BIGFOOT MISCELLANY 4: Meeting Jay Rowland, Bluff Creek Contractor; 2010 Bigfoot Days, Odds and Ends; A Bold Statement out of Oregon

MEETING MR. ROWLAND, LONGTIME BLUFF CREEK WORKER. 

INTERVIEW PLANNED.

On a tip from Al Hodgson, we spoke briefly a few days ago with local old-timer, Mr. Jay Rowland, as he was clearing blackberry brush on our off the beaten track dirt country road. It's funny that all of this information was living right next door, basically, to our cabin all of this time. We've said it so many times before: do your Bigfoot hunting where you live! Or move to where you can Squatch.

(If you haven't yet read our transcribed two and a quarter hour long, three part INTERVIEW WITH AL HODGSON, Bigfooting elderstatesman, click this link to begin with Part One.)

As you might recall from our interview with Al, he is the one who revealed to us that the elderly couple living just diagonally down the hill from our own hilltop cabin home was a man who was THERE in Bluff Creek back during the vital, early days of Bigfoot reports in the area. He confirmed to us that he worked up there with the Wallace brothers, Ray and Shorty, in the late fifties. He actually lived part-time (weekly and seasonally) on the site in a trailer, essentially at Louse Camp, from the early sixties to the early seventies. According to him there was NO WAY those guys faked all of the tracks found up there. He agreed that the Wallace brothers were not even necessarily at the site during the times the most famous footprints were found, in 1958 and 1967, and many more tracks were found that have not been publicized.

He has agreed to do an interview with us sometime soon, on the record, regarding Bigfoot and the history of Bluff Creek, about which he knows apparently a LOT. He also confirmed to me that he KNOWS that Wallace didn't make those tracks, as he has seen them after Wallace died (he might have been talking about "Shorty" Wilbur Wallace there, not Ray Wallace).

Image: The man himself, at the bottom of Panther Road in Willow Creek, 2010. Photo, Steven Streufert. All images CLICK TO ENLARGE. Also, historical photos of tracks in the ground and castings that look suspiciously like Ray Wallace's footprint stomper, middle. Also included, one of Ray Wallace's faked Bigfoot photos, this one of his wife in an ape suit.

He told us of a time when he was up on the Bluff Creek road construction project and a massive slide had blocked the road in to the work site. He had stayed the night up on the other side of the slide. No one else was around, and no one could have gotten in there without a major long nighttime hike; and yet, footprints were found by him the next day, before he had to go down with the Cat and clear the slide from the top end. Another time he had slept out on the ground one night, alone up there again, and awoke in the morning to find huge footprints going all around his sleeping bag. "It was as close to me as I am to you," he said to us, as he moved forward to within three feet of where we were sitting in the car.

As we mentioned briefly in the interview with Al Hodgson, we spoke a year ago with another local Willow Creek guy with a similar background, Joe Ramos, now sadly dead but who was 92 when we interviewed him (this interview was done OFF the record, unrecorded, and we have only handwritten notes). Mr. Ramos had said he'd seen the footprints and such, too, but that he felt the whole thing was "99% a hoax." What about the other 1%, then, we said? This got a bemused chuckle and a shrug of the shoulders.

Ramos worked one creek over from Bluff Creek, in the Blue Creek and Red Mountain area, on another crew than the Wallace one. He felt that all of these reports of footprints and equipment vandalism were just shenanigans, not caused by "Bigfoot." He admitted, however, to feeling tremendously spooked late one dark night while sitting alone in his truck up on Bald Hills Road, for absolutely no reason at all. There was just "something" out there, he said. Mr. Rowland laughed at this story, but somehow didn't know Ramos. There are a lot of these Bigfoot-connected old-timers still living around Willow Creek. Some come into our Bigfoot Books store with their stories. Many of them are jokers and tall-tale tellers who like to pull your leg; but Jay Rowland stands in contraction to this tendency, insisting the tracks were real, not hoaxed, and seeming utterly sincere while saying so. Rowland told us he started living at the Bluff Creek site in 1960 or thereabouts, working on logging projects in the same area as and sometimes with the Wallace company.

We are hoping to explore any firsthand things about the Jerry Crew finds of 1958, as he knew Jerry and the others working up there then. He worked in the area all through the major Patterson-Gimlin Film (PGF), Blue Creek Mountain and Onion Mountain events and thereafter until 1972. He was there in 1963 when Al Hodgson cast tracks at the Notice Creek-Bluff Creek confluence, and he knows why Al's track cast has a crack line in it--the cast was dropped on the way up out of the creekbed.

The very next day on our way to work we talked again, off the record, to Jay Rowland, for  a full two and a quarter hours. Sorry to all the folks who may have stopped by the bookshop, but Bigfoot made us late! He's a literal goldmine of Bigfoot information. He told us the last thing he's ever going to do is spread around a bunch of lies, and that he hates "bull" more than anything else. He was actually a bit angry at John Green, though, after all these years, as Green had promised to mail him a copy of SASQUATCH: APES AMONG US, as Rowland had done a three hour interview with him way back in the day. John, if you're reading, Mr. Rowland is still waiting for his copy of your fine book.

Oddly, despite all of the tracks he's seen, he never actually SAW a Bigfoot, and he doesn't believe the PGF is authentic. He was in the area that year until November 1967, with his trailer set up at Louse Camp, just downstream from where the two famous guys camped, and did not see Patterson and Gimlin once. Odd, indeed!

Images: Above, Ray Wallace, known Rascal--but did he fake the prints or just copy the shape? Next, Roger Patterson and a quite differently shaped track cast. Below, Roger in one of his Bigfoot expedition camps. Historical.

Then later, strangely, he claimed that "they made $20,000,000 on the film," and that "the other guy with the film" (could he have meant Al DeAtley instead of Bob Gimlin?) was a member of "The Syndicate." Ummm.....? Rowland made sure to emphasize that by "Syndicate" he meant Organized Crime. He must have meant someone else, as Gimlin has said repeatedly that he never really made even one red cent off the film, and besides, he has always worked for a living driving trucks and managing horses, never displaying any inordinate forms of wealth. Patterson himself died poor, owing people money. So where does this twenty million bucks come into the picture? News to us, we say, a thing that we hope to get to the bottom of later. Mr. Rowland promised to do a full, on-record, recorded interview soon, so keep your eyes on this blog for further explorations, and we hope, new revelations.

Interested in seeing what an utter NUTCASE Ray Wallace was? Check out David Paulides' and NABS' absurdly credulous presentation of his oddball letters to Ray Crowe and the Western Bigfoot Society HERE. Prepare yourself for UFOs, and oh so much more inane lunacy. We promise, you WILL be entertained. They're fun, but please don't take this crap seriously, folks. Ray Wallace was some kind of a hoaxer and crank, but almost certainly not one good enough to fool John Green, Rene Dahinden and for that matter Jeff Meldrum.

Just look at the old photos of the other, ridiculous "footprints" that Wallace tried to sell in his roadside stand. Will Paulides come out as a Alien-Bigfoot believer next? We eagerly await it. Dave, just because some old story has a Native American telling you something about a Bigfoot, doesn't make it necessarily literally true. If it did, we'd expect NABS to believe in a shape-shifting Sasquatch, too.

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ODDS AND ENDS AND NEWS:

Here, you can see the "BIGFOOT CAGE" at the Bigfoot Motel in Willow Creek, formerly known as Wyatt's Motel. This is where Tom Slick and the Pacific Northwest Expedition, including John Green, Rene Dahinden, Bob Titmus and Peter Byrne met up in 1959. They stayed in the motel rooms, not the cage, by the way. The cage didn't catch Bigfoot this time, but rather our own kid, Denali Brown, who is growling furiously.

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We are working on a new project which we are calling "LETTER TO A YOUNG BIGFOOTER" (after Rilke). Actually, a middle school kid from Southern California sent us a letter asking questions for a school project about the world of cryptozoology, Sasquatch, Bigfoot research, and what it's like to be a part of it. What, basically, is it like to explore things that the majority of society views as crazy? We started by thinking the answer to this would be a simple few short sentences per question, but now we find there are no simple answers. Look for that in an upcoming blog entry.
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MATT MONEYMAKER POSTS ARTICLES ON BFRO

For those of you who may not have noticed, the founder of the BFRO has been quietly adding some very interesting new content to the BFRO website. He doesn't put his name on the main page as a byline, so it might be easy to miss. The site has recently been subtly updated, so check it out! Articles by Matt address important current issues, including the inaccuracy of the Wikipedia Bigfoot page, false claims of hoaxing the PGF, and the re-emergence of notorious hoaxer Cliff Crook (appropriately named!). Of particular interest is Moneymaker's legal argument for the prosecution of hoaxers like those involved in the Georgia Bigfoot Body debacle.

* Hoaxer Cliff Crook Promoting Phony Photo, Again
* Good Arguments for a Federal Statute Prohibiting Hoaxes Targeting Televison News or Radio News Broadcasters
* Was the Patterson-Gimlin Film Ever Proven to Be a Hoax?
* Problems with Wikipedia's 'Bigfoot' Article
* Also, new to us anyway, is the BFRO DISCUSSION BOARD, "The Blue Forum"
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Images, above and below: 2010, Steven Streufert.

Willow Creek is starting to gear up for its annual Labor Day Weekend BIGFOOT DAYS. This 2010 year will be the 50th Anniversary of the event. Recently a preliminary poster appeared in the window of the Willow Creek Community Service District calling for contenders for the Bigfoot Days King and Queen Contest, the winners of which are referred to as "Little Miss and Little Mister Bigfoot." Al Hodgson is working on a photo collection for display during the event, and wants to get John Green to come down to be master of ceremonies and give a talk, health permitting. If you would like to speak at the event or participate in any way you might want to call the number on the poster (530-629-3805, click to enlarge poster) for information, or drop us an email at bigfootbooks@gmail.com and we'll try to help with the connections. Read our previous blog entries on Bigfoot Days in Willow Creek HERE and HERE.

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Image: Also found at the WCCSD is this cool "BIGFOOT LIVES" poster, prominently displayed at the front desk to announce the District's formal belief in the Creature. Steve Paine, who manages the parks and utilities District, told us he used to interview famous Bigfooter elder Al Hodgson every weekend for several hours, talking about local history. He showed us a file folder several inches thick that was full of transcripts, photos, and notes from Al. What a gold mine! He spoke enticingly of having a whole big box of Bigfoot material, too, but we have yet to see it. Another goldmine, containing only Paine knows what!

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HAPPY CAMP TRACKWAY FOUND! Or NOT?

Bigfoot Field Reporter Sharon Lee blogged on her great blog about a new footprint track find by formerly Biscardi-connected Tara Lee Hauki, on February 2, 2010. It looks dubious to us, though, in extremis. They claim dermal ridges were left in melted snow, which we find simply not at all credible. How BIG were they? How long was the step/stride? None of this information is given. Take this report with a several gram serving of salt. For those who may not know, Happy Camp is a town at the north end of the Bigfoot Highway from Willow Creek. Folks, if we are going to report such things, let's at least get the details! Otherwise, this is just some guy's melted boot prints on a snowy road. OK?

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BIGFOOT TATTOOS!

Recently our daughter Denali set up a tattoo doodling service in our Bigfoot Books shop. For a friend of ours she custom-designed the permanent ink pen Bigfoot arm tat seen to left. This fellow's girlfriend seems to have been inspired by this, as she now has a real tattooed Patterson-Gimlin Film frame 352 on her own arm. On the other side of her arm is a redwood forest complete with owl and moon.

The grand scheme is that ultimately Bigfoot, along with other cryptids, will be included in this tattooed forest habitat on human skin, and most of the arm will be covered in this comprehensive design. Very cool! We'll keep this blog posted when new images that follow reveal further progress. Talk about wearing your heart on your "sleeve." But then, I'm told she does not even believe in Bigfoot....

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A REVOLUTIONARY STATEMENT IN BIGFOOTING EMERGES FROM OREGON.

 In other news, Autumn Williams of Oregon Bigfoot has come out with a VERY interesting, and we must say, quite refreshing view of the Bigfooting field, in her recent blog. She calls it "Professional Suicide" (click the link to read the introduction and encounter her three-part, very heart-felt YouTube video declaration), but we would like to at least see a question mark on the end of that title, Autumn. In our view, this public statement makes her immediately one of the most interesting (though certainly controversial) figures in the field of "Bigfoot Research" today. This statement--whatever your reaction or position you take on it--really needed to be made; and we, personally, are glad that she has said it. Click the image box below to view Part One of Three video blog segments.

She says that there is something, for apparent lack of a better term, "icky" about the Bigfoot research field today. We'd have to agree, so far as all the egotism and interpersonal recrimination involved; but further, one has to wonder why the search for an unknown creature would require so much machismo, gear and guns and big trucks, traps and tricks, camouflage, and "paramilitary" behavior. How, Williams asks, does this bring us CLOSER to these creatures? Are we not just driving them, and the witnesses of them, away? She goes so far as to imply that there is something somewhat perverse about the fixation on evidence, spoor and proof of Bigfoot. We ourselves have often felt there is indeed something kind of pornographic about the obsession with Bigfoot artifacts, something conquistadorial and predatory about the pursuit of the Creature and the fixation on its image. There is a strong desire to "capture" the mysterious, to "own" and possess it. Autumn Williams speaks as a "witness advocate," aruing that we should respect witnesses, not judge them, nor "interrogate" them as if they were members of the Taliban. She suggests (as we take it) that we, rather than "hunting" Bigfoot, should become more sympathetic with it and its way of being. The failure of decades of aggressive pursuit of the Sasquatch is telling. These efforts have mainly failed to "prove" the Creature, she argues, and this may be because of its macho tactics and (as we interpret her words) aggressive imposition of the human modality upon nature.

We agree, in great measure. No one has really ever understood nature and the Mystery of the world around us by conquering, killing and dissecting it. Squatch where you live! Think (and feel) like a Squatch. Live like someone that a creature such as Bigfoot might actually want to get to know. Otherwise, we are just out there possibly scaring them further away into the remaining corners of a diminishing habitat. Aggressive Bigfoot "hunting" is something like a "colonial" incursion into the domain of another Being, one of apparent grace and intelligence--do we really want to repeat this process again in this country? Be an explorer, not a conqueror. Think of how Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey found and studied the gorillas and chimpanzees--through patience, subtlety, compassion, and gradual understanding, they learned how to dwell with the creatures without offending them, how to be more than human, in a way, and accepted by them. Bigfoot/Sasquatch does not need for us to prove anything to the world; but can we prove ourselves worthy of them? What Autumn is proposing includes awareness, openness to new experience and the “unknown,” a participation in the world rather than against it. We'd bet anything that she is largely right–that it is more important to be sensitive to the reality of Sasquatch than to “hunt” them.

We say: by all means, get out there in the field. Seek encounters. Find evidence where it may be. Show the world that Sasquatch is real. But, don't do it at the expense of the witnesses or the Creature or your own human dignity (hint, hint, GCBRO!). Seek to find the natural ways in yourself--this will bring you closer, and make your research all the more effective. Field research IS important, but we must always consider tactics and whether they actually work. What will bring us into the Mystery, rather than bringing the mystery, diluted, dead or corrupted, to us? We are all "witnesses," if we open our eyes without presumption. And if we are to be "researchers," we should be careful not to put the cart before the horse, our presuppositions over what actually IS.

Autumn was a repeated childhood witness, with her mother, on the family's rural Washington land. These were encounters demonstrative of habituated interaction with the Creatures, as documented in her mother's book, VALLEY OF THE SKOOKUM. At the age of 16 Autumn herself became dedicated to the field of serious Bigfoot/Sasquatch research, eventually founding the Oregon Bigfoot organization and website, and hosting the show, Mysterious Encounters. The latter show was produced by Doug Hajicek of White Wolf Entertainment (Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science), for the Outdoor Life Network, 2003-2004.

Going to the dictionary, we find...
re·search
Etymology: Middle French recerche, from recercher to go about seeking, from Old French recerchier, from re- + cerchier, sercher to search; Date: 1577
1 : careful or diligent search
2 : studious inquiry or examination; especially: investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws
3 : the collecting of information about a particular subject
and...
wit·ness
Etymology: Middle English witnesse, from Old English witnes knowledge, testimony, witness, from 2 wit; Date: before 12th century
1 : attestation of a fact or event: testimony
2 : one that gives evidence; specifically: one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal
3 : one asked to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place
4 : one who has personal knowledge of something
5 : a: something serving as evidence or proof: sign; b: public affirmation by word or example of usually religious faith or conviction

A Few Other Views on This Matter... LINKS.

The Blogsquatcher: Autumn Williams' Witness: Allowing researchers access to bigfoot like letting pedophiles into a daycare.
BigFootForums Thread: Autumn Williams says she is no longer a BF researcher, Video Blog "Professional Suicide"
BFRO Forum Thread: Autumn williams hangs up her "Researcher" hat!
Oregon Bigfoot: FEEDBACK Autum has received from supporters.
Skookum Quest diatribe: Autumn Williams melts down. (Scroll down about a page.)
Linda Martin's Bigfoot Sightings: Bigfoot: to Research or Not to Research?
CRYPTOMUNDO posted something on this early Tuesday morning, but now the link is dead. Did they chicken out, or what? All we know is what we can retrieve from the FaceBook posting they did: "Autumn Williams’ Message May Be A Warning Sign. Look more deeply than you have been asked to by the supposed hostile intent of the new videos." OK, Loren, the mystery... thickens.

In any case, think for yourself. We are seriously wondering at this point how this will play out at the Oregon Sasquatch Symposium, coming up in June in Autumn Williams' home town! We'll be there, sitting in the very same room as David Paulides. OMG.

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!

How many more fake blobs and hu-man in monkey suits me have to see? Joker hu-man think he funny, make movie of self in costume, think he fool hu-man. He not fool me. Laugh at Bigfoot? Mess with Squatch? Me know difference between Bigfoot baby and porcupine in tree! Me see shadow or stump and know it shadow or stump! If me see porcupine me eat! But if me see hu-man me go far away. They so stupid and stinky me never imagine actually eat one. I could, but me not going to. They think I "gentle giant" not hurt fly, that why me no eat hu-man. They wrong. Me not hurt human because me just no like, and me know it taste bad like rotten dumpster!

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This blog, save for archival/historical or promotional product images (fair use, for research only), copyright 2010, Bigfoot Books Intergalactic and Steven Streufert. Please feel free to quote with citation and link to this blog included.

The OREGON SASQUATCH SYMPOSIUM, 2010, Day Two; BIGFOOT'S BLOG Now on Facebook; BIGFOOT FORUMS Tyrant Dethroned! "Research"?

BIGFOOT'S BLOG, LATE JULY EDITION.

Belated Oregon Sasquatch Symposium Report, and Some Stray Fallout and Mess from the Bigfoot Wars....

Well, we all know how life can get in the way of the living of it, or one might say, the best-laid plans. So it is that this blog entry has been sitting on the back burner since late June and early July, when all of the crazy started to fly all over the place.

Mr. Mike is gone back to obscure retirement, and we're sure all of us are happy about that... until the next Ghost Hunters episode comes out with yet another absurd theory about disappearing Sasquatches, and how even their scat somehow entered the fifth dimension. No trace was left behind save in the conniving mind of Mr. Lamphere and his UFOolgist co-conspirator. We already had one Mike, and that was good enough for us, Lan.

See our Day One OSS Report HERE.

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BREAKING NEWS!: 

BIGFOOT'S BLOG now has a Facebook page. 

Yes, that is the biggest news in Bigfooting right now.

Check it out, become a "Fan" as they say, spread the word. This is where we will be posting the odd daily trivium, updates, news and such. We've gotten so long-winded on this here blog that we just needed another outlet. Here you go. Click and Enjoy:

Bigfoot's bLog, from Bigfoot Books, Willow Creek on FACEBOOK

If you need encouragement, just see ANGRY BIGFOOT's warning below.

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Our humble BIGFOOT'S BLOG also made it to THE BIGFOOT LUNCH CLUB, a site we recommend to you, just a while back. Read it here: 

THE MESSY MELODRAMA OF THE BIGFOOT WARS.

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Anyway, it looks like VICTORY IS OURS!

Yes, that's right. The usurping tyrant of the BIGFOOT FORUMS has been cast from her throne in Mordor, the Ring melts in the fiery wells of hell, and the nearly-blind, benighted souls of the BFF have been emerging into the glorious light of the realms of free discourse. We advocate now that those considering boycotting the place should hold off, and give founder Brian Brown some slack... and encouragement. Don't hold back in commenting here and there, where you can, ON the Forums. With change afoot and the vicious wolves at bay, NOW is the time to raise your voices and speak out. 
So: BOYCOTT ON HOLD, INSURRECTION IN PROGRESS!

We were visited in our shop in Willow Creek by Brian Brown, a.k.a. BIPTO, and found him to be a congenial and fair-minded, intelligent and humorous person. JUST what the Forums need! The day before we were visited by BFF moderator TUGBOATWA, or Jerry Riedel. He too left us with a favorable impression. His theory of how to Moderate? "Just don't do anything." So, change is coming. We hope. JUST WATCH THE DOGS, and stand up if you so much as see BLACKDOG or REDWOLF or their other associates baring their teeth at a fresh piece of meat. That helpless victim could be the next truly important witness or habituation, nipped in the bud.

Read how former Chief Administrator "TERESA" ran off with her tail between her legs, and then dug her head into the snow announced here, on the JREF FORUMS, of all places!

BFF Leader Resigns - Page 8 - JREF Forum


We quote her JREF (The Randi Forums? Why, "Teresa"?) statement in brief:

"I am retiring from all things bigfoot. I've been around since 2000 and a member of the BFF since February 2003. I've done my time and am looking forward to new horizons. I don't feel a need to explain my decision here or the BFF. I'd just like to be left in peace to return to the obscurity from whence I came... I don't plan to take any active role at all in bigfootery..."

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Someone on Facebook just commented that we should stop worrying about the BFF and get out and do some research already. To which we reply, "HUH?"

We LIVE in the forest. Every day is "research," in that narrow sense that so many think is so superior to the intellectual consideration of the ramifications of the Bigfoot Phenomenon that we do while sitting in front of the computer or reading. Yes, folks, "THINKING" is "research," too. Anyone can sit around a campfire and listen to acorns falling in the night. We say this:

BIGFOOT'S BLOG just went on a Research Expedition.We stepped out our front door, looked around, noticed the fine trees and the twilight around us. We sniffed the air, waited stealthfully and quietly for about five minutes. We listened to the deer moving in the woods up the hill. The hoot of an owl. The rustle of a mouse or vole. The stars were coming out, the moon was rising. NO BIGFOOT. Oh well. Time to roll a cigarette, pop a beer, and congratulate ourselves on another night of "research." No, we didn't even have to wear camouflage!!!

So, what IS "research"? Going out camping and banging on trees and hooting and hollering at deer and jumping to conclusions at falling acorns is NOT research. Field research is one form, but this requires a rigorous METHODOLOGY and accounting of facts to really be considered serious study. How many Bigfooters can say they do that? Another form of research is scholarly, or historical. This latter is, beyond our love of living in and being in Nature, and observing all of the time what is out there where we live, our preference. However, one never knows when a Bigfoot could be in one's "back yard" out here! Studying Bigfooting culture, on the internet and elsewhere is also a form of research; and we do that, too. Our methodology? Well, that is a secret. You're just going to have to figure it out, dear Sharon. If we comment on the BFF situation, it is because we find it sociologically amusing, as well as counterproductive for the field within which we are operating.

re·search: Pronunciation: \ri-ˈsərch, ˈrē-ˌ\ Function: noun; 

Etymology: Middle French recerche, from recercher to go about seeking, from Old French recerchier, from re- + cerchier, sercher to search — Date: 1577

1 : careful or diligent search
2 : studious inquiry or examination; especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws
3 : the collecting of information about a particular subject

transitive verb:
1 : to search or investigate exhaustively
2 : to do research for

intransitive verb: to engage in research

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NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW....

THE OREGON SASQUATCH SYMPOSIUM, FIRST DAY OF TALKS 

Images: Above, promotional poster and, to left, event schedule flier. Click Photos to Enlarge. All OSS images taken by Steven Streufert, save the last two by "C.I." and from the OSS web site.

UPDATES!: We are reviewing the recordings of the Symposium, and have added details to the accounts of the talks, below. Details finished August 8th. Check it out if you read this piece initially before that date.

After a long saga of a drive the day before, and an eventful evening at the OSS Meet-and-Greet, followed by some high times at the karaoke bar and a lively room party at the Red Lion Inn with fellow Squatchers (see our previous report HERE), we weren't exactly in tip-top shape the morning after, after having had only a few brief hours of actual "sleep." A quickly gulped down-breakfast and triple dose of coffee, and we were on the road to Lane Community College for the first of these Eugene, Oregon Sasquatch Symposia. 

When we got there the room was packed with just over 200 attendees, with additional vendors and media folks in the back. AUTUMN WILLIAMS had just begun her talk.

And what a talk it was, despite some grimacing coming from a skeptical Jeff Meldrum from his perch high in the elevated back rows. Bob Gimlin himself sat raptly listening down near the front (visible just to the left of the conifer at the podium, in the image below). If there was a revelation at this symposium it was definitely the news of ENOCH, both the book, and the somewhat sociable Skunk Ape.

This wasn't all news to us, as we'd been talking a bit with Williams in the weeks before this event, but even we were a bit stunned by the moving image of the creature that graced the cover of her book, especially when it was displayed on the big screen behind the speakers' podium. Its penetrating gaze and human-like features produced what has been called by many "an audible gasp" in the room. We just had to say, Go Autumn!

Anyway, something very odd happened to us during this presentation. Was it some kind of strange juju? We don't know. However, our recording device somehow malfunctioned during Williams' talk, despite the fact that it recorded the entire rest of the Symposium just fine. We checked it in progress--it was recording, and we did hit "save" correctly at the end. The file simply disappeared. Then, after the first talks, we noticed that our camera had been taking blurry pictures. The settings were fine. It worked well the rest of the time. What was going on here??? We're tempted now to get superstitious... but anyway.... Because of this lost recording we can't quote the presentation itself, save the memory of it.

The beginning of the talk dealt with the issue of whether the Bigfoot creatures are ape or human-like. She did not come out and say that they are actually human, but just that they are not really like apes, in terms of posture, anatomy, and certain behaviors. She focused upon the foot shapes first, and noted that humans and the Sasquatch do not have their big toe placed on the side of the foot in a semi-opposable grasping set-up as apes do. She showed depictions of the Gigantopithecus and the Bigfoot for comparison. This, though, was just a brief prelude.

She then began to give her account of her interactions with a witness reporting from somewhere in Florida (undisclosed), named Mike (no last name given), who had not only SEEN a Skunk Ape, not only had repeated sightings, not only had habituated them to him and himself to them, but who had actually BEFRIENDED the Creature he called "Enoch." Now, alarm bells go off when Bigfooters hear such things, and many alarms are surely going off even now; but if one listened to Williams' presentation one could clearly see that she approached this scenario with all the rational and skeptical tools a good investigator would apply to any such report. She wasn't just buying into it, and Mike was surely not some hippie out bonding with some idealized noble savage. This accounting had all the hallmarks of real and repeated Bigfoot reports, just that they were all here in one single instance. The only real difference was that these were seen from the OTHER SIDE of the veil of understanding. This was no monster, though he could be a scary beast when he wanted to be. Nor was this the "Psychic Sasquatch" wise man-shaman some others speak of. This was a plausible account of what it is like to actually KNOW something about these beings. If we believe they exist, should we then also not believe these things are possible?

There was a lot of attention paid in the talk to the humorous character of Mike, much of which she read from the book, in Mike's own words. There were some classics, which we'll quote from the Eugene Weekly's account (see link below): “Skunk ape farts are in a class all by itself,” “Big feet, big johnson,” and they smell “like a wet, musky garbage dump.” Man, we wish our recorder hadn't malfunctioned during this one! These are remarks meant for posterity.

Rather than summarize the entire presentation, and since we plan to do a full and lengthy review of the book here soon, let us just quote the shorter review we wrote for the book on Amazon.com: 

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Study in Trust and Possibility. A Revealing Psychological Journey into a Great Mystery,July 23, 2010

By	Steven Streufert "Bigfoot Books" (Willow Creek, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Enoch: A Bigfoot Story (Paperback)

Get it now! It will blow you away if you have an ounce of trust left in you. If you want to analyze scat and hair DNA remnants this may not be the book for you. Nonetheless, this book presents fascinating possibilities, and the author is of unquestionable sincerity. More than anyone at this time, Autumn Williams seems to have catalyzed a major change that is now running through to the core of Bigfooting. I have heard repeatedly expressed the sentiment that "proving" the Bigfoot/Sasquatch to the world would only endanger them and threaten their very survival. On her Oregon Bigfoot site and blog she has clearly delineated the reasons why decades of Bigfoot field research have largely failed to produce conclusive results. Autumn is forging a new attitude both toward the "Creatures" and the witnesses, recommending respect for both. This book offers more than the interesting, often humorous story of Mike, a loner who encounters and bonds with Skunk Apes somewhere in Florida; it will also teach you methodology in how to approach anecdotal accounts and deal with the difficulties witnesses face in relating their experiences. 

Long-term habituation scenarios are often scoffed at by the Bigfoot Community, and the public at large; but this book makes this one seem utterly convincing. Far from some kind of delusional believer or New-Age seeker of the "Forest Brothers," Autumn Williams is cool, collected, and logical in her approach. Her coming to know and trust the witness, Mike, parallels the process of Mike's gradual understanding of and bonding with this mysterious being. It is a trans-species interaction that quite likely will challenge your ideas of humanness, sentience and intelligence. If you have ever struggled with issues of belief and trust, this book may very well be about much, much more than Bigfoot to you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The most intriguing Hairy Hominoid book in a very long time. 

BIGFOOT'S BLOG from Willow Creek will be writing a full, lengthy review of this book. We'll post it here when it is finished. Get this book now if you care about Bigfoot.

Enough of that. Let us just say that Autumn Williams' talk really set the tone for this symposium, one wherein new possibilities as to the nature of Bigfoot were considered, and one where new types of research approaches, even serious crypto-linguistic analyses, were brought to the table. From our view, this has produced an agonizing and inspiring re-evaluation across the geography of Bigfooting. There is a "back to Nature" quality to Mike's story and Autumn's advocacy of it; but it is a sensible one, not utopian: what Mike seeks in the swamps and with the Skunk Apes is not to lose himself into a dream, but rather to find a more authentic selfhood without all the silly distractions of modern, socialized human life. We'll just quote the Eugene Weekly again: "In fact, it is actually us, with our alienating cities and glitzy consumer goods and fear of boredom and, as Williams put it, our constructed selves that 'change on a daily basis with fads,' who must learn from the skunk apes. 'We’re so far removed from what we were,' Williams said." OK! We'll agree with that.

There was an undertone of skepticism present in the room, if one felt deeply enough for it. This wasn't just coming from Mr. Meldrum, the Scientist in the room. But generally, most there were rooting for this point of view, this kind of change, anyway. If one was a stone-cold rationalist and methodologically-bound scientist, this talk and event could have been a frustrating one. We didn't feel that way, but we were a bit... entranced.

Next up was another presenter with a tale of a Bigfoot habituation scenario. Coincidence? No. This was Autumn Williams' mother, SALI SHEPPARD-WOLFORD. The habituation of Skookums around the small cluster of rural cabins along the Carbon River at Orting, WA, is the basis for Williams' nearly life-long involvement in the field of Bigfooting. Autumn was just a three-or-so-year-old when she and her mother saw two of these big, hairy whatever-they-ares standing as clear as day before them along the trail from their home. Her mother is the author of the book, VALLEY OF THE SKOOKUM: FOUR YEARS OF ENCOUNTERS WITH BIGFOOT, a fine and engaging read. The book contains many elements that will raise a skeptical eyebrow, or two; but it is not just the story of encounters with Sasquatch, but also of one woman's shamanic and spiritual process. The accounts in the book are verifiable in that many a neighbor, a non-believing father, some Bigfoot researchers, and a young child all saw them, and their footprints and other remains and signs.

Sali's talk was basically readings from the book. She covered the Bigfoot parts, and didn't focus on the Native American spirituality and the dancing lights in the sky. The accounts are plausible, and well told, evoking the mystery of the experience of repeated encounters, and growing habituation. Of course, we cannot "verify" spiritual or subjective experience, so hey, just let it be. The Bigfoot events in the book, as well as the dancing lights, were witnessed by many different people living out there, and so are verifiable to that degree. She later told us that the other stuff happened "in dreams," and hence it was her own private spiritual or shamanic experience, and was parallel to but not necessarily related to the Bigfoot stuff. Her presentation table, beside Autumn, contained horse mane hair (seen below) that was found woven in interesting ways, and may have been done by a Bigfoot.

It should be stressed that, however metaphysical her mother's book is, ENOCH contains none of this. It is similar to VALLEY OF THE SKOOKUM, but heads in different directions. We recommend both, and for different but sometimes parallel reasons. Since her talk contained large chunks of a book we had just read a few weeks earlier, we slipped out the door for a smoke. Sheppard-Wolford seemed to us a practical and down-to-earth lady, and she didn't once hex us with a crystal or anything like that. It was great to see Autumn and her mother together, in action. Who are we, ignorant and limited larval evolving forms that we are, to comment on such things?

After lunch and some groovy Johnny Cash-styled country-folk Bigfoot Songs by LENNY GREEN. Go and listen to these songs for free on his BIGFOOT SONG WEBSITE. Unfortunately, in the mad rush to get some lunch, we missed most of the live versions. Here's some info. on Mr. Green from his website: "Songwriter since 1956. DelFi Recording Artist 1962. Country bandleader and front for 25 yrs. Staff songwriter in Nashville in the 80s. Songs recorded by Floyd Cramer, Wynn Stewart, Don Gibson, The Texas Playboys, The Cascades, Moe Bandy, etc." These are great songs! You've got to hear them. Tom Yamarone, look out--you have a rival for the BIGFOOT BARD title.

Returning from lunch we found BOB GIMLIN already in action, pacing the stage in his cowboy hat and duds, arm still in a sling from a horse-related accident. His movements back and forth embodied the excitement of his story of he and Roger Patterson capturing a Bigfoot on film in Bluff Creek, CA on October 20th, in 1967.

What can we say? All of you have almost certainly heard this story a hundred times over; but nothing can compare to seeing the man in person and hearing it from him. Not an ounce of bull crap comes from this guy, but all the honest good naturedness and humor you'd expect from a Washington cowboy. And then, no one can really imitate old Bob. You've just got to meet him.

The story has been told so often there isn't all that much more he can add to it, though. Here he clarified one issue: whether the creature in the film was squatting or standing when they first saw it. Bob had said standing, whereas Roger had said it was squatting. Gimlin explained that Roger had been ahead of him about 12 feet on the path up the creek, and that therefore the first man saw the creature first, and Gimlin didn't glimpse it until a second later as it was standing erect. We know, this is stuff for only the most avid PGF nerd; but it held the audience's attention captive for his brief but intense talk.

Bob spoke of getting to know Roger, and their early Bigfooting and horse riding expeditions, how they would sit at the campfire and listen to Roger's cassette tapes of witness interviews. If only we had access to those tapes! Does Patricia Patterson still have them? Bob couldn't remember the exact day that he and Roger arrived in the Bluff Creek area, before catching their film of the creature, but he said it was around the first of October that they arrived. That morining of the 20th Roger rode south on the creek and Gimlin road up north about eight or nine miles, and then they met back in camp and decided to load up the pack horse and head up to an area they'd found promising before. They brought gear like sleeping bags for a potential overnight stay up there. The sun was heading toward the western mountain ridge and trees when they got there and saw the Bigfoot. Bob clarified that the horses did not "blow up," like and explosion, but rather "had a fit" when they saw the Bigfoot. We were the only ones there, he insisted, just he and Roger and NO ONE ELSE but the Creature. This brought a round of enthusiastic applause from the crowd who all know damn well that there was no Bob Hieronimus in a gorilla suit there that day.

One final demonstration had Gimlin set up PAUL GRAVES to try to imitate the 42-46 inch smaller step and stride and the longer measured stride (by Roger and Bob) of 68-72 inches the Patty creature took. Pointing out tape strips on the ground, Gimlin suggested he try it. And when he did, the rather tall and lanky Graves stumbled and nearly fell over. If a guy easily over six feet two can't do it, then how could a stubby Bob Heironimus encumbered by a bulky monkey suit? See Bob, and it is easy to believe in Bigfoot, we're tellin' ya.

OK, we're taking up too much of your time here (and ours!) so we will try to do more concise coverage of the next speakers. This was one heck of a full day!!!

DAVID RODRIGUEZ, 52 years old and a hunter, gave a talk recounting his several Bigfoot encounters, of varying degrees. One sighting was 32 years ago when he was working in Yosemite National Park. He was on the way back from Los Angeles when, on the road, late at night, at a distance of about 25 feet, he saw a Creature stop, look at him, and then head down over the bank. His traveling companion was sleeping, but when awakened saw it just as it headed over the bank edge. He said he can still see every detail, as it is "burned in his memory."

Another one was a few years later, in the mid 1980s up in the forested mountains of Oregon, when he saw a head and shoulders up above 7-8 foot tall Rhododendron bushes. He watched it with binoculars as it hid behind a tree, but it never came out from its hiding place. Distracted by a fleeing four-foot garter snake that hurled itself off a 25-foot cliff, Rodriguez took his eyes off the tree, and never saw the Creature despite waiting for another 10 minutes. Later, he did find tracks up there, but could not track them far. A third encounter occured when out hunting, in a regrowing clearcut area, something came crashing through the brush, blocking his way out and forward. He followed up the gully toward it with his dog, .30-.30 rifle in hand, approaching it, talking to it in a calm voice. He slowly walked past it, hoping to escape the area. He noted no foul odor save that of a "wet animal," kind of musky, "saying his prayers" as he went on. The creature let them past. After mustering his courage he later returned to the site, and was howled and whistled at from something out in the woods.

A fourth encounter involved a solo hunt two winters ago in northeast Oregon. Recounting it he said, "I see this shadow off in the--it was twelve o'clock in the moonlight--and I see this shadow in this long grass, and then I take a double take, and then the shadow starts walking." [NOTE: the above is our transcription of what we were able to hear on the recording. However, Mr. Rodriguez has offered us by email the following as more accurate either to what he said, or what was really meant: "I see this shadow in a small grassy area about 125 feet away about 5 AM in the pre-dawn light, and then I do a double take and the shadow starts walking and so I realize it wasn't a shadow."] His reaction then was "cool, there's a Bigfoot," rather than being afraid of it. He finds that as these encounters recur, he is able to remain more calm in the face of them, rather than reacting with fear. He spoke of the reasons why some people have repeat encounters, and speculated that perhaps it is just because the Creatures "feel safer" around certain personality types or some people who are able to not react in fear upon seeing one. These encounters happened despite the fact that Rodriguez was armed with a rifle in most instances.

The last half of his talk dealt with how tree breaks and twists are not necessarily due to Sasquatch activities. They can be caused by weather, snow, even deer. We were glad to have this practical analysis, as we ourselves have seen this phenomenon while living in Mt. Shasta City. Up on that volcanic mountain one sees such wrenched and warped trees up on the tree-snowline all the time. It is due to shifting weight and flow of snow packs in the winter and as they melt in the spring. Interestingly, Rodriguez didn't go into his deeper theories about Bigfoot, which involve possible multi-dimensionality and other cool things. Well, maybe next year?

Next was CLIFF BARACKMAN, who would win our Best Bigfoot Field Researcher and All Around Good Guy Award, if we, uh, had such an award. Anyway, this guy is dedicated! He has been at Squatching for 16 years or so.

He said, "Every time I'm wrong about something, I'm a little bit smarter," to a large bout of applause. A good attitude, and a scientific one, even if one's hoped-for Bigfoot print turns out to be from a bear.

His talk covered his investigation of the so-called Silver Star photos taken by Randy Chase on Silver Star Mountain in Gifford Pinchot National Forest on November 17, 2005. At first Randy just wondered, Why is that big guy sitting ther on that mountaintop, all dressed in black, and such things. Only later when showing the photos to his family did the word "Bigfoot" come up. "Big... what? was Randy's reaction. But he reported it to the BFRO after Googling "Bigfoot," and history was made, despite Randy's unpretentious and retiring nature.

Cliff demonstrated that he truly is a "Bigfoot nerd," and math and science geek (he admits it!)--through complex geometry and equations and other stuff that made us drop out of Trigonometry in high school, he basically proved (with a certain margin of error) that the creature in the photos is larger than a human. It was seven feet, eight inches tall, approximately, he concluded; and it compared very well beside an image of the PG-Film subject. He visited and measured the site and met the witness, as well as analyzing the photos themselves. His work on these photos was influenced by the work of Bill Munns and his MUNNS REPORT, he said. He also presented some very good, higher resolution versions of the photos, which we had never seen before. Comparison photos of the witness/photographer revealed clothing details not seen on the original subject, and the size was considerable smaller than the creature. Very convincing! This is the kind of work that needs to be done if photos of Bigfoot are going to be anything more than "blobsquatches." "It's a Bigfoot," Barackman concluded.

NOTE: The BFRO has a good sighting report page for these SILVER STAR photos. HERE.

After that, in an exhausting afternoon time slot that he had complained of the night before, THOM POWELL gave his great talk before a surprisingly (to him?) still-packed house. Powell is a witty, sometimes sardonic fellow, used to entertaining students at a middle school level, so it translates well into his public speaking. He had a slick graphic slideshow running on his computer, but it didn't feel like he was just rattling it off; until the end, that is, as he accelerated as if aware that some in the audience might be wearing thin with this exhaustingly long schedule. Powell admits that Bigfoot researchers are amateur scientists, even one such as he who is a Science teacher. But that shouldn't discourage us, he says. After all, the Wright brothers were amateurs. From viewing Bigfoot as an example of "junk science" in his classes, at some point he could not deny the possibility that this phenomenon was actually real. This is because he actually LOOKED at the evidence, whereas so many "real" scientists do not.

Much of Powell's talk deals with the subsequent development of his book. One thing he said that we take to heart: if you write a Bigfoot book, don't print over 4,000 copies, as that is most likely all you'll ever sell. Strange to hear from the author of one of the most popular and well-regarded Bigfoot books in recent years, THE LOCALS: A Contemporary Investigation of the Bigfoot Phenomenon.

It was Powell who once told us that authors publishing with Hancock House only make about a dollar per book sold. Could this really be true? Egads. Many of the more interesting and "fringe" issues of the Bigfoot issue are dealt with well here, including, as Powell mentioned in his talk, habituation issues and the possibility of the use of infrasound, as well as things that we would normally call "paranormal," but may have down to earth explanations if one "turns over a few rocks" and looks. "All 'paranomal' means to me is that it is not scientifically explained, AT PRESENT," he said. In speaking of writing about Bigfoot Powell suggests using humor: "If you don't use the humor, they're going to use it on you. So might beat them to the joke." This would mean, among other things, Let's not take ourselves too seriously, folks.

Thom is a rational fellow, an adherent of the Occam's Razor approach of Parsimony. Starting out using Sasquatch as a lesson plan aimed at using critical thinking to debunk Bigfoot evidence and belief, and going out on field trips to investigate, Powell found himself slipping to the "believer" side of the issue (where he firmly sits today). For a guy who obviously loves sarcasm, we often wonder if he'd rather be on the skeptics' side, just for the fun of it. But we're glad to have him on our team. Speaking of Bigfoot he said, "While you are out studying them, they are studying you." Speaking of researchers he says, "The only way we're going to get anywhere is by sharing." It is a terrible thing not to share information, though one might want to keep exact locations of sightings and one's field work secret. But beware, "Studying Sasquatch is not good for your personal life." He claimed to have been divorced like 11 times, but that must have been a joke. He offered a bunch of advice how to temper this detrimental effect by using levity and balance. "I don't search for Bigfoot anymore..." he said, and in response to a hypothetical question, "First of all, I don't look for Bigfoot. I let Bigfoot come to me...." In high school, "As soon as I stopped chasing girls, they would come to me!"

He concluded with a wide-ranging discussion of field methodologies (cameras are no good, but thermals are OK), habituation, possible Sasquatch languages, and such. He invited questions, saying, "It's easy to ask me questions because the answer is always, 'I don't know!'" But with a witty and curious mind like Powell's it seems one does not need the answers, just to keep looking and inquiring with an open mind.

NOTE: At this point you will notice BLOGGER is messing with our fonts display again. Sorry about that! We can't seem to fix it without deleting all of the images and links, so we're leaving it as it is. Ah, wonderful technology!

KATHY MOSKOWITZ STRAIN came on next, with her usual Native American Anthropology angle; but she added a bunch of refreshing new stories and points, including a cool recording of a Karok elder, Charlie Thom, singing a Bigfoot song about the headwaters of Blue Creek, in the Bluff Creek area. She is the author of the interesting collection of historical ethnographies that point toward possible Native-Bigfoot contact. It is also a fine photographic collection, though many of the photos are not of anything remotely related to Bigfoot. The book? Giants, Cannibals and Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture published by Hancock House, of course.


Synopsis of Some Points:
Some Natives believe Sasquatch have always been here, or were created here, and did not come across a land bridge. She spoke of wars between the Bigfoot people and the Native tribes. There was trade between the groups (shall we say species?), sometimes in face to face meetings, other times involving items left in the woods which were replaced with a trade item. Salt, woven mats, and such were desired by the Bigfoot people. Sometimes the Bigfoot would try to cheat the humans in face to face trading. There was a ceremonial process that allowed a human to become a Bigfoot clan member, and there are accounts of offsping being produced, though sometimes "mentally slow" individuals were the result. From here she spoke some on Native American culture and told some stories. One account of a Bigfoot cave that was surrounded by bones of his human victims was particularly intriguing. She presented images of archaeological and cultural pieces from Native American "Hairy Man" traditions, and declared that these indicate that the Bigfoot motif was NOT introduced by European invaders. There are no "Christ-like" motifs present in these cultural pieces that were obviously introduced by Europeans, suggesting that these were original, non-introduced aspects.

Unfortunately, we were so tired from the trip up and night before that we and our fellow-traveler decided to head back to the hotel for a bit of rest before heading out to the pub for dinner and a planned post-conference meet-up of Bigfooters. We knew we'd have to have some energy left for that (especially as we figured Autumn would be going), so we made the sacrifice. We're told that ESTHER STUTZMAN gave a good talk on local Native lore and stories. There was a question and answer session, and a plaster cast demonstration was done by JAIME AVALOS, using the actual real-live foot of Dr. JEFF MELDRUM. How could we have missed this? Luckily, the evening at Irish pub was fun and momentous, where we got to share our little table with Cliff Barackman and Autumn Williams.

CLIFF BARACKMAN, on his NORTH AMERICAN BIGFOOT BLOG, did a fine report of this day of the event. Also, find out about the exciting phone call that dragged him away from our table at the pub and off into the night in pursuit of some big, human-like footprints that had just been found up in Washington. The picture to left, taken by our friend, Ian, was at McShane's Bar and Grill, an Irish-style pub-tavern, right before that fateful call came in. 

READ:

SATURDAY AT THE 2010 OREGON SASQUATCH SYMPOSIUM, from June 24th.

Read the fine EUGENE WEEKLY article, Desperately Seeking Sasquatch" Stalking Eugene’s Bigfoot Bash, by Rick Levin.

Here's a link to HANCOCK HOUSE BOOKS on CRYPTOZOOLOGY.

And here, just because we are a total nerd and dork (and because our cheapo camera couldn't get this good of a closeup at the event), here is another Autumn picture, this one from the OSS website. Be sure to check back for the 2011 2nd Annual event.

NOTE: Our DAY THREE reporting will be coming up soon. We'll get started once we get around to getting back from a Squatching trip up to Oregon this weekend. Hang in there, good reader!

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!

Be Fan of Me FACEBOOK PAGE. Like, Tell Friend, or Me Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Hu-man!!! Me mean it when me say Stomp. And me got big stomping feet.

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This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2010, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if 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.