273 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,960 on this highway, not like Texas road that I was 274 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,799 used to driving, and very little in the way of 275 00:16:31,919 --> 00:16:36,840 road stripping. There were tall trees to my left. At 276 00:16:36,879 --> 00:16:40,080 the time, there was no cell service. I was smack 277 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,399 dab in the middle of nowhere. It was paradise, I thought. 278 00:16:44,639 --> 00:16:47,639 The road began to wind sharply downhill and to the left, 279 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,200 and I could now see the beginnings of water to 280 00:16:50,279 --> 00:16:53,200 the left of me. As the road leveled off, I 281 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,399 had reached Weddington Lake, and as I began to climb 282 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:58,679 up the next hill, I remembered there was a small 283 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,600 pall off lookout to my left and I needed to 284 00:17:01,639 --> 00:17:06,000 go to the bathroom. I pulled my suburban over across 285 00:17:06,039 --> 00:17:09,680 the incoming lane and onto the lookout shoulder, and I 286 00:17:09,759 --> 00:17:13,960 left my motor running along with my headlights. I stepped out, 287 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,319 leaving my truck door open, and I began to relieve myself. 288 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:19,799 To the right of me, there was somewhat of a 289 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:22,720 cliff overseeing a small pond on the opposite side of 290 00:17:22,759 --> 00:17:25,480 the lake, which was to my left, and I found 291 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,640 myself fixated on that rich top. Then I had this 292 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,000 overwhelming feeling come over me. The hairs on the back 293 00:17:33,039 --> 00:17:35,559 of my neck began to stand up, and goose bumps 294 00:17:35,599 --> 00:17:38,599 were running down my arms, and a strong feeling that 295 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,599 someone or something was watching me. I was standing outside 296 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,240 of a lit up truck, smack dab in the middle 297 00:17:46,279 --> 00:17:50,240 of nowhere, and I was a sitting duck. I whipped 298 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:55,640 it back into my pants before oh oh, gotch okay, 299 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,759 I'll leave that in. I whipped it back into my 300 00:17:57,839 --> 00:18:00,839 past before finishing and threw it in and I burnt 301 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:05,599 rubber up the hill. Eventually, I shook it off as nothing. Man, 302 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,640 You've just got all kind of innue windows in this story. 303 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,000 Some years later, I had married and had become a daddy. 304 00:18:12,559 --> 00:18:15,039 My family and I went hiking through the same lake, 305 00:18:15,079 --> 00:18:18,319 but on the other side. We eventually made it to 306 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,960 a rock covered enclosure and the parks and recreation had built. 307 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,640 Some years back, those same eerie feelings came back. Something 308 00:18:26,759 --> 00:18:29,839 wasn't right. I kept it to myself and we finished 309 00:18:29,839 --> 00:18:33,440 our day of fun. A short time later, I found 310 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:38,119 myself researching bigfoot sightings in Arkansas, and guess what a 311 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,519 sighting had been documented in that same area just prior 312 00:18:41,559 --> 00:18:45,720 to my roadside event. Also read of a sighting of 313 00:18:45,759 --> 00:18:48,720 a red headed bigfoot digging in the sand underneath the 314 00:18:48,759 --> 00:18:52,079 bridge along the Illinois River, and come to find out, 315 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,799 sightings had been documented all over this area, dating back years. 316 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,240 I then began to think of my childhood, and then 317 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,920 the things began to add up, like the time my 318 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,480 grandmother would tell my brother and I as kids not 319 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:09,079 to venture back into certain parts of the wooded areas, 320 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,680 the times grandpa's bird dogs would go into a barking 321 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:14,960 frenzy in the middle of the night and he would 322 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,519 step outside shooting a shotgun into the air. I can't 323 00:19:19,559 --> 00:19:23,519 adventure into the woods much anymore, certainly not alone, and 324 00:19:23,599 --> 00:19:27,480 certainly not at night. I'm a believer, So say what 325 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:33,759 you will when you know you know. When I was 326 00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:36,519 a kid back in the nineteen seventies, we were packed 327 00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:39,279 up every summer and sent to a two week church 328 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:44,000 camp seventy five miles from my home. Our age determined 329 00:19:44,039 --> 00:19:46,119 the camp that we would be sent to, but we 330 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,519 were all sent to camp. One of the last summers 331 00:19:49,559 --> 00:19:51,960 I went, I was about twelve or thirteen at the 332 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,160 time my cabin went on an overnight camp out to 333 00:19:55,279 --> 00:19:59,279 a summit that overlooked a valley. It was very bucolic, 334 00:19:59,799 --> 00:20:04,039 had the usual campfire with roasted marshmallows and spooky stories. 335 00:20:04,839 --> 00:20:07,160 There was one about an old hermit with a missing 336 00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:10,839 hand that he'd replaced with a claw. I no longer 337 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,319 remember the gory details, but it ended with the customary 338 00:20:14,759 --> 00:20:18,599 and he still walks these hills today. I think I 339 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,359 told that story to my granddaughters about a month ago 340 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:27,039 when we were camping. That's a real common spooky ghost story. Anyway, 341 00:20:27,519 --> 00:20:31,119 our camp counselor was a master at the craft of storytelling, 342 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,119 and by the time he was done, we were all spooked, 343 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,240 even though we tried to act like we weren't. So, 344 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,640 with the old hermit's claw embedded deeply in our psyches, 345 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,400 we headed off to bed in our pup tennis to 346 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,920 try to get some sleep, with the counselor calling Sweet 347 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:52,079 Dreams Boys. Later that night, we heard the sounds of 348 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,079 thunder in the distance, but it was just the beginning. 349 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,880 The wee hours of the night, maybe two am or so, 350 00:20:59,039 --> 00:21:03,799 we began to hear scuffling noises around our little campsite. 351 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,799 There were eight to ten of us kids and one 352 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:11,839 counselor in five tents. The scuffling turned into growls, and 353 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,240 the growls became a hermit with a missing hand, and 354 00:21:15,279 --> 00:21:18,960 we were all terrified. Some of the kids and the 355 00:21:19,039 --> 00:21:22,920 other tents were asking what is that. The counselor continued 356 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:26,839 to sleep blissfully as our terror escalated to the point 357 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:28,960 that we were too afraid to even peek out of 358 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:34,480 our tents. We could now hear sniffing and snorting sounds 359 00:21:34,519 --> 00:21:38,400 by our tents, followed by more growling. I was too 360 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,200 terrified to make so much as a sound, even as 361 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,359 the fat kid with whom I was sharing a tent, 362 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,480 was making his best effort to crawl underneath me. I 363 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,920 envisioned a hermit's claw tearing through the fabric as my 364 00:21:51,039 --> 00:21:55,279 tent mat crushed me against the side of the tent. Next, 365 00:21:55,319 --> 00:21:58,599 we heard stuff being rummaged through and things being dragged 366 00:21:58,599 --> 00:22:01,720 off the back. Kid and I were sure it was 367 00:22:01,759 --> 00:22:04,319 the other kids being dragged out of their tents, and 368 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:09,400 we held our breath in anticipation of our turn. Suddenly, 369 00:22:09,559 --> 00:22:14,599 a loud thunderclap exploded overhead, and the entire camp erupted 370 00:22:14,799 --> 00:22:19,359 with a resounding scream. My tent mate crawled over me, 371 00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:22,079 digging his knee into my back as he tried to 372 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,359 escape our tent. It might not have been so bad 373 00:22:25,599 --> 00:22:29,559 if I wasn't a little skinny kid even for my age. 374 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,559 We knew the one handed hermit would be waiting for 375 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,359 us as we exited the tent, but panic was in 376 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,279 control now, and we soon found ourselves standing together with 377 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,839 the other kids in the middle of the camp, just 378 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,720 in time for the clouds to burst and soak us 379 00:22:44,759 --> 00:22:48,880 in buckets of rain. The thunder and the screaming were 380 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,880 finally enough to wake up the counselor, who struggled to 381 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,799 restore some form of sanity to our fear stricken group. 382 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,559 Our marauders turned out to be wild dogs, none of 383 00:23:00,559 --> 00:23:04,039 whom I'm sure was wearing a claw, but they managed 384 00:23:04,039 --> 00:23:07,559 to drag away all of our food. Some of us 385 00:23:07,599 --> 00:23:10,359 had left our clothes outside our tents and had gone 386 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:13,519 to be in our skivies. The wind had blown them away, 387 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:16,000 leaving most of us in nothing more than our t 388 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,799 shirts and underwear. Well. We were forced to walk two 389 00:23:19,799 --> 00:23:22,720 hours down a trail to the state highway that led 390 00:23:22,759 --> 00:23:26,400 back to the main camp in the pouring rain. We 391 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,720 finally got there about six am, just in time for 392 00:23:29,799 --> 00:23:32,839 the other campers to wake up and see our befuddled 393 00:23:32,839 --> 00:23:37,839 parade of mud splattered kids plot into sight. We were 394 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,200 the laughing stock of the camp, but we were too 395 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:44,319 exhausted and relieved care we ended up sleeping through most 396 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,920 of the day. What sticks out in my mind is 397 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,799 the long trudge down the state highway with nine other kids, 398 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:54,880 most of us dressed in only our underwear, as that 399 00:23:55,039 --> 00:23:58,640 damn storytelling camp counselor tried to get us to sing 400 00:23:58,799 --> 00:24:02,559 camp songs. In our minds, it was his fault for 401 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,319 telling us the story in the first place. Somehow we 402 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,920 saw that as the source of all our sorrows. We 403 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,319 really just needed a scapegoat to blame for what was 404 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:18,640 a truly scary and miserable overnight camp, and he was 405 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,839 the logical choice. These days, whenever I find myself tempted 406 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,440 to scare the kids with a good camp for our story, 407 00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:29,960 I remind myself that should something weird happen in the 408 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,599 middle of the night, those kids are gonna hate me 409 00:24:32,799 --> 00:24:36,559 for the rest of mill for the rest of their lives. 410 00:24:38,559 --> 00:24:41,039 Oh man, that was really good, I know. It wasn't 411 00:24:41,039 --> 00:24:44,000 a bigfoot story, but it was great. It's like I said, 412 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:47,400 we were camping three weeks or a month ago, and 413 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,759 I was telling my granddaughters too. I've got one that's 414 00:24:51,079 --> 00:24:55,200 I see, she's nine or ten, and another who's four 415 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,559 or five. They're little bitty girls, and I was telling 416 00:24:58,599 --> 00:25:02,160 them that same story, the guy with the hook. Of course, 417 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,640 I got to the punchline and their eyes were biggest 418 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,839 golf balls, and I said, I'm just kidding. That wasn't 419 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,759 really a real story. Oh, Papa, we knew that. We 420 00:25:10,839 --> 00:25:12,880 knew that. And I was thinking, yeah, like you really 421 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,799 knew that. But they slept all night and they curled 422 00:25:16,839 --> 00:25:19,960 up to their daddy and the camper and everything was good. 423 00:25:20,319 --> 00:25:24,160 But the campfire stories, especially at these summer camps, are 424 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,720 always awesome. Whether they scare you or not, they're just 425 00:25:27,799 --> 00:25:28,720 great memories.