Doing Cryptozoology and Becoming a Cartoon Character: "Steve the Bigfoot Doctor" is Released, plus a FEISTY CATS/CATS IN BLACK Interview

"After finding bigfoot, Steve the bigfoot hunter thought
his job was done. But little did he know, his adventure
 had just begun. "

BIGFOOT'S BLOG
Early March 2012 Edition

Beware the paths you take in the woods in pursuit of such things as Bigfoot, as they may lead you to odd places. In my own case it came to happy ends, as I am now a cartoon character serving as the basis of a series of books for children presenting Bigfoot and the study of it in a positive, appreciative light. For some investigators, and Bigfoot witnesses too, it ends in ridicule from the general public for believing such "odd" things. For those who have actually studied the history of the phenomenon, the possibility of an actual creature existing most parsimoniously explains the vast body of sightings reports and other evidence. For some, it is just good, plain fun.

Last year Natasha and David Breen, artists and authors behind the FEISTY CATS and CATS IN BLACK series of books for young people, and residents of Humboldt County, Bigfoot Country, produced a first book in the Bigfoot series: "Steve the Bigfoot Hunter." Now they are out with a new one, "Steve the Bigfoot Doctor." Both of these books are in rhyming verse and tell optimistic and cheerful tales that might just inspire the next generation of cryptozoologists. They are cute and funny, and to myself (especially as I am in them, along with my favorite hairy hominoid) rather endearing.

The authors have produced a lot of other books. The FEISTY CATS is a kind of super-hero comic series for young teens featuring cat-people dealing with the complex moral, social and psychological issues of growing up and trying to do good in the world. The CATS IN BLACK (a pun on "Men in Black") series deals with more complex geo-political issues often involving conspiracy theories and "forbidden knowledge." In fact, the authors have seen their books featured on the web sites of both Alex Jones and David Icke. They have produced a set of books similar to the Bigfoot ones that feature a young David Icke, the notable British theorist responsible for the "Reptoid" theory, as a character.

See below for an interview Bigfoot's bLog did with the authors, as well as to find links for viewing their web pages and books, and to make purchases if you'd like.

Also, see below for what happened to some friends of ours when they mysteriously found themselves the stars of a very popular TV show, FINDING BIGFOOT. Yes, they were made into cartoon characters, too, even super-heroes. It is weird to see your friends on TV, but it is even stranger to see Matt lose his belly for a set of six-pack abs.

ORDER THE BIGFOOT BOOKS VIA AMAZON:
STEVE THE BIGFOOT HUNTER
STEVE THE BIGFOOT DOCTOR

Coming soon... STEVE THE BIGFOOT RANGER!

OK, I'll admit it, it's weird being a cartoon character, but also kind of cool. At least they didn't make me go Bigfoot researching with Justin Bieber, which was one of their earlier story ideas (see the animation below).

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FEISTY CATS IN BLACK INTERVIEW, 11-5-11

BIGFOOT BOOKS: What is Feisty Cats and Cats in Black, and how did this series get started? Is it a superhero comic, a graphic novel, a kids' series? And what is its purpose?

Tahsa: I've been drawing cartoon cats I called the "Feisty Cats" since I was eight years old. Just two years ago my brother David took interest in my characters and their concepts and helped me put a story line behind them which started the children's storybooks.

David: Natasha works at a preschool, and the children she shared the Feisty Cats with, seemed to really like the Cats In Black characters the most.  And this got us to thinking that we should just focus on something that is already familiar.

Tahsa: The Cats In Black is now our main focus because people know who they are, but they are still different enough to make them our own thing. That is one of the reasons we made them cats. We thought Cats In Black would be a better means of telling conspiracy theory related stories in the background setting of a comic strip.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: OK, for those who do not know about it, what is Cats in Black? Why are the characters portrayed as cats, and how does this reflect on ordinary human society? Are they a form of superhero, or are they meant to show the true potential of all kids and people to do great things?

David: The Cats In Black plays off the "Shadow Government" conspiracy concept. We wanted to use characters that were already familiar to the public, but something also shrouded in mystery in order to give us the flexibility to make it our own and use it as a backdrop to play around with well known, relevant issues. You could think of the Cats In Black being the fictional characters who are responsible for all conspiracy theories . Our goal was to touch on popular conspiracy theories, while still remaining light humored and appropriate for all ages. Another reason we made them cats, was to appeal to kids.

Tasha: The Feisty Cats was about superhero cats, and the Cats In Black were their body guards. The Cats In Black didn't have powers, they were like the Lex Luther of Feisty Cats. They have none of the powers but technique and other means at their disposal.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Books for kids (though I'm sure grown-ups will enjoy these, too) usually have a MESSAGE, a moral of the story, or an inspiration to help kids in growing up and developing their personalities. How do you think your books function in this regard, and how did they grow out of your own childhood experiences?

Tasha: Books for self empowerment and critical thinking are the primary concepts we are trying to get through to kids. Our books are just topics that we are interested in. They don't have anything to do with our childhood experiences.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: How did the Feisty Cats originally evolve in your own life, Tasha? What did you see in them, and how is it that they have persisted until now that you, as an adult, are sharing them with the kids of the world?

Tahsa: First I drew them out of my imagination and as I got older I started drawing characters I saw in people. Most of my Feisty Cats are inspired by people I admired and people who I thought would look cool as cat people. It's just persisted because that's what I love to do. I would stay in my room and draw cats all day, and eventually my brother noticed maybe there was something more useful we could do with my characters. And now it's really exciting that we have our books being sold online in Europe.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: And David, what is your background, and how did you get involved in these stories and books?

David: I liked to draw a lot when I was a kid. But as I got older, I lost interest in my art and spent most of my time playing video games. I even went to college hoping to become a computer programmer, but I'm glad that didn't work out. It wasn't until I discovered Macromedia Flash and started playing around with the concept of vector graphics, that I started drawing again. I had several years practice, designing logos and doing freelance art. When I started to become more interested in the Feisty Cats, I wanted to contribute with my computer art abilities, and we are where we are today because we both share the same passion for these characters and their stories.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: You had another popular project, David, with large online following. Do you wish to mention that here?

David: When I started drawing on the computer using Flash, one of my first projects was a comic strip about movies. It took off there for a while, but movies was never my passion. I ended the comic strip after a good 2 year run.  I'm much more excited about working with Natasha on Cats In Black, because this series will have a following of cool, open-minded people we can look forward to connecting with

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Can we say “Movie Comics”? OK, to me, from what I’ve seen, the Cats books are basically Super Hero tales. How do you think the superhero model works for kids who have to live in the “Real World”? Also, how do your stories move from situations featuring kids in the struggles and issues of growing up to the topics of conspiracy theories and such things as Bigfoot? Are you, in the manner of much Science Fiction, addressing the Future, and the Unknown, and “Possible Things”?

David: Yes, Movie Comics. A comic I illustrated and co-wrote with Salvador Garcia, an old friend who moved to Peru. For Cats In Black, we've abandoned the superhero model.   Although it was a popular concept when we were kids - today I believe it's becoming a bit redundant.   We wanted to do something more innovative - because having powers makes things too easy and unrelatable.  The conspiracy theory crowd and new age ideas are becoming more and more popular, and we believe Cats In Black would be perfect for this emerging market. We are using conspiracy theories as the background model we work with when trying to convey our messages of self empowerment, thinking for yourself, and the power of positive thinking.

Tasha: Our stories are based on conspiracy theories, so by their definition they are not fiction or nonfiction.   It's up to the reader if they believe in conspiracies or not.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Yes, indeed. Superheroes imply some kind of supernatural power or gift, whereas the average person has only their wits and imagination to get by with. Does battling against these dark, conspiratorial forces symbolize freeing the mind? Does it imply some kind of revolution that may restore humanity to greater dignity and strength, even though these characters are cats? What is it that these conspiracy theories represent for you? Aren't they kind of like the old good guy-bad guy scenarios of comics of the past, battles between good and evil clearly demarcated?

David: The humor of our series is that it's from the perspective of the so-called conspirators. I don't see it as so much of a good versus evil situation. The Cats In Black are depicted as neutral characters by their nature who see their actions as simply doing their jobs.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Well, normally the Conspirators are seen as the Bad Guys… "THEM." Is this a counter-conspiracy, then? Recently, you have had a major breakthrough with the books, and that is the involvement of a certain individual (I don’t mean myself) who is now being featured in several of your latest titles. Can you talk about that, and how his theories of Conspiracy and Reality relate to your own books and creations?

David: But yes, the concept of a conspiracy for us is when information is maliciously kept from the public.  David Icke is the perfect leading character in our series, because we feel he best represents this up and coming movement of free thinkers.

Yes, the Cats In Black are seen as the bad guys, and David Icke's character is the good guy who represents the mind set and value system of this unique and exciting modern day truth movement in which he is the top figure head and most successful outspoken personality. It's a huge opportunity and privilege to be working with David Icke and his crew on the Cats In Black storybook & comic strip series. We have 3 books available right now in David Icke's online bookstore under Children's Books, (Including Steve the Bigfoot Hunter) and you can visit the Cats In Black website to see the weekly conspiracy comic strip. (www.catsinblack.com)

Tasha: Our rhyming picture books take David Icke's idea's of self awareness and staying positive amongst the chaos, and simplifies them into stories that is easier for kids to understand.  We also feel the Cats In Black would appeal to adults who are not normally curious about these topics.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: So, you are actually working with Mr. Icke’s approval and perhaps aid in the creative process? For our readers here, how do your books incorporate some of the aspects of Icke’s thinking, such as Reptilians, Multi-Dimensionality, Mind Control by the Illuminati, etc.?

David: With this series, we plan to cover all of David Icke's topics of interest. We are directly working with his bookstore staff. They approved our earlier concepts and now we've been given the green light, creatively speaking.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: That is very cool for you guys! Congrats! Isn't some of that stuff a bit scary for kids, though? Or, might it not scare some of the parents away, as well? Much of it is considered kind of "out there" thinking, you know....

David: That's the fine line we have to walk. To make it appealing to adults, but still appropriate for children, and I feel we're doing that really well. Out there kind of thinking is perfect for children's books. Big red dogs seems kind of out there too! Oh, and thank you. It's very exciting.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Right! Kids are the most “out there” of all humans, usually!

So, aside from meeting me, how did you get involved with BIGFOOT, and how does this down-to-earth hairy guy relate to the cosmic themes of the Cats in Black and Feisty Cats? What does Bigfoot mean to you? How does the cryptozoological quest of your character, Steve, relate to the themes of self-empowerment and free-thinking that you advocate in your other books?

David: Bigfoot for us is just another phenomenon within the series. Like UFOs, abductions and anything else that has eye witnesses. Bigfoot falls into that special category of things that most people have to see to believe. The character Steve, in Steve in Bigfoot Hunter represents a community of people who are passionately aware of a cultural phenomenon that the public at large assumes and interprets as a concept of fiction.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: But, perhaps, the crucial question might be: IS IT REAL? Or, does it matter? What is "real" in the Cats series, and what are its goals in dealing with these stranger aspects of reality? I mean, beyond simple entertainment, what is at the other end of the exploratory process, whether it be exploring the "Crypto" or the "Conspiro" aspects of this world?

David: Part of the humor and spin on the Cats In Black concept is that every conspiracy is real and they are the perpetrators. The goal of our series is to simply highlight these conspiracy topics in a humorous cartoon - an angle that is more attractive to your average person. We want to make information entertaining, and don't want to come off as preachy.

Tasha: We are not saying every conspiracy is real, but that is what will make Cats In Black so interesting and entertaining.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: Fascinating. A generation growing up with these books are quite likely to have a very open mind to the possibilities and hidden realities in this hyper-complex and ever-changing world.
Do you guys have any other things to say about the series, or about life and “Reality” in general? Where are you heading in the future with your works?
Also, where might readers find copies aside from your own web site and David Icke’s? Links would help.

David: An animated television series is something down the road that we've always considered, but this book series is our main focus at this time, and we feel it's the best medium in which to present our material and tell our stories.

So if any your readers are intrigued by the concept we've outlined in this interview and want to help support David Icke and the Cats In Black, right now you can purchase our books directly from David Icke's bookstore.  They have 60 copies of our books available right now - and more will be available as soon as we setup a drop-ship method with David Icke's bookstore.
Also check out the Cats In Black website each week for a new conspiracy comic.

It's been a fun interview. Thanks Steve!

Tahsa: I can't wait for the Cats In Black movie.  :)

BIGFOOT BOOKS: OK, thanks to both of you! I look forward to seeing where this fascinating series will travel both here on earth and out there in the Cosmos. Best to both of you!

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Here is a funny animation the authors did with myself, Bigfoot and Justin Bieber of all people:

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Cats-In-Black-And-the-Power-of-the-Microchip may also be found on the ALEX JONES BOOK PAGE, too.


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Also...
made into cartoon characters, our friends from FINDING BIGFOOT became super heroes through the pen of artist, Rictor Riolo. Check out his hilarious cryptozoological art through the link below.

View full-sized versions of these images through his DEVIANT ART GALLERY.

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!

Me kind of angry too. Me get made into cartoon and look, me all snaggle tooth growl and mad eyebrow. That how me really look? Plus me have talk bad this like but that not how me really talk. You know they say Bigfoot talk English, Spanish, Russian, Me a linguist, me even talk in your mind use MindSpeak if you let me.

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This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2012, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings for non-commercial purposes will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if citation and a kindly web-link are  given, preferably after contacting us and saying, Hello, like a normal person would before taking a cup of salt. No serious rip-offs of our material for vulgar commercial gain will be tolerated without major BF stomping action coming down on you, hu-man.

"FINDING BIGFOOT" All Over the Place in Willow Creek, Lunch with BOB GIMLIN and AL HODGSON, The Filming of "Birth of a Legend." THE UNEXPURGATED VERSION

Rogues Gallery at the Museum: James Fay, Bob Gimlin, Al Hodgson,
Tom  Yamarone, Cliff Barackman and Steven Streufert.
Photo snapped by a crew member whose name we didn't catch.

  BIGFOOT'S BLOG
  Mid-Late August 2011 Edition,
  Updated for Late October...
  and RESTORED


NOTE: This is an older blog entry that we decided to expurgate so as not to get my friend, Bobo, into any trouble with his Animal Planet employers. The producers felt that this blog had revealed too much about what went on during the production of the show, and was giving away its secrets. I took those parts out of it, not so much for fear of a massive lawsuit from the Network, but really just for our friends on the show. NOW we may speak. I've got a ton of other stuff from the nearly two weeks the FINDING BIGFOOT crew spent up here in the Willow Creek area, and you'll see much of that here on this blog. For now, suffice to say it was a wild time, indeed. Bob Gimlin's return to the film site was a highlight, and helped us in the Bluff Creek Film Site Project focus in on the area we've been seeing as the most promising. Let me just say it now: BOB WAS RIGHT.

It is very weird to see one's friends on TV. It is even weirder seeing oneself on there! More on that coming up soon. The new season's episode aired last night on Animal Planet, and so far has gotten really good reviews. Kudos, guys, and gal! Personally, I saw it right after I rolled in to Hoopa, at the local casino, after a busy afternoon at the Bluff Creek Film site with Ranger Robert Leiterman. I could barely hear the episode due to the jingle-jangling of slot machines, but it was fun nonetheless to see it with the real Locals.

And, by the way, we have REDISCOVERED the PATTERSON-GIMLIN FILM SITE, or so it seems, and we have documented it. Yes, that means we have found the big trees and the stumps, and will almost certainly be able to re-trace the creature's track-way as in the film. That news is going to be coming out slowly here on this blog. I've also been posting on the MUNNS REPORT thread on the BIGFOOT FORUMS. It looks absolutely certain, to me anyway, that we have indeed found the site. So, stay tuned for yet more BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE PROJECT. (See under "Favorites" through this link.) It should be said here and now that the film crew were on the right spot, as identified by Bob Gimlin, but the recreation shown in the show was done down on the gravel bar edge of the creek for better filming. The ACTUAL film site is back on the elevated sand bar BEHIND where you see Bobo walking. That is not the true track-way of the creature seen in the PGF.

 For now, read on with this little blast from the past....

*******

This sleepy little hamlet of Willow Creek often bustles with Squatching enthusiasts, but the last month or so has been simply ridiculous. What Mecca is to Islam, what Jerusalem is to those other religions, this place seems to be for Bigfooters. On top of the usual parade of Bigfoot-interested tourists, the BFRO came to town to hold an expedition up in Bluff Creek, and then another down in the coast redwoods area. After that the four stars of Animal Planet's FINDING BIGFOOT came knocking on our door, trailing behind them a vast retinue of camera people, boom mikes, lighting arrays, producers, location scouts, managers and a large U-Haul trailer. The Bigfoot Motel read "No Vacancy" for nearly two weeks, and the townsfolk woke up again to the fact that they are, indeed, living in the "Gateway to Bigfoot Country," whether or not they even care for a moment about the hirsute legend.

Bob and me at the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum.

BREAKING NEWS!: 

BOB GIMLIN RE-CONFIRMS PGF SITE LOCATION.

Indeed. But we'll blog about that next time, okay? The location has been under the consideration of the Bluff Creek Film Site Project for some time, and will  be thoroughly documented and filmed by us in mid-October.

Yes, indeed, we did have lunch with BOB GIMLIN and AL HODGSON. With only Tom Yamarone and Paul Graves along, we somehow managed to escape from the TV production circus to have a genial conversation at Gonzalez Mexican Restaurant. Questions were asked of Bob, but we did try to honor Bobo's request to "not go getting all Danny Perez on Bob, now!"

Real Bigfoot old-timers, still sharp: Bob Gimlin and Willow Creek's
Al Hodgson. Out in front of the Museum.

For those few of you who do not know, FINDING BIGFOOT is a new television show on Animal Planet, featuring BFRO director, Matt Moneymaker, Cliff Barackman, James Bobo Fay and a woman known as Ranae (why doesn't their website tell us her last name?). Okay, her last name is Holland (but why did we have to look it up?) "MEET THE TEAM": http://www.cliffbarackman.com/finding-bigfoot-meet-the-team.php

It's weird to see your friends on TV.

We were somewhat involved in helping out the producers in coming to Willow Creek and finding the Bluff Creek PGF site, and we were allowed to hang out at a bunch of their filming spots, so this blog is going to try to respect their wishes not to reveal things that would act as "spoilers" for the show. We'll try to skirt around that by showing a few things that happened off camera, such as the above. Since we are friends with Bobo and Cliff, and Matt to some extent, such hanging out also involved a certain amount of after-hours beer drinking. Best not to talk too much about that, either, we guess.

It all started in late July when the BFRO invited us (me, that is) to give a talk at their expedition up in Bluff Creek. That public speaking prospect was unnerving, but we've been told it was pretty good. The topic was The History of Bigfoot in Bluff Creek. We met some very cool folks there, including a family from Utah and a fellow all the way from England.

Fish Lake, just up off Bluff Creek, base of the BFRO expedition.
It is known for its civilized campground, as well as a whole heck of a
lot of Bigfoot activity around the area.

The expedition base was at Fish Lake, but branched out all across the Bluff Creek basin, with some interesting results (details private to the BFRO, save if you can find the report on their page, www.bfro.net). We noticed that these folks hardly ever sleep. They're up into the wee hours of the morning sitting around in the dark woods with night vision and thermal imagers, and the seem to arise at the crack of dawn.
After a night of very little sleep indeed, we and fellow Bluff Creek Film Site Project member, Robert Leiterman, led a big group of expeditioneers up the creek from the Bluff Creek bridge some three miles to the Patterson-Gimlin film site area. During all of this we met Animal Planet producer Jen, and location scout Rowdy (last names withheld here). From there the Bigfoot thing snowballed to take over nearly the entire next month.

READ THE REST OF THE EXPEDITION REPORT... HERE.
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And then, shortly afterwards, Finding Bigfoot came to town....

Though we're not going to give it all away, here are a few pictures around about before and after the filming scenarios.

Before a visit to Bigfoot Books some interviews were done at the Early
Bird ("Bigfoot Burger") Restaurant. Here Al Hodgson, Willow Creek elder
of Bigfooting hangs out, Matt and Bobo get prepped by head honcho.

Before the familial Bigfoot 'n' Donuts mural, Bobo devours his
Bigfoot Burger, Ranae gets in the groove. After this the crew came over to see
us at the shop, and we had to pretend we were meeting them for the first time.

On the second day they were in town a full house assembled at the Willow Creek Veterans' of Foreign Wars Hall to tell their stories of Bigfoot encounters. Word of mouth around town was enough to gather the crowd, and surely many more would have flooded the place had the event been formally advertised. A few historical notables showed up, as well as some noted Bigfoot Researcher types. We were happy to encounter Tom from Jefferson State Bigfoot Research, veteran but now-retired BFer Rip Lyttle, and some others.

Sign announcing the Town Hall Meeting, outside Veterans' Park.

VFW Hall, Al Hodgson meets for the first time in ages with
 Jon and Wade, sons of Jerry Crew. Local, Ranger Jim, also converses.
Al knew Jerry quite well back in the day. It was Crew who made the
1958 track casts up in Bluff Creek that made Bigfoot a front-page name.

In this photo before the meeting began one may see Al Hogson and some
other locals including Ranger Jim and  Denali, who was quite excited
to hang out with the TV people and her friend, Mr. Bobo himself.

The meeting getting going inside the Willow Creek VFW (Vets') Hall. Cut!

Bobo's dog Mountain Monkey was a prominent figure playing with her ball
at the feet of the stars of the show all during the filming of the meeting.

Bigfoot bros... Bobo Fay, Matt Moneymaker, and researcher Rip Lyttle.
At the FINDING BIGFOOT town hall meeting in Willow Creek August 10th.

After the meeting it was a great honor to finally meet the sons of Jerry Crew.
Here Wade and Jon are showing a display they made with an article about
their father and the ORIGINAL, slightly fragmented 1958 Bigfoot track cast.

Tom Yams poses with the Crew Bros. and Jerry Crew's track cast. History!

"The Foot Fetish is strong in this one..."

Thomas Graham of Jefferson State Sasquatch Research, with Folksinger
and researcher Tom Yamarone, whose song about Jerry Crew helped
facilitate the sons getting back into the Bigfoot world.
Photo provided by Tom Yamarone.

Afterwards it was beer with Bobo at the Forks Lounge.
Bobo actually defeated an arm-wrestling champ here that night.

And here is a clincher, perhaps of of the true Holy Grail items to emerge from the historic return of the Crew brothers to the world of Bigfooting. While the brothers were getting their photos taken with some fans, the wife of one of the brothers showed us the binder of materials they had brought with them to the event. Inside was an old brown paper note which I noticed was signed "Bob" and addressed to "Jerry."

Bob Titmus' map and note to Jerry Crew, detail.

It turns out that this was the ORIGINAL grocery sack note that Bob Titmus had slipped onto the window of Jerry Crew's tractor up in Bluff Creek sometime in late September or even early October, 1958.  The note tells Jerry that Bob is leaving some plaster in the cab, and tells Jerry to make casts of the best footprints. On the other side of the opened grocery sack paper Bob Titmus drew a MAP of the Bluff Creek area, leading along the new road construction, up towards the area surrounding Notice Creek. Get this: THE MAP SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE FOOTPRINT FINDS! Along the road and creek, beside such notable items as "Dump Truck" and "Logging" sites, one sees little hash marks where Titmus found additional tracks that Jerry Crew had apparently not known about. This historical relic shows the incredible and fundamental importance of BOB TITMUS to the history not only of Bigfoot in Bluff Creek, but of the entire field of Bigfooting. For now we'll publish two photos we took of the original in its binder. Next time we will publish the four-page photocopy of the Titmus-Crew map and note, once we get around to scanning it.

Bob Titmus' note to Jerry Crew. Click to Enlarge and Read.

Disclaimer: Though this blogger is affiliated in a friendly, non-formal way with the BFRO, and we are indeed friendly with a number of members of that organization, we'd like to say that we have never actually signed the NDA, and are in no way obliged or beholden to follow any rules or censorship from that organization. Neither are we "an informant" for the BFRO. That having been said, we spent a good bit of time hanging out with Mr. Matt Moneymaker, head of the group and quite a controversial figure, and we found NOT ONE moment of displeasure in doing so. The conversation was good, and fair, and nearly entirely free of judgment of other researchers. We understand that there are a lot of you out there who have reason to feel otherwise, but it has been our own experience over the last few years that Matt is really a cool dude. Strange, you might say, but true.... Go figure. Maybe it is because this blog has nothing to prove to ANYONE.

A slightly melodramatic promo pic from Animal Planet. Enough techie gear to
scare off the biggest squatch. Bobo, what is there in that "Evidence" bag?

We were interviewed for a story by the Hoopa Valley tribal newspaper on the topic of the TV show coming to our area. If you go to the bottom of the online article you can even read the reporter's sketch notes from the talk, for some reason also published. Read it here: Shooting Bigfoot with Film not Bullets.
For the rest of the story, tune in to Animal Planet in October. We've heard the special two-part episode on the Klamath-Trinity area is supposed to air on Halloween. After that we will surely have yet another blog entry to write.
Hanging out with the rest of the gang, especially our friends Cliff, Tom Yams, Paul Graves, Craig Flipy and Rowdy from the production crew was also quite fun. It involved a lot of great Bigfoot discussion, endless planning sessions for the filming (which we were not really part of, by choice), and lots of sitting around while the filming sessions were going on. Much of the time Cliff and Craig were out in the field doing "real" squatching activities. A rather extensive day was spent with Bob Gimlin at the WILLOW CREEK-CHINA FLAT MUSEUM. Here are a few more photos from there. We'll leave the rest for later.

Ever quizzical and inquiring, Cliff Barackman considers the Evidence.
Willow Creek Museum Gift Shop.

Next blog entry we will have some more detailed TALES OF BOB GIMLIN'S VISIT, and we'll tell what we can of his return to the BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE. Sorry to leave you all hanging a bit, but there's only so much we can put into one blog entry, and there is only so much we can tell you out of respect for our friends involved with the FINDING BIGFOOT TV show. You'll see it all soon enough; and after we'll tell you about all the stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor.

At the start of a filming day, here are Bob Gimlin and Tom Yamarone entering
the Museum. Tom drove all the way to Yakima and back to bring Bob here!

Until then, see ya....

Bobo, Bigger than Bigfoot.

Go to the web page for the show for updates, here:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/finding-bigfoot/

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS! 

Me HATE the hate. Me "Angry," that true. But Bigfoot not like be cause of all hu-man hate each other. You KNOW me? No. You know ABOUT me? Not. Me still laugh at hu-man in woods with silly headlamp and goggle on face. But me not hate them. They like TV to me. But when me see them use me to hate other, then me say, phooey. Me not EVER let you see me. Me not EVER let you even come close. Me go far away so you not EVER even hear me laugh, and me laugh harder and harder every day, hu-man.

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This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2010, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings for non-commercial purposes will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if notification, credit, citation and a kindly web-link are given, preferably after contacting us and saying, Hello, like a normal person would before taking a cup of salt. No serious rip-offs of our material for vulgar commercial gain will be tolerated without major BF stomping action coming down on you, hu-man.

Not Exactly "FINDING BIGFOOT" in Willow Creek, *EDITORIAL EXCISION*, BFRO Expedition in Bluff Creek *EDITORIAL EXCISION*: Sasquatch Invades Our Life in General

Bluff Creek Road Sign, on Forest Road 12N13, heading toward PGF Site.
All non-promotional photos in this blog entry by Steven Streufert,
and yes, they are hereby Copyrighted.

BIGFOOT'S BLOG
Mid-Late August 2011 Edition


NOTE: THIS BLOG ENTRY HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY PARTIALLY CENSORED AS SOME OF THE THINGS IN IT APPARENTLY REVEALED TOO MUCH ABOUT THE RECENT FINDING BIGFOOT FILMING IN WILLOW CREEK. WE ARE JUST GOING TO CUT THOSE PARTS OUT FOR NOW. SORRY. WE WILL REPOST THE ENTRY IN ENTIRETY WHEN WE FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT WE DID THAT WE APPARENTLY SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE.

The rest of this blog entry will be left just as it was. Hopefully the producers of the show will see from what remains that we WERE NOT trying to "scoop" their episode, but rather to PROMOTE it, as many other journalistic outlets have done with prior episodes. We sought, also, to defend our friends involved in the show from attacks upon it from within the Bigfooting Community.

Sorry if it now seems disjoint. None of this will be an issue once the episode is aired in October.

"EDITORIAL EXCISION" here means something was cut out entirely. The rest remains just as it was. You can still read about the BFRO Bluff Creek Expedition... or will we have to edit that out too? I dunno.

This sleepy little hamlet of Willow Creek often bustles with Squatching enthusiasts, but the last month or so has been simply ridiculous. What Mecca is to Islam, what Jerusalem is to those other religions, this place seems to be for Bigfooters. On top of the usual parade of Bigfoot-interested tourists, the BFRO came to town to hold an expedition up in Bluff Creek, and then another down in the coast redwoods area. After that the four stars of Animal Planet's FINDING BIGFOOT came knocking on our door, trailing behind them a vast retinue of camera people, boom mikes, lighting arrays, producers, location scouts, managers and a large U-Haul trailer. The Bigfoot Motel read "No Vacancy" for nearly two weeks, and the townsfolk woke up again to the fact that they are, indeed, living in the "Gateway to Bigfoot Country," whether or not they even care for a moment about the hirsute legend.

*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

For those few of you who do not know, FINDING BIGFOOT is a new television show on Animal Planet, featuring BFRO director, Matt Moneymaker, Cliff Barackman, James Bobo Fay and a woman known as Ranae (why doesn't their website tell us her last name?). Okay, her last name is Holland (but why did we have to look it up?) "MEET THE TEAM": http://www.cliffbarackman.com/finding-bigfoot-meet-the-team.php

It's weird to see your friends on TV.

We were somewhat involved in helping out the producers in coming to Willow Creek and finding the Bluff Creek PGF site, and we were allowed to hang out at a bunch of their filming spots, so this blog is going to try to respect their wishes not to reveal things that would act as "spoilers" for the show. We'll try to skirt around that by showing a few things that happened off camera, such as the above. Since we are friends with Bobo and Cliff, and Matt to some extent, such hanging out also involved a certain amount of after-hours... *EDITORIAL EXCISION*


It all started in late July when the BFRO invited us (me, that is) to give a talk at their expedition up in Bluff Creek. That public speaking prospect was unnerving, but we've been told it was pretty good. The topic was The History of Bigfoot in Bluff Creek. We met some very cool folks there, including a family from Utah and a fellow all the way from England.

Fish Lake, just up off Bluff Creek, base of the BFRO expedition.
It is known for its civilized campground, as well as a whole heck of a
lot of Bigfoot activity around the area.

The expedition base was at Fish Lake, but branched out all across the Bluff Creek basin, with some interesting results (details private to the BFRO, save if you can find the report on their page, www.bfro.net). We noticed that these folks hardly ever sleep. They're up into the wee hours of the morning sitting around in the dark woods with night vision and thermal imagers, and the seem to arise at the crack of dawn.

A rustic high-tech presentation on animal sounds found in the woods.
This included some very interesting barred owl calls, which are all too
often mistaken for Bigfoot vocalizations. They can sound like apes.

Like the Illuminati and the Bilderberg Group, the BFRO has sinister, secret
meetings, where vast conspiracies are hatched. Here ranger Robert
Leiterman films a talk, proving a great governnent cover-up.

After a night of very little sleep indeed, we and fellow Bluff Creek Film Site Project member, Robert Leiterman, led a big group of expeditioneers up the creek from the Bluff Creek bridge some three miles to the Patterson-Gimlin film site area. During all of this we met Animal Planet producer Jen, and location scout Rowdy (last names withheld here). From there the Bigfoot thing snowballed to take over nearly the entire next month.

Leiterman casts on display at Fish Lake Campground.

Here are some more images from our experiences on that BFRO expedition, presented without revealing "trade secrets." Read on below for more on Finding Bigfoot!

On the road to Onion Mountain and some night squatching.

The famous Louse Camp on Bluff Creek, before the BFRO.

Louse Camp, after the BFRO invasion.

Hiking up Bluff Creek to the PGF Site, with BFRO expedition.

PGF Big Tree??? This is one of the prospects.
Lower PGF site sandbar.

The area on Bluff Creek where Rene Dahinden put his mark for the
PGF site on Daniel Perez' map. Just upstream.

The area of the "X" as above, seen from just downstream.

Big old growth Douglas fir, with vine maples, upper PGF site area sandbar.

Could this one be one of the big trees?
We will find out in October

"Root balls as big as a room." Remains of the 1965-66 salvage
logging, downstream at the "Big  bend in the creek."

And then, shortly afterwards, Finding Bigfoot came to town....

Though we're not going to give it all away, here are a few pictures around about before and after the filming scenarios.
*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

On the second day they were in town a full house assembled at the Willow Creek Veterans' of Foreign Wars Hall to tell their stories of Bigfoot encounters. Word of mouth around town was enough to gather the crowd, and surely many more would have flooded the place had the event been formally advertised. A few historical notables showed up, as well as some noted Bigfoot Researcher types. We were happy to encounter Tom from Jefferson State Bigfoot Research, veteran but now-retired BFer Rip Lyttle, and some others.

Sign announcing the Town Hall Meeting, outside Veterans' Park.

*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

Bobo's dog Mountain Monkey was a prominent figure playing with her ball
at the feet of the stars of the show all during the filming of the meeting.

Bigfoot bros... Bobo Fay, Matt Moneymaker, and researcher Rip Lyttle.
At the FINDING BIGFOOT town hall meeting in Willow Creek August 10th.

*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

Thomas Graham of Jefferson State Sasquatch Research, with Folksinger
and researcher Tom Yamarone, whose song about Jerry Crew helped
facilitate the sons getting back into the Bigfoot world.
Photo provided by Tom Yamarone.

Afterwards it was beer with Bobo at the Forks Lounge.
Bobo actually defeated an arm-wrestling champ here that night.

And here is a clincher, perhaps of of the true Holy Grail items to emerge from the historic return of the *EDITORIAL EXCISION* to the world of Bigfooting.... *EDITORIAL EXCISION*
(SORRY!)

*******

Disclaimer: Though this blogger is affiliated in a friendly, non-formal way with the BFRO, and we are indeed friendly with a number of members of that organization, we'd like to say that we have never actually signed the NDA, and are in no way obliged or beholden to follow any rules or censorship from that organization. Neither are we "an informant" for the BFRO. That having been said, we spent a good bit of time hanging out with Mr. Matt Moneymaker, head of the group and quite a controversial figure, and we found NOT ONE moment of displeasure in doing so. The conversation was good, and fair, and nearly entirely free of judgment of other researchers. We understand that there are a lot of you out there who have reason to feel otherwise, but it has been our own experience over the last few years that Matt is really a cool dude. Strange, you might say, but true.... Go figure. Maybe it is because this blog has nothing to prove to ANYONE.

A slightly melodramatic promo pic from Animal Planet. Enough techie gear
to scare off the biggest squatch. Bobo, what is there in that "Evidence" bag?

We were interviewed for a story by the Hoopa Valley tribal newspaper on the topic of the TV show coming to our area. If you go to the bottom of the online article you can even read the reporter's sketch notes from the talk, for some reason also published. Read it here: Shooting Bigfoot with Film not Bullets.

For the rest of the story, tune in to Animal Planet in October. We've heard the special two-part episode on the Klamath-Trinity area is supposed to air on Halloween. After that we will surely have yet another blog entry to write.

*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

Hanging out with the rest of the gang, especially our friends Cliff, Tom Yams, Paul Graves, Craig Flipy and Rowdy from the production crew was also quite fun. It involved a lot of great Bigfoot discussion, endless planning sessions for the filming (which we were not really part of), and lots of sitting around while the filming sessions were going on. 

*EDITORIAL EXCISION*

Ever quizzical and inquiring, Cliff Barackman considers the Evidence.
Willow Creek Museum Gift Shop.

Next blog entry we will have some more detailed *EDITORIAL EXCISION* 

Sorry to leave you all hanging a bit, but there's only so much we can put into one blog entry, and there is only so much we can tell you out of respect for our friends involved with the FINDING BIGFOOT TV show. You'll see it all soon enough; and after we'll tell you about all the stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor.

Until then, see ya....

Bobo, Bigger than Bigfoot.

Go to the web page for the show for updates, here:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/finding-bigfoot/

****************************************************

ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS! 

Me HATE the hate. Me "Angry," that true. But Bigfoot not like be cause of all hu-man hate each other. You KNOW me? No. You know ABOUT me? Not. Me still laugh at hu-man in woods with silly headlamp and goggle on face. But me not hate them. They like TV to me. But when me see them use me to hate other, then me say, phooey. Me not EVER let you see me. Me not EVER let you even come close. Me go far away so you not EVER even hear me laugh, and me laugh harder and harder every day, hu-man.

****************************************************

This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2010, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings for non-commercial purposes will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if notification, credit, citation and a kindly web-link are given, preferably after contacting us and saying, Hello, like a normal person would before taking a cup of salt. No serious rip-offs of our material for vulgar commercial gain will be tolerated without major BF stomping action coming down on you, hu-man.