WEBVTT

1
00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.599
<v Speaker 1>It was a Saturday morning in February twenty and fifteen.

2
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:18.640
<v Speaker 1>My husband and I decided to take a day trip

3
00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:23.359
<v Speaker 1>to Lake Pleasant, which is northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. We

4
00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:27.480
<v Speaker 1>had purchased a very nice Ram power wagon not long before,

5
00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:29.559
<v Speaker 1>so we thought we would take it for a nice

6
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.759
<v Speaker 1>ride and have a picnic. We arrived at the lake,

7
00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.640
<v Speaker 1>rode around and checked out a few different areas, and

8
00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:38.759
<v Speaker 1>at at about two pm, we found a nice area

9
00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:42.520
<v Speaker 1>and decided to have our lunch. As we were eating

10
00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.399
<v Speaker 1>and enjoying the view, we got to talk in about

11
00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.560
<v Speaker 1>a place called a Crown King that we thought wasn't

12
00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.119
<v Speaker 1>too far away. We had always wanted to visit, but

13
00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.240
<v Speaker 1>it never made it there. We had been members of

14
00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.240
<v Speaker 1>a four wheel drive group a few years back that

15
00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:01.159
<v Speaker 1>had planned a couple of trips to Crown King, but

16
00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:04.560
<v Speaker 1>seemed it wasn't meant to be. A brush fire had

17
00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:07.000
<v Speaker 1>stopped one of the trips, and I don't recall what

18
00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:11.120
<v Speaker 1>stopped the other. After we ate, we decided to do

19
00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.120
<v Speaker 1>a bit more exploring. As we were driving down a

20
00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:16.920
<v Speaker 1>not so good dirt road, we saw a sign that

21
00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.400
<v Speaker 1>red Crown King. We knew it was the back way

22
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.599
<v Speaker 1>in and we agreed to check it out. We set

23
00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:28.760
<v Speaker 1>the GPS and headed into what was for us unknown territory.

24
00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:32.400
<v Speaker 1>This was around three point thirty in the afternoon. We

25
00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:34.680
<v Speaker 1>noticed that we were the only ones headed in the

26
00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:38.040
<v Speaker 1>direction that we were going. There were several off road

27
00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:41.400
<v Speaker 1>vehicles going the opposite direction, and we noticed that they

28
00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.439
<v Speaker 1>were traveling at a high rate of speed. It was

29
00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:47.079
<v Speaker 1>like they had to be out of the area before dark.

30
00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.840
<v Speaker 1>We thought that seemed rather bizarre. We crossed a small

31
00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.480
<v Speaker 1>muddy wash and at the time neither of us said anything.

32
00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.200
<v Speaker 1>Thinking back, it was very strange because both of us

33
00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:01.719
<v Speaker 1>had seemed some thing on each side of the truck,

34
00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:05.000
<v Speaker 1>while we didn't mention it or stop to take pictures.

35
00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:09.039
<v Speaker 1>We still can't figure out. There were huge footprints in

36
00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:12.280
<v Speaker 1>the mud. They were well over a foot long and

37
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:16.479
<v Speaker 1>at least seven inches wide. The tracks were very clear,

38
00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:20.120
<v Speaker 1>even the toe prints were visible. By now, we had

39
00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.759
<v Speaker 1>traveled quite away. GPS was still telling us that we

40
00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.800
<v Speaker 1>were on track, but the not so good road was

41
00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:30.800
<v Speaker 1>getting much worse. We went through a narrow area with

42
00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.120
<v Speaker 1>dry brush on each side. My husband shed a few

43
00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:37.120
<v Speaker 1>tears as we heard that dry brush scraping down the

44
00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.039
<v Speaker 1>sides of that new power wagon. We had definitely given

45
00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:45.840
<v Speaker 1>it what we call the Arizona pin stripes. It was

46
00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:48.159
<v Speaker 1>starting to get dark, but there was no sign of

47
00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:51.960
<v Speaker 1>our destination. We had only brought enough food for our picnic,

48
00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.879
<v Speaker 1>and all that was gone. The original plan for the

49
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.039
<v Speaker 1>day was to check out Lake Pleasant, have our picnic,

50
00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:01.520
<v Speaker 1>and after a bit or sight seeing, we'd planned to

51
00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.919
<v Speaker 1>stop at a restaurant somewhere on the way home. That

52
00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:08.400
<v Speaker 1>wasn't happening by now. All we had was a half

53
00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.479
<v Speaker 1>a bottle of water and about a half tank of

54
00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:14.319
<v Speaker 1>gas in the ram. We were watching the GPS closely.

55
00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.439
<v Speaker 1>Now it showed our destination was just a few more miles.

56
00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.479
<v Speaker 1>We were so happy. It was late and we were hungry,

57
00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.319
<v Speaker 1>and neither of us had been to the restroom in hours.

58
00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.719
<v Speaker 1>We hadn't seen anyone since before dark, and as I mentioned,

59
00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:34.719
<v Speaker 1>they weren't going our way. Finally, the GPS said, you've

60
00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:39.319
<v Speaker 1>reached your destination. It was the most lonely lost feeling

61
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:42.319
<v Speaker 1>as we talked a hill to what we thought would

62
00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.879
<v Speaker 1>be Crowned King, only to find dead bushes and trees

63
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:51.719
<v Speaker 1>and nothing else. GPS was worthless. We were for the

64
00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:57.680
<v Speaker 1>first time in our lives. Lost, we kept going, trying

65
00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:01.039
<v Speaker 1>to find our way out and back to civilization because

66
00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.919
<v Speaker 1>there was no turning back. We were getting low on

67
00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:07.280
<v Speaker 1>gas and had made so many turns we wouldn't know

68
00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:10.280
<v Speaker 1>which road would take us back to the lake. We

69
00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:13.159
<v Speaker 1>were counting on the way out if we could find it,

70
00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:17.040
<v Speaker 1>being closer than the route we'd taken, but where was it.

71
00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.879
<v Speaker 1>We took a different service road that looked promising, but

72
00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:23.519
<v Speaker 1>they either came to a dead end or they led

73
00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:27.240
<v Speaker 1>us to another road. We had entered into an area

74
00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.040
<v Speaker 1>where there were pine trees. Now we were not real

75
00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.399
<v Speaker 1>happy at this point, and we were still lost. We

76
00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:35.959
<v Speaker 1>had our half bottle of water, but not knowing how

77
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.959
<v Speaker 1>long it would be before we got out of there,

78
00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.360
<v Speaker 1>we saved it. Plus we needed to use the restroom,

79
00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:43.680
<v Speaker 1>but it was so pitch dark out there we weren't

80
00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.439
<v Speaker 1>about to get out of the truck. We were driving

81
00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:50.560
<v Speaker 1>down the dirt road with our brights illuminating both the

82
00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.879
<v Speaker 1>road in front of us and some area into the

83
00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:58.240
<v Speaker 1>pines at our sides. We rounded a slight curve and

84
00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.519
<v Speaker 1>what we saw will be etched in our minds forever.

85
00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:06.839
<v Speaker 1>This took place in twenty fifteen, but the memory is

86
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:11.319
<v Speaker 1>as vivid today as if it happened last night. It

87
00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:13.720
<v Speaker 1>was now, by the way that we decided to tell

88
00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.519
<v Speaker 1>each other about the large tracks that we had both

89
00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.639
<v Speaker 1>seen earlier, but it failed to mention. Sitting on the

90
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.240
<v Speaker 1>ground kind of behind a tree, and not a small

91
00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:27.680
<v Speaker 1>pine tree, mind you, was an ape like figure. We

92
00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.639
<v Speaker 1>could see half of its back in its arm and

93
00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.040
<v Speaker 1>part of its right thigh. It seemed to have its

94
00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:38.079
<v Speaker 1>legs pulled up against its body. We could also see

95
00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:40.639
<v Speaker 1>the right side of its head. The part of its

96
00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.480
<v Speaker 1>shoulder that we could see stuck out from the tree

97
00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:47.560
<v Speaker 1>about two feet sitting on the ground. It seemed to

98
00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.120
<v Speaker 1>be from ground to the top of its head as

99
00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:54.519
<v Speaker 1>tall as me, and I'm five foot five inches tall.

100
00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:57.560
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't tell how muscular it might or might not

101
00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.399
<v Speaker 1>have been, but it was well filled out out and

102
00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:04.519
<v Speaker 1>very big. We got closer and it turned its head

103
00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:08.120
<v Speaker 1>more to the left, away from us. It had silver

104
00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.480
<v Speaker 1>gray hair that looked about the same length all over.

105
00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:14.959
<v Speaker 1>Because of the gray, we thought it might have been older.

106
00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.000
<v Speaker 1>There was no mistaking what it was. These lights were

107
00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.040
<v Speaker 1>bright and we were only about twenty five feet away.

108
00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.800
<v Speaker 1>We drove on there was no way we were going

109
00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.600
<v Speaker 1>to stop for a better look or pictures. I'm pretty

110
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.519
<v Speaker 1>sure we were both in shop. We just kept moving

111
00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.399
<v Speaker 1>on down the road. About a mile with the ac on,

112
00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:38.720
<v Speaker 1>the noise of the truck engine and the radio turned up.

113
00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.079
<v Speaker 1>All of a sudden, above all the noise we were making,

114
00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:49.079
<v Speaker 1>there was this indescribably loud, grunting roar. It was unforgettable.

115
00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:52.040
<v Speaker 1>It was the type of sound that makes the hairs

116
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.040
<v Speaker 1>on the back of your neck stand up. We didn't

117
00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:58.199
<v Speaker 1>slow down, we just kept driving. But now it was

118
00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:02.800
<v Speaker 1>around midnight, yet to find our destination, and we really

119
00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:06.439
<v Speaker 1>weren't caring now. We just wanted to find the highway.

120
00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:13.199
<v Speaker 1>We wanted to find civilization. Finally, a bit after one am,

121
00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.879
<v Speaker 1>we saw a small settlement. It was just a few houses. Oddly,

122
00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:21.480
<v Speaker 1>at roughly one point twenty am, every house had what

123
00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:26.040
<v Speaker 1>appeared to be every light on. We remarked on how

124
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:30.160
<v Speaker 1>peculiar that was. About ten minutes after that, we finally

125
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.120
<v Speaker 1>found a highway, and a few miles later we found

126
00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.480
<v Speaker 1>a place to eat. We were in such a state

127
00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.120
<v Speaker 1>of shock that all we could do was sit there

128
00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.560
<v Speaker 1>and try to process what we had seen. It occurred

129
00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:46.199
<v Speaker 1>to us that we had been lost for almost ten hours.

130
00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.279
<v Speaker 1>The next day, I looked up bigfoot sightings around the

131
00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:55.920
<v Speaker 1>Prescott Crowned King area. I read several posts and stories.

132
00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.040
<v Speaker 1>One of the posts said, if there have been bigfoot

133
00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:02.240
<v Speaker 1>sightings near your home, leave all your lights on all

134
00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.800
<v Speaker 1>night and they won't come into your area. Could this

135
00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.360
<v Speaker 1>possibly be why the little settlement had all the lights on.

136
00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:12.879
<v Speaker 1>We have since wanted to go back in the daylight

137
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.920
<v Speaker 1>to check out where we had seen it. We haven't

138
00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.879
<v Speaker 1>as of yet. We don't really tell this to very

139
00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:21.959
<v Speaker 1>many people. You know, all those weird you've lost it

140
00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:25.839
<v Speaker 1>looks you get. However, my husband and I know what

141
00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.399
<v Speaker 1>we saw. We have always been believers in Bigfoot, and now,

142
00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.879
<v Speaker 1>beyond a doubt, we know they exist. They are out

143
00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:40.720
<v Speaker 1>there and thank you for reading my story. For unclear reasons,

144
00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:43.679
<v Speaker 1>it appears that the thirty third year of a man's

145
00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:48.000
<v Speaker 1>life may be fraught with darkness and peril. After all,

146
00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:52.720
<v Speaker 1>Biblical accounts inferred that the itinerant preacher from Nazareth was

147
00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.279
<v Speaker 1>betrayed for a measly thirty pieces of silver during his

148
00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.840
<v Speaker 1>thirty third year of life. King Richard the second of

149
00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:04.440
<v Speaker 1>England and also King Charles the Fourth of France also

150
00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:08.000
<v Speaker 1>met an untimely demise at the age of thirty three,

151
00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:12.000
<v Speaker 1>as well as the late great soul singer Sam Cook

152
00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:17.279
<v Speaker 1>prior to his planned a military incursion into the Sauty Peninsula.

153
00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:20.679
<v Speaker 1>Alexander the Great died in Babylon on the threshold of

154
00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.919
<v Speaker 1>his thirty third year. As for me, I was thirty

155
00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.639
<v Speaker 1>three years old in nineteen ninety, and sadly my life

156
00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:33.399
<v Speaker 1>was upside down at that time, two years out from

157
00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:37.679
<v Speaker 1>my divorce, which was largely a consequence of my own misdeeds,

158
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.120
<v Speaker 1>I was finding little if any pleasure in life. My

159
00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:46.720
<v Speaker 1>behavior had become reckless and irresponsible. I had dated many

160
00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.120
<v Speaker 1>women at the same time during that era, with complete

161
00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:55.000
<v Speaker 1>disregard for their own emotional needs. Frankly, I was a

162
00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:59.360
<v Speaker 1>cad and an apparent dangerous one. At that I would

163
00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:02.000
<v Speaker 1>press the bounies of my own health and well being

164
00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:05.519
<v Speaker 1>by taking out my nineteen sixty eight Big Blocks Shelby

165
00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:08.519
<v Speaker 1>on Interstate ten in the wee hours of the morning

166
00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:12.960
<v Speaker 1>near Pacacho Peak and hold down the accelerator pedal until

167
00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.840
<v Speaker 1>the speedometer was buried well above the one hundred and

168
00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:20.320
<v Speaker 1>forty mile per hour mark. Rest assured this car was

169
00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.679
<v Speaker 1>and still is powerful enough to transport me to another

170
00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:28.919
<v Speaker 1>realm of existence with utter disregard for earthly remains. At

171
00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:32.399
<v Speaker 1>the time, I just did not care about myself or

172
00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:36.440
<v Speaker 1>perhaps anything else for that matter. The only thing that

173
00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.320
<v Speaker 1>seemed to give me any meeting was my work, and

174
00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.799
<v Speaker 1>perhaps that is why I took on assignments and projects that,

175
00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:47.759
<v Speaker 1>in retrospect, were not particularly beneficial to my spiritual well being.

176
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.360
<v Speaker 1>In nineteen ninety I elected to farm myself out to

177
00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:57.879
<v Speaker 1>offer expertise in medical legal malpractice matters. In the fall

178
00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:01.120
<v Speaker 1>of that year, I was scheduled to render medical opinion

179
00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:04.600
<v Speaker 1>concerning an unfortunate case of a man who had a

180
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:08.559
<v Speaker 1>delay in diagnosis of cancer and this led to his

181
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:13.159
<v Speaker 1>premature demise. His estate had sued the doctor who had

182
00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:17.200
<v Speaker 1>committed this alleged omission, but before the matter went to trial,

183
00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.600
<v Speaker 1>the defendant, who was only a few years older than me,

184
00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:26.039
<v Speaker 1>had subsequently died from cancer. Also, is there such a

185
00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.759
<v Speaker 1>thing as karma? What do I know? All I can

186
00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:34.159
<v Speaker 1>tell you is that God in his universe often works

187
00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:38.960
<v Speaker 1>in strange and mysterious ways. Frankly, as both the plaintive

188
00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:42.080
<v Speaker 1>and the defendant in the matter were now dead. I

189
00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:45.240
<v Speaker 1>should have resigned from the entire case, but I had

190
00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.080
<v Speaker 1>signed a contract, so I was obligated to hold up

191
00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:51.679
<v Speaker 1>my end of the deal as a medical expert witness.

192
00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:56.960
<v Speaker 1>The trial would be in northern New Mexico, not far

193
00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:01.919
<v Speaker 1>from the Colorado border. The plan to fly into Albuquerque,

194
00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.759
<v Speaker 1>rent a car, and drive up for the trial to

195
00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:09.399
<v Speaker 1>render my opinion concerning the case. As stated, I was

196
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.879
<v Speaker 1>out of sorts and I did not want to be alone.

197
00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.759
<v Speaker 1>I took a girlfriend with me, who had spent her

198
00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:18.240
<v Speaker 1>entire life in the Southwest but had never been to

199
00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.720
<v Speaker 1>New Mexico. I promised her that if she went with me,

200
00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:26.200
<v Speaker 1>we would do some sight seeing. We arrived in Albuquerque

201
00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.759
<v Speaker 1>during the first week of October and subsequently rented a

202
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:33.480
<v Speaker 1>car at the airport. I took my girlfriend on a

203
00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.679
<v Speaker 1>tram ride up the top of Sandea Peak, where we

204
00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.919
<v Speaker 1>made reservations to eat dinner at the restaurant at the

205
00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:44.000
<v Speaker 1>top of the mountain. The tram ride at Sandea Peak

206
00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.480
<v Speaker 1>has the second longest non supported cable run in the

207
00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:51.879
<v Speaker 1>entire world. Although it was late in the afternoon, we

208
00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.639
<v Speaker 1>still had two hours before our dinner reservation, and this

209
00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.440
<v Speaker 1>gave us some time to hike along the crest trail

210
00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:02.559
<v Speaker 1>at the top of the mountain. We hiked north towards

211
00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:05.879
<v Speaker 1>the Kowanas Stone House, which was a structure built by

212
00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:09.080
<v Speaker 1>the C. C. Sea Boys way back in nineteen thirty

213
00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:13.200
<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of the Great Depression. I'm not certain

214
00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:15.960
<v Speaker 1>if that stone house had ever been served in any

215
00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:19.519
<v Speaker 1>meaningful purpose during its nearly one hundred years of existence,

216
00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.879
<v Speaker 1>but it is a tremendous place to watch the sunset.

217
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.159
<v Speaker 1>The entire trail loop was only about one point seven

218
00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.720
<v Speaker 1>miles long, and the hiking trail was not a particularly

219
00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:35.840
<v Speaker 1>arduous endeavor. On the hike towards the old stone structure,

220
00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:38.360
<v Speaker 1>we passed many people who were heading back to the

221
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:43.039
<v Speaker 1>tram to depart the mountain. We were not particularly concerned,

222
00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.080
<v Speaker 1>as we were readily enjoying the aspen trees which were

223
00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:51.279
<v Speaker 1>now exhibiting their bright yellow fall foliage. Much to our surprise,

224
00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.639
<v Speaker 1>when we made it to the Kawanas House lookout, there

225
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:58.360
<v Speaker 1>was no one there. We had the whole place to ourselves.

226
00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:01.279
<v Speaker 1>We stayed at the look out until the last ray

227
00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:04.399
<v Speaker 1>of sunlight peered over the top of the nine mile hill,

228
00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:08.519
<v Speaker 1>which was about twenty miles in the distance. Once the

229
00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:11.279
<v Speaker 1>sun had set, it was time for us to return

230
00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:15.679
<v Speaker 1>to the trail head and head for the restaurant. As

231
00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.559
<v Speaker 1>we walked back to our destination, it got dark rather quickly.

232
00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.720
<v Speaker 1>For all the world, we were most likely the very

233
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.799
<v Speaker 1>last people hiking on the Crest Trail at that time.

234
00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.799
<v Speaker 1>In the middle of our return journey, we passed through

235
00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:33.440
<v Speaker 1>a heavily forested area. To our left, which was an

236
00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:36.759
<v Speaker 1>eastward slope of the mountain, there was a steep drop

237
00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:40.480
<v Speaker 1>off that rolled away at approximately a sixty degree angle.

238
00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:44.799
<v Speaker 1>That entire area was filled with thick brush and broken

239
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:50.000
<v Speaker 1>limbs and fallen trees. That is when it happened. Forty

240
00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:53.399
<v Speaker 1>feet behind us and to the left on the downward slope,

241
00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:57.399
<v Speaker 1>something came crashing through the brush. We could hear the

242
00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:01.919
<v Speaker 1>snap of fallen tree trunks breaking. On a curious note,

243
00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:05.440
<v Speaker 1>whenever we stopped, whatever was following us beside the trail

244
00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:09.480
<v Speaker 1>would stop. Also, I was absolutely certain that we were

245
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:13.639
<v Speaker 1>being stalked by a bear. I would still profess that

246
00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:18.799
<v Speaker 1>theory except for one unsettling fact. Periodically, large stones were

247
00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.720
<v Speaker 1>hurled at us. Most were the size of baseballs, but

248
00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:26.519
<v Speaker 1>one was as large as a loaf of bread. The

249
00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.399
<v Speaker 1>stone would land at a distance of five or perhaps

250
00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.840
<v Speaker 1>ten feet behind our steps. To this day, I'm not

251
00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:36.759
<v Speaker 1>certain if whoever or whatever was throwing those stones was

252
00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:41.120
<v Speaker 1>highly inaccurate and missed us by fair margin, or perhaps

253
00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:44.440
<v Speaker 1>more likely, it was only trying to encourage our departure

254
00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:49.159
<v Speaker 1>from the forest at an expedient pace. Whatever we were

255
00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.960
<v Speaker 1>dealing with, it was clearly not a bear, as these

256
00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:57.519
<v Speaker 1>creatures are incapable of throwing objects. As previously stated, I

257
00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:00.679
<v Speaker 1>was embedded in a rather reckless and impact ruous time

258
00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:05.240
<v Speaker 1>in my life. On several occasions, I would turn towards

259
00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:09.840
<v Speaker 1>the thicket to verbally challenge whatever was stalking us, utilizing

260
00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:15.159
<v Speaker 1>harsh threats and perhaps even professing unpleasant invectives that had

261
00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:19.279
<v Speaker 1>rudely questioned the paternal lineage of the lurking menace in question.

262
00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:24.399
<v Speaker 1>In retrospect, this was probably not a particularly good idea,

263
00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:27.559
<v Speaker 1>and I was admonished by my girlfriend from my feeble

264
00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.840
<v Speaker 1>attempts to provoke whatever it was that was trying to

265
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:35.279
<v Speaker 1>usher us from the premises. Within a few hundred yards

266
00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.639
<v Speaker 1>of the restaurant and the tram left. The forest had receded,

267
00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.120
<v Speaker 1>and whatever had elected to rudely escort us off the

268
00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:48.159
<v Speaker 1>mountain never did reveal itself. My girlfriend and I decided

269
00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:51.120
<v Speaker 1>not to stay for dinner, and we hastily departed from

270
00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:55.080
<v Speaker 1>the top of the mountain. We headed back to Albuquerque proper,

271
00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:57.360
<v Speaker 1>as we had a long drive ahead of us in

272
00:16:57.399 --> 00:17:00.399
<v Speaker 1>the morning to get to the medical malpractice draw that

273
00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:05.519
<v Speaker 1>would take place in northern New Mexico. It is often

274
00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:08.680
<v Speaker 1>said that wisdom is acquired by the one learning from

275
00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:13.599
<v Speaker 1>his or her own mistakes. I dispute that adage. I

276
00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:17.920
<v Speaker 1>believe wisdom is garnished by learning from the mistakes of others. Now,

277
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.400
<v Speaker 1>remember another event that had occurred in New Mexico on

278
00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:26.640
<v Speaker 1>January first in nineteen eighty six. The day before, on

279
00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:31.599
<v Speaker 1>December thirty first, nineteen eighty five, the nineteen fifties pop

280
00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:35.000
<v Speaker 1>singer Ricky Nelson had died in a plane crash west

281
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.480
<v Speaker 1>of Texarcana. As I was a fan of the do

282
00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:42.319
<v Speaker 1>wop in nineteen fifties music in general, I was rather

283
00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:48.160
<v Speaker 1>distraught about his passing. On January first, the day after

284
00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:51.519
<v Speaker 1>Nelson had died, I decided to take a long drive

285
00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.240
<v Speaker 1>to Mount Taylor, which was fifty miles west of Albuquerque,

286
00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:59.240
<v Speaker 1>just to clear my mind. I was warned that the

287
00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:03.039
<v Speaker 1>road was under safe and unfit for two wheel drive vehicles,

288
00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.720
<v Speaker 1>but I failed to listen to this sage advice. The

289
00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:09.480
<v Speaker 1>person who had issued this warning to me had previously

290
00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:13.759
<v Speaker 1>broken down halfway up Mount Taylor. Has stated one should

291
00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:18.000
<v Speaker 1>learn from the mistakes of others. I had attempted to

292
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:20.640
<v Speaker 1>drive up to the top of Mount Taylor on a

293
00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:24.400
<v Speaker 1>forest dirt road in a two wheel drive sedan, and

294
00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:28.400
<v Speaker 1>I promptly broke down about halfway up the mountain. I

295
00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:31.640
<v Speaker 1>waited four hours until someone else had come by and

296
00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.039
<v Speaker 1>was able to successfully contact a tow truck on my

297
00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.839
<v Speaker 1>behalf to get me out of there. I recalled that

298
00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.480
<v Speaker 1>it cost me a small fortune in towing fees. While

299
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:45.119
<v Speaker 1>I was waiting for the tow truck, I saw what

300
00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.039
<v Speaker 1>I thought was a black bear standing behind a tree,

301
00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:52.039
<v Speaker 1>periodically peeking at me from about one hundred and fifty paces.

302
00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.200
<v Speaker 1>Looking back now on that more remote event, I'm wondering

303
00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:59.640
<v Speaker 1>if what I saw was not a bear after all.

304
00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:09.680
<v Speaker 1>Not bears hibernate in the winter. Mmm.