WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:11.000 My brother in law and his wife live in East Texas, 2 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:15.000 out in what we affectionately call the Boonies. I guess 3 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:18.160 boondocks would be the technical term. They live in a 4 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:20.920 farmhouse on top of a hill, looking down into an 5 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:25.280 open meadow with pine woods beyond that. It's beautiful and 6 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:30.160 it's peaceful there, well, it used to be. Last fall, 7 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.320 my husband and I went to their home so my 8 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:36.240 husband could help his brother with some carpentry work. This 9 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:39.640 is not my forte, so I decided to take the mule. 10 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.479 I think that's the term for a four wheel type 11 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:46.159 vehicle that you can haul stuff with, although I think 12 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.159 I would have preferred an actual mule because the mechanical 13 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.679 one I rode was about as smooth as taking a 14 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.079 spin and a washing machine, not that I've ever done that. 15 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:58.719 I took some trash bag so that I could gather 16 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.679 pine needles to use my chicken coop and garden. After 17 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.799 an hour of bouncing up and down on that hard seat, 18 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.879 I found a great spot to gather up some pine needles. 19 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:11.920 It was at the back of their property, where there 20 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:14.200 are a lot of trees in a creek that zig 21 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.079 zags back and forth across the property. It was a 22 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.640 beautiful fall day. The only thing I was concerned about 23 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:25.000 at this time was watching for snakes as I gathered 24 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:28.560 the pine needles, and I love listening to the birds 25 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:32.560 seeing as I went about my work. I had gathered 26 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:35.239 a lot of pine needles and loaded them on the mule, 27 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:37.640 and I was still wishing it was the four legged 28 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.879 kind of mule. I decided to walk for a little 29 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:44.480 while before I bounced back to the house, thinking maybe 30 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.959 I could somehow use one of the bags as a cushion. 31 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.840 I'd been walking for about a half an hour and 32 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.840 had come to a washed out area that made sandy 33 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.799 high banks on each side. The banks were fifteen feet tall. 34 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:03.480 There were several rocks exposed from the creek flooding, I guess, 35 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:06.359 and some of the rocks were really pretty, so I 36 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:09.800 amused myself by digging around and looking for neat rocks. 37 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.240 Now I had been doing this for a while when 38 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:17.240 I noticed everything got real quiet. It was then that 39 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:19.919 I heard a rustling coming from the top of one 40 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:23.319 of the banks. I couldn't see anything from where I was, 41 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.560 so I just froze, waiting to see what was going 42 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:30.520 to happen. And then I smelled it. It was horrible smell. 43 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:34.120 It was the worst thing I've ever smelled in my life. 44 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:39.280 It was a combination of cat poop, smelly old mop water, 45 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.680 and skunk that had been dead in the road for 46 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.280 a while. And then the rustling stopped. I was getting 47 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:50.439 nervous now, thinking it was a wild hog, because I've 48 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:54.000 heard they can be mean. I decided just to stay 49 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:56.639 still and hope it would go away, not that my 50 00:02:56.759 --> 00:03:00.280 legs would have worked right then anyway. And then I 51 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:04.039 heard the oddest sound. It sounded like someone clucking like 52 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.759 a chicken. It was comical and amusing, and I wondered 53 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.639 what in the world was going on. A million things 54 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:14.919 flashed through your mind. I began to think that I 55 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.159 was going to be murdered by a mad clown that 56 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:20.840 thinks he's a chicken. I leaned up against the bank 57 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:23.800 and still hoping it would go away, and then a 58 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:26.680 rifle shot rang out, and it sounded like a cannon, 59 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.080 and it was followed by a big thud, and then 60 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:34.080 I heard voices. There were men's voices talking. I was 61 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:36.120 thinking that it was the hunters and they had shot 62 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:39.240 the hog, and one of them said, damn, good shot. 63 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:43.520 You got that, Sorry devil, Steve, You're one crazy son 64 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:46.080 of a gun. I can't believe that stupid chicken dance 65 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.199 of your still works. And then one said to get 66 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.240 the head. And I heard a chopping noise and a 67 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.039 thud and a thunk and a thud, and something came 68 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.280 rolling down the bank and it was the head. It 69 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.599 was a huge, ugly, hairy but it wasn't a hog. 70 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.360 All I could do was stand there frozen, thinking, there 71 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.360 really are bigfoot creatures in these woods. No, it can't be. 72 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.080 I must be having a stroke, I thought. I was 73 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:16.639 jerked back to reality by someone saying, you go get it. 74 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.480 You're the one that dropped it. The next thing I know, 75 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:22.079 here comes a man scrambling down the bank with a 76 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:26.079 burlap sack. In kind of a Southern voice. He said, 77 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:29.360 excuse me, ma'am. I didn't mean to startle you, dear, 78 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:31.600 but I really do need to get that head that 79 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:35.240 I dropped. He came over and he shook my hand, 80 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.959 introducing himself as Steve Lily. He gave me his thanks 81 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.720 and said they were sorry to have bothered me. He 82 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:44.560 picked up the head and put it in the sack, 83 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:47.560 and then he tipped his hat and he said, well 84 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:51.680 by now, and he climbed back up the bank. And 85 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:55.079 that's how I met Bigfoot and the hero named Steve 86 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:02.040 Lily that apparently saved me from a Bigfoot. It's been 87 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:07.000 seventeen years since this incident took place. Until recently, we 88 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:09.399 had not discussed what happened to the five of us 89 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:13.839 while camping at Bailey Cove Campground. It always felt like 90 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:18.639 a taboo subject to bring up. This past Mother's Day 91 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.800 in twenty twenty one, we were able to get all 92 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:25.120 of our adult kids to travel home to celebrate their mother. 93 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.800 We had a great visit with everyone, and one of 94 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.480 the big topics of discussion was our upcoming camping trip 95 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:37.120 into the Sierra Nevadas. Later that evening, we were all 96 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:40.480 out on the patio talking about the upcoming camping trip 97 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:43.720 when my youngest spoke up and said, hopefully we don't 98 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:48.360 have any unwelcome visitors this time. Everyone laughed, and then 99 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.319 my oldest spoke out, Hey, Dad, what do you really 100 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.439 think happened to us that time on Shasta Late Oh Man, 101 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:59.000 I thought to myself, please let this be going in 102 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.079 the direction that I I have wanted it to go. 103 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.040 For the last seventeen years. What trip does Shasta Lak 104 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:10.040 are you talking about? I ask Dad? Everyone said, are 105 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:13.920 you talking about the Bailey Cove campground trip? Yes? That trip, 106 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:18.000 said everyone. I glanced at my son and daughter in 107 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:20.879 laws and saw a bit of confusion in their faces. 108 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:23.839 So I said, let's talk about it, but maybe we 109 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:26.639 should start at the beginning, so folks here that weren't 110 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:31.399 present at the time can better understand what happened. The 111 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:35.319 next ninety minutes was great. I started off the conversation 112 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:38.839 and we all took turns telling what we remembered happening. 113 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:41.800 I think it was good therapy for all of us 114 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:46.399 to talk about it. September tenth, two thousand and four, 115 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.240 would forever change our young family and the belief that 116 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:55.279 only four legged creatures live in the wilderness. Our family 117 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.839 had a summer routine of two camping trips each year. 118 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.000 September approached in two thousand and four, we had not 119 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:05.879 been able to go camping yet. It had been a 120 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.279 busy summer. My wife mentioned that she wanted to plan 121 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.399 a quick camping trip to Shasta Lake for the following weekend. Well. 122 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:16.720 I thought it was great idea because I had the 123 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.160 next Saturday through Monday off from work. We just needed 124 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:25.319 to decide what campground we wanted to use. My wife 125 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:28.560 suggested Bailey Cove Campground because it was only a twenty 126 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:31.720 minute drive. Now I was able to get the reservations 127 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:36.600 with no problems. We arrived at Bailey Cove Campground and 128 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:38.920 checked in with the park ranger, who told us not 129 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:43.519 many folks were there and we could choose our own campsite. 130 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.560 We got the trailer backed onto the pad. Not long 131 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.600 after we were cooking hot dogs over the campfire, and 132 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:54.319 then we got the kids ready for bed and tucked in. Afterward, 133 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:57.560 I joined my wife out by the fire pit. We 134 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.519 stayed up for another couple of hours, enjoyed the evening. 135 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:04.519 Once the flames had died down, I doused the coals 136 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:08.920 with water, and by eleven thirty PM we were all asleep. 137 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.560 At some point in the middle of the night, a 138 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.920 loud cracking sound woke me. A large branch was snapped 139 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.279 off a nearby a tree. It was loud and I 140 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:24.199 could hardly believe I was the only person awake. I 141 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.759 thought about shaking my wife away, but it was quiet outside. Now, 142 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:32.320 maybe I had imagined that loud noise. I lay there 143 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.080 on my back with my eyes wide open and listening, 144 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.559 and all I could hear was my heart beating. And 145 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:40.840 then I thought that was no sound at all. I 146 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:44.639 must have dreamed it. It was freakishly quiet though there 147 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:48.480 were no crickets, no breeze, no traffic sounds. It was 148 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:51.840 almost suffocating. That's the only way I can describe it. 149 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.600 And then I heard the sound of footsteps on pine 150 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:01.080 needles and twigs. Whatever it was, it was toward us. 151 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.399 My imagination was starting to mess with me too many 152 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:09.559 CSI Las Vegas episodes with a crazed killer on the loose. 153 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.519 I guess it was most likely a deer. I thought 154 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.759 maybe a bear or a raccoon. So I closed my 155 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.000 eyes and I think I fell back to sleep. But 156 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:25.320 what happened next is when things got real. My eyes 157 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:28.639 opened with a loud, crunching sound of something walking on 158 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:32.679 the crushed rock that surrounded the asphalt pad, and I 159 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.600 sat straight up. I noticed that my wife and son 160 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.840 were now moving and confused. One of the kids asked 161 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:45.159 about the sounds. It's probably a bear, I said. Whatever 162 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.639 was outside started walking slowly back and forth in the 163 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:53.039 crushed rock, I could tell it was heavy. My wife's 164 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:58.159 white knuckle grasp on my arm was intense. She finally 165 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:01.200 spoke up and said, it sounds like person walking, not 166 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.200 a bear. That's exactly what I thought, but I played 167 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.799 it off again as a bear, and through the mesh 168 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:13.279 screen we couldn't see anything moving. Now. Finally, I said, 169 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:16.960 whoever's outside, you need to leave now. I'm armed and 170 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.960 we're about to call the police. That only woke up 171 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:24.039 our two daughters and the youngest one immediately since the 172 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.799 tension of the situation, and she started crying. I told 173 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.360 my wife to call nine to one one, and she 174 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:33.600 asked me if I was really armed, and I told 175 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:35.639 her to know that I had left the handgun locked 176 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.480 up in the truck. Whatever was out there ignored my 177 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:44.799 demands anyway, and the pacing increased. There was no cell 178 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:48.399 service where we were. I couldn't believe how close we 179 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.399 were to civilization with no cell service. You know, twenty 180 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:57.639 years later, nothing's really changed. It was two thirty am 181 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.559 at this point and all five of us were in 182 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.960 the die in Nette area. I double checked to make 183 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.720 sure the flimsy camper door was locked, and I grabbed 184 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:10.679 the flashlight I called out again, and the pacing back 185 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:15.200 and forth stopped. One of the kids said, Dad, you 186 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.799 should go outside and check to see if it's still there. Well, 187 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:20.840 I didn't know what to say. I had to figure 188 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.639 out a reply that made me sound like the protector 189 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:26.279 of the family, but gave me any excuse for not 190 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:30.840 going outside. I was about to speak when something or 191 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:35.279 someone tried to open the door. Everyone freaked out, and 192 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.919 the screaming inside the camper was deafening. I have never 193 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:43.679 felt such fear in my life. I felt certain we 194 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:47.080 were all going to die a horrible death. I really 195 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:52.399 did feel powerless. Whatever was outside was now grunting and 196 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:57.120 breathing heavy. Feeling like my next move was going to 197 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.000 save us, I started zipping up all the windows actually, 198 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:05.000 like that would protect us. Next, a loud slap from 199 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.039 the side of the camper happened. It was near the 200 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:11.399 back and on the same side as the door. One 201 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.759 of the kids yelled at Dad, do something. I didn't 202 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.440 know what to do. There's not a worse feeling as 203 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:21.080 a father when you can't protect your loved ones. The 204 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:24.399 next thing this monster did was a slap dead center 205 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:27.120 on the roof of the camper. And then it scraped 206 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:31.559 its fingers across the top, like fingernails across the chalkboard. 207 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:36.519 Screams for help came from all of us inside the camper. 208 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.840 My ears were ringing from the extreme decibel levels coming 209 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:44.879 from everyone's cries. And then I heard footsteps in the 210 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:48.600 crush rock again. I tried to get everyone to quiet 211 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:53.080 down so I could listen. It was relatively quiet except 212 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.360 for the heavy breathing and sniffing from inside the camper. 213 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.679 I thought I heard a couple of small branches break 214 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:03.600 and few faint footsteps heading up the steep hill. Maybe 215 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:08.399 it was leaving. Everything was silent for five minutes, and 216 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:11.240 I told my wife what I wanted to do next. 217 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.240 My plan was to run to the pickup and drive 218 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:18.320 off as quickly as possible with the trailer in tow, 219 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.879 and get to the ranger station and then go from there. No, 220 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:26.840 I had not unhooked the trailer from the truck. She 221 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.360 liked the plan, and we explained to the kids what 222 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:32.919 we were about to do. Trying to quietly open the 223 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.960 camper door wasn't going as planned. Usually the thing just 224 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.480 swung open at the slightest turn of the handle, but 225 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.559 it didn't this time, so I turned the knob fully 226 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:44.919 down to the open position and gave the door a 227 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:48.960 pop with my right shoulder. The door popped open and 228 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:51.559 flew out of my grip, smashing into the side of 229 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.799 the camper. I rolled out onto the asphalt, and I 230 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:59.320 sprinted like an Olympic hurdler, jumping over the fire pit 231 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.399 and a chain or two as I headed around the 232 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.879 front of the truck. Just as I got to the 233 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.759 truck door, a blood curdling scream blew up the night. 234 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.679 It was so deafening and long that it made my 235 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:17.919 insides churn. It scared me so bad that I dropped 236 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:21.559 the keys. I finally found them, and I fumbled to 237 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:23.720 get the correct key and get it into the walk. 238 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:28.240 I was doing all of this in the dark. Then 239 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.559 the next scream came. You could not tell where this 240 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.720 monster was. It sounded like it was coming from every direction. 241 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.440 The truck started and I threw it into drive and 242 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.799 floored the gas and I went forward a foot or two, 243 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:47.279 and then the tires began to spin. That's when I 244 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:51.200 remembered the wheels on the trailer were choked. I put 245 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.759 the truck in reverse and backed up a little, and 246 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:56.519 then put it back into drive and said, hold on, guys, 247 00:14:57.039 --> 00:15:00.799 and I pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The 248 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.919 truck shuddered and the trailer launched into the air like 249 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:07.519 a kid jumping a BMX bike. And in the glow 250 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.879 of the tail lights, I could see that the trailer 251 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.799 was still behind the truck. And I kept the hammer 252 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.159 down as best as I could on the narrow road. 253 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:18.519 And when we got near the ranger station, I pulled 254 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.200 to the side and then ran back to get my family. 255 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.240 The door on the camper flew open, almost hitting me 256 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:28.279 in the face. You've never seen a wife and three 257 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:32.399 young kids sprint so quickly, and they dove into the cabin. 258 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:35.639 I yelled to my wife to get behind the wheel 259 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:38.759 and lock the doors while I unhooked the trailer, and 260 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:41.480 in thirty seconds I was back at the truck and 261 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:44.679 I met my oldest daughter's crying face at the window 262 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.080 as she unlocked the door. Let's get the hell out 263 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.799 of here, I said. As I slammed the door shut. 264 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.440 My wife fish tailed up the road for two hundred feet. 265 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:59.360 We climbed the winding road faster than any vehicle should 266 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.159 be allowed. The crying now was because we had escaped 267 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:07.080 whatever it was that had terrified us. What should have 268 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.799 been a twenty three minute drive home took much less time. 269 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:14.879 Our youngest daughter, who was and still is the family's 270 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.320 back seat driver from hell, chimed up and said, Dad, 271 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:20.679 it's okay that she's going fast. We just want to 272 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:24.759 get home. We made it home in ready and pulled 273 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:29.679 into our driveway just minutes after four am. Everyone rushed 274 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.279 into the house, and I locked up the truck and 275 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:36.039 headed for the front door. Once in the house, everyone 276 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.600 had their pillows and blankets from their beds on the 277 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:43.399 living room floor. Everyone laid there with their eyes wide open. 278 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:47.360 I asked if anyone wanted to talk about what we 279 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:52.159 had just experienced. Nobody said a word. That was fine 280 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:54.399 with me. I didn't want to talk about it anyway. 281 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:59.960 Everyone eventually dozed off. It was the phone that woke 282 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:03.840 the next morning at eight o'clock. It was the park ranger. 283 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:08.039 She seemed concerned. Our camper trailer was left in the 284 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:10.640 middle of the park road and our campsite was in 285 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.720 total disarray. I apologized, and I told her that I'd 286 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.440 be there soon to clean everything up. As I backed 287 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.680 up the truck, to the tent trailer. I saw the 288 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.759 ranger was there waiting, and I told her I'd have 289 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.440 our mess cleaned up within twenty minutes and be gone. 290 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:30.480 She didn't seem too concerned about the mess, but more 291 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:34.759 concerned about why we left so quick. She mentioned that 292 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.559 the other family in the campground had packed up too 293 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:41.799 and left before she arrived at seven thirty am. She 294 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:44.519 said that they were supposed to have stayed another five 295 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:48.079 days and she hadn't been able to contact them by phone. 296 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:50.400 I told her that we had had a couple of 297 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:52.880 bears the night before, and they were not the normal 298 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:57.240 friendly type we usually see while camping here. I pretty 299 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.920 much kept it at that, and our camp site well, 300 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.680 isn't really that bad. One of the older lounge chairs 301 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:06.799 was completely bent, and one of the large air mattresses 302 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:09.200 that I had blown up before dinner had been ripped 303 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:13.599 in half. I was five minutes from being finished with 304 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:18.240 loading up when the ranger's truck pulled up alongside mine. 305 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:22.039 She commented on how quickly I had loaded up. I 306 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:23.880 felt like she was trying to get me to talk 307 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:27.440 about what happened. I continued throwing stuff in the back 308 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:29.400 of the truck, and I started to cover it up 309 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.839 with a tart. I was just about to say goodbye 310 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:35.640 when she asked me where the iron grate insert for 311 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.480 the campfire pit was. Well, I didn't know where it was. 312 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:41.799 It was there last night, I said, when we had 313 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.960 our campfire. Well, it's missing. Now. If you can't find it, 314 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:47.960 we're going to have to bill you for a replacement. 315 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.960 She said, go ahead and bail me. I said, because 316 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.279 I'm not looking for it. And I jumped in the 317 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:57.920 truck and I left. The ranger called the house the 318 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:02.240 next afternoon to let me know that the firepit grate 319 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:05.599 had been found. It was two hundred feet away from 320 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:09.400 our camp site. She made a big deal on how 321 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.079 strange it was for that to have happened, and she 322 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:16.039 asked me what really happened, And I told her those 323 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.720 bears were just a couple of real pranksters, I guess, 324 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:23.359 and I said goodbye and I hung up. After I 325 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.759 hung up, I wondered about the things that had happened 326 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:30.039 that could not be explained. The heaviness of the bipedal steps, 327 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.519 the slap on the middle of the roof that was 328 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.680 eight feet tall, and the turning of the doorknob on 329 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:40.880 the trailer, ignoring the threat of being shot, the sustained guttural, 330 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.720 ear piercing screams and the howls, and the feeling of 331 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:49.279 immense dread and shock I had. Why did that other 332 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:52.960 family leave five days early? Did they have a visit 333 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:57.559 as well? I'm sure they heard the insanely loud screams 334 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.240 maybe most of all, How does a fifty pound, one 335 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.359 inch thick iron grate travel two hundred feet up a hill? 336 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:08.440 I don't think a bear would do that. Well, that's 337 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.319 my story, and it feels good to write this down 338 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.200 and share our story with people who won't judge us 339 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:18.720 as freaks. This event really happened, And even though I've 340 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:22.240 injected a little humor here and there, it was absolutely 341 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:26.720 nothing funny when this happened. Maybe the humor I used 342 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:29.839 is a self protection mechanism that helped me pin this 343 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:35.680 on paper. He says, I'm a truck driver and I've 344 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:38.119 driven all over and I've seen a lot, but there's 345 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.559 one piece of road from Coos, Texas, over to Conrod, 346 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:44.920 Texas that I'll never drive again, not after what I 347 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.720 saw that night. I was driving the highway when something 348 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:51.839 hit the road with a boom. There was a full moon, 349 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.279 so I could see it was there, but it wasn't 350 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:56.920 until I got a ways down the road that my 351 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.920 headlights hit the body of a two hundred pound pig 352 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.759 with its back quarter chewed off. I was just beginning 353 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:06.680 to register what I was looking at when something jumped 354 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.640 up out of the ditch and crossed both lanes in 355 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:12.960 one step. I was pulling a flat bed with a 356 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.720 load of lumber, and I'd just come around the corner, 357 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:19.200 so I was only going five miles per hour. The 358 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:22.599 ditch there was about six feet deep. When it stood 359 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:27.319 up on two legs, I nearly lost control of my bowels. 360 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.519 Even standing down in the ditch, there was at least 361 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:34.440 four or five feet of upper body clearly above the roadway. 362 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:38.319 It was covered in long, shaggy red hair with arms 363 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:42.319 that reached down to its knees. It meandered along like 364 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.359 it didn't even care I was there, swinging its arms 365 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.519 and walking with a weird gait. I will never forget. 366 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.400 The only words I can find to describe it are 367 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:56.279 werewolf on steroids. Not long after that, I moved to 368 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:02.279 Buena Buena, Buna, Buna, Texas. My next door. Neighbor's dad 369 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.000 had passed away and left him his truck. I was 370 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:08.599 parked behind the trailer I was living in, and we 371 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.240 were using it for part storage. One night, I heard 372 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.599 a bunch of rattling out there, and I assumed it 373 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:17.559 was my neighbor digging some parts out until I smelled 374 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:20.680 an odor coming through my window air conditioner that was 375 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:25.519 like a rotten skunk sweat running through a backup sewer. 376 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.559 I know this guy was probably scared, but oh man, 377 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:37.319 the the way you guys described these smells are just awesome. 378 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.319 They're just awesome. Uh. He said. It burned his eyes, 379 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.400 and it burned his nose. It even burned my throat. 380 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.599 It was out there for three or four minutes. The 381 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.319 smell was so bad and so strong that I couldn't 382 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:53.559 even take a breath. Worse yet, I was afraid to 383 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.839 move and attract the attention of whatever was out there. 384 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:59.680 Because the windows in those little house trailers aren't more 385 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:03.200 than a sixteenth of an inch thick. It wouldn't have 386 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:06.480 taken much to peel that window open like a sardine can, 387 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:10.720 and I wasn't about to be a sardine. The next morning, 388 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.039 I went out and walked around the trailer to see 389 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.319 if I could find anything that might tell me what 390 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:22.759 had been there the night I keep thinking about this. Ooh, 391 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:26.920 I'm sorry, y'all. I'm just gonna leave this in because 392 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:31.559 I gotta move on. Okay, where was I? The next morning, 393 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:33.559 I went out and walked around the trailer to see 394 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:36.160 if I could find anything that might tell me what 395 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:39.720 had been out there the night before. Under the kitchen window, 396 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.920 I found a footprint. I've never seen one like it before. 397 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:48.079 It had three toes with long claw indentions in the dirt. 398 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.519 The size of it sent a shiver down my spine. 399 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:54.200 I took a picture of it, but I don't know 400 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:57.400 where it's at. It could be on a computer I 401 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:00.440