BLUFF CREEK COMPANY/RESORT Purchased by Yurok Tribe. Improvements to Be Made, Historic Company Store to Be Demolished.

Bluff Creek Company Store, in 2009. Photo by Steven Streufert

BIGFOOT'S BLOG, NEWS FLASH, JUNE 21, 2015

(10-22-15, UPDATES BELOW)

The BLUFF CREEK PROJECT page on Facebook just received notice from a friend that the historic spot at the bottom of the Bluff Creek watershed, once known as the Bluff Creek Company and lately known as the Bluff Creek Resort, has been purchased by the Yurok Tribe next door in Weitchpec, and is going to be redone for modern times. Unfortunately, the old store where Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin stopped for supplies, along with all the early Bigfooters, will be demolished. In the last few years the building has lost all of its historic signage and has begun to collapse in on itself.

The Resort store as it appeared after gas pumps were added in 1976.
Photo from Phil Smith, Sr. via Roger Knights.

Here's the message we received:

Rollie Nelson, Jun 20th, 10:45pm
"Update bluff creek resort has been sold to the Yurok Tribe. 
Expect improvements in services soon. 

The resort greatly will be improved over the next few years to meet a greater number of needs for the locals and the guests of the resort.

This will include but is not limited to: 
improved river access via boat ramp. 
Interpretative trails. Guided river tours. Rafting. Possible Ziplines. Fishing and bait supplies. Small engine repair basic service auto shop with tire changer. Fuel.

The store: The original structure of the historic bluff creek store is sadly a total loss due to years of neglect. Yurok tribe plans to demolish the old store and build a new store in its place. Heart breaking I know but too many years of neglect has made to structure totally unsalvagable.

The resort just changed hands on the eighteenth so please be patient with us and we will get bluff creek back on the map."

Our reply:
Bluff Creek Project, Sent by Steven Streufert, Jun 21st, 4:21pm
Rollie, thanks for the updates! We're pleased to hear that Mr. Smith has finally found a buyer, and a great local one at that. It's sad to hear about the final fate of the old historical store, though. If you have any more or any links you could share that would be greatly appreciated. 
Thanks! Steve, Bigfoot Books, Willow Creek.

*

More photos from 2009. Keep in mind that the store structure has since fallen into total decreptitude. All photos following by Steven Streufert, save as noted.

Myself with the poor old store, 2009, photo snapped by Craig Woolheater with my camera.

Another angle of view.

The old gas pump platform with the now tall cedar tree Phil Smith's wife planted back in 1976.

The Resort office, building still in nice shape.

Ruins of the part of the old Greasy Spoon Restaurant, behind the store building.

Members of the Believe-It Tour, Michael Esordi and Craig Woolheater, speak with the owner.

Here is the Company Store in 2010, missing its signs, and starting to collapse in the middle. I'll try to get you a current photo of it, as its condition is much worse today in 2015.

Here is the location, "X" marking the spot of the BCCS. Just north is the Bluff Creek Road. Right at where the bridge crosses Bluff at top one may see the now closed old, wiggly Bluff Creek Road segment that the old-timers used.

*

View Roger Knights' Photobucket collection of old photos, along with notes from Phil Smith Sr., the owner of the Bluff Creek Resort at its end, here:
http://s7.photobucket.com/user/RogerKni/library/BF%20BCCS%20Photos?sort=6&page=1

See my previous blog posts about the BLUFF CREEK COMPANY here:
http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/search?q=bluff+creek+company

UPDATES, 10-22-15!!
"Rollie Nelson 6:32pm Jun 21
I'm pushing to have the new store at least appear simular to the old store.
I've got a little support in this due to the simple fact that we want the business to succeed.
P.S. I think you might actually know the new manager at bluff creek. He is Ross Nelson formerly of the "Ray's" butcher shop in Hoopa.
Rollie Nelson 6:48pm Jun 21
The facilities at the resort are quite a bit dilapidated. That being said the tribe will need time in the resort will have to be rebuilt almost in it's entirety we are planning on doing this in stages so that the long term residents that are staying will not gave there lives totally disrupted. 
There are security issues that need to be addressed. 
The f---ing electric system is a f---ing nightmare. 
The gas system needs inspection. 
There are two individuals that have lived there eight years and they are fighting eviction. They have tons of tweaker junk piles in the old store the old shop and the small house between the shop and the store. They are slinging meth right in front of the resort. These things are just a few of the issues working against us at Another update...
Rollie Nelson June 21 at 10:05pm
Ross Nelson my brother is the new manager he does not have internet yet but that should change as soon as physically possible. The tribal website has not been updated and I don't know when that will happen. While there are a few issues to be resolved the resort is currently open. We have great hope for the new Bluff Creek resort. And we hope you all enjoy the improvements to come.". Rollie Nelson 6:50pm Jun 21
Internet will be up at Bluff Creek soon and then my sister in law will be all about the facebook updates
Rollie Nelson, June 21 at 10:05pm
Ross Nelson my brother is the new manager he does not have internet yet but that should change as soon as physically possible. The tribal website has not been updated and I don't know when that will happen. While there are a few issues to be resolved the resort is currently open. We have great hope for the new bluff creek resort. And we hope you all enjoy the improvements to come."

Tweakers at Bluff Creek?? Uh oh!

*

Happy Summer Solstice to All!



****************************************************
This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2007-2015, 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.

Corrections and Clarifications to Peter Byrne's Patterson-Gimlin Film Site and Bluff Creek Map

BIGFOOT'S BLOG, EARLY JUNE, 2015 EDITION

Here are some corrections and clarifications I had to make to Peter Byrne's ridiculous PGF Film Site/Bluff Creek map (from his 1976 book, "The Search for Big Foot") so that some sense could be made of it. I think Byrne was intentionally obfuscating the location to keep it to himself. What other explanation can there be? Also, I interviewed him a while back (HERE) before we found the PGF site, and his directions to the location were quite far downstream from the actual spot. It is stuff like this that made it difficult for us to relocate the site. Distances are totally deceptive in the Byrne map. Actually, it's one mile from the first bridge to the second, and then three miles up the creek to the film site.

Click to Enlarge. Left to right, Byrne 1976, USFS 1974, USFS 1952

Here is the Byrne map by itself, from his out-of-print book.

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Here are the other two maps, the earlier one first. Note the location of "Ferris Camp" is the PGF site. "McDuff Camp" was at the location of the current bridge over Bluff Creek, one mile up from Louse Camp. We think that this is where Patterson and Gimlin camped, just up the creek a ways from the road, according to what Bob Gimlin told me in Yakima last year. "We got to the bottom of the road, where it meets the creek, and then we just crossed the creek. It was right there," Bob said. Right there across the creek would have been over a ford at that point, as there was no bridge there at the time. The ford would have crossed over the creek and headed upstream on a jeep trail grade road that went along the creek all the way past the film site back then.

.

  

New BLUFF CREEK PROJECT Trail Camera Results, On the News, New Funding Drive, and More

BIGFOOT'S BLOG,Mid-January 2015 Edition

Image of a Ringtail from Twin Lakes, just east of Bluff Creek.

BLUFF CREEK PROJECT, an extension of our former BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE PROJECT, has a new set of Winter 2014-15 wildlife results from the cameras at one of the ridge lakes above Bluff Creek itself. The actual watershed of Bluff is closed during the winter by the USFS, but our cameras are still down there running until late Spring when we hope to return. See below for the latest videos, plus the previous ones from Summer 2014 and earlier.

The Project is running another funding drive for the expensive lithium battery replacement and maintenance of our some 20 cameras currently deployed. From Jamie Wayne, head of trail camera deployment:

"I just launched the Winter crowdfunding drive so we can get some new batteries for the cams. Please sponsor a camera! Only $12! We need to start getting ready to service the cameras in the spring. I just used the last our lithium batteries to keep our Reconyx going for another 3 months."

Check here at Indiegogo for information and to contribute to this public research project: http://igg.me/at/BluffCreekProjectWinter2015/x/1011896

Bluff Creek Project Logo, art by Wes Losner

JUST UP, a new blog/website for the Project, still under construction:
http://bluffcreekproject.blogspot.com/

Find BLUFF CREEK PROJECT on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/BluffCreekProject

Also, local Humboldt/Northcoast NBC television news featured the Project the other day, here:
http://kiem-tv.com/video/rare-ringtail-cat-other-animals-captured-trail-footage








HERE ARE THE VIDEOS...

 Current highlights:


 A kinky bear:


Past highlights:


Fabulous bears at Twin Lakes:

Summer 2014 on the PGF Site:

Animals at the "Altar" at the MK Site:

 Three Mountain Lions!:

 A Cat on Patty's Trackway:

*

Thanks to all who have joined us in BLUFF CREEK PROJECT by contributing, joining us in Six Rivers National Forest, or just by sharing links to our posts here and on Facebook!

*