Elkton, Oregon

We head out early to get to Autumn William's home.

Why can't we stick to schedule?

We decide to take another 1.5 hour detour to go see Crater Lake. I'm just as guilty as the rest for wanting to add this stop. It was really cool.

We finally arrive at Autumn's and she is playing her piano and singing as we stand in the doorway listening. She has a beautiful voice and I hinted to her that I would love to sell her CD on my website.

She shows us around and is so so happy to see her buddy Craig. She then takes us next door to meet her mom, Sali and her dad, Bob...oh! and grandpa Bill!

Sali's house is the most wonderful thing to see! Each room is decorated with a theme and it would take weeks to see every treasure that is tucked away in each room!

If you all think Autumn is beauiful, you should know that she gets her looks from her mother! And funny, too! The whole family has such a wonderful sense of humor and made me feel so comfortable and right at home with them!

We went out to the local eatery for a quick bite then back to Autumn's to hang out and shoot the breeze.

This is has been a once in a lifetime trip for this Bigfoot Field Reporter.

I have to get permission to tell you all about the rest of the journey, and I hope I can! You won't be disappointed!

You want a what?

Well, we are getting pretty far up north now. We are waving goodbye to Linda and Bob at Happy Camp to travel 2 hours out of our way for an In-N-Out burger.

You're kidding me, right? I don't even like hamburgers, but, I'm just along for the ride.

So we head north to Redding, CA...the last place in California to get an In-N-Out burger before hitting the Oregon border.

The drive is beautiful going around Mt. Shasta. I'm getting crabby.

So we get there, have some so-so hamburgers, and everybody is happy.

I guess it's "cool" to say I had one. I still prefer Big Macs.

When we become the story

So after a while of chatting with Bob and Linda, we decided to go check out the area where a forest ranger had a sighting of a bigfoot in 2005.

We followed Linda and Bob about 5 miles up the road and pulled over.

Linda began relaying the story of how this forest ranger was on her way to work at about 8 a.m. when a large, hairy, bi-pedal creature crossed the 2 lane road in front of her and proceeded up a steep hill with about a 90 degree angle.

The woman was shaken and when she got to work she reported to her supervisor what she observed. The supervisor then went to check out the area around noon, and claims to have seen the creature sitting at the top of the hill staring down.

So here we all are walking across the road, imagining how it went down for the ranger. We were poking around on the hillside when all of a sudden Bob yells out that he thinks he found an impression.

The impression was impressive! I crawled up the embankment and was checking it out when I noticed how deep and distinct was every toe! It appeared as if the creature making the print had stepped or maybe leaped about 5 feet from the road and onto the hillside, but had needed his full weight on his toes to traverse the steep terrain.

I took some pics and Bob was ecstatic! He had just been talking about how disappointed he was in not having found any sign in the years that he had lived in Happy Camp!

Linda and Bob promised that they would come back to cast the print the next morning.

How did it come out guys?

Happy Camp

Today we are taking a 12 hour drive north, stopping to visit Linda Jo Martin and Bob at Happy Camp!

We arrived in the small town of Happy Camp, only to find that there was no cell reception here either, surprise surprise.

We stopped at the local convenient store and asked to use their telephone book to look up Linda's number. We find her listed in the phone book and realize we can't call without cell reception. The clerk was gracious to let us use the store phone.

We got ahold of Linda and she said she'd meet us at the Bigfoot Statue on the corner!

We waited a few minutes and took pics in the blistering heat.

Linda and Bob pull up and we all started talking and taking pics together and with the statue.

Bob told me a story of his encounter in the late 70's. He had been camping out alone, doing some bow hunting. He drifted off to sleep and was awakened by what he assumed was a police siren...not the full siren, but the tail end of a siren if you can imagine what sound I am trying to describe.

He figured it was probably just a local cop making his rounds and he drifted back off to sleep, only to be awakened again by the same sound! He didn't think much of it until it became apparent that this police officer must be in trouble and was sounding off his siren for assistance.

Bob didn't go to check it out, he was too tired. In the morning, he began grilling up some hamburgers when all of a sudden he heard the sound again! This time he was determined to figure out what the heck was going on..he grabbed his bow and took off after the sound.

He never did see what it was, but he heard it continue it's siren like call up and over the mountainside.

He burned the burgers.

Extraction

When Bobo and Slash saw the car, they were like, "Whoa dude! This is F**ked up!" They decided the best course of action was to tip the vehicle over the edge and call it in stolen. LMAO...love it!

Craig of course said no and we removed every piece of gear, luggage, coolers, etc. from the back of the Santa Fe. We climbed into Bobo's truck, but there was no room for Slasher so he rode the back of the truck, up the mountain and removed his shirt at one point while hanging on with one hand!

We finally get to the top of the mountain, which seemed to be about a 5 mile ride, and Mike and Diana are looking at us like, uh oh...where is the car?

Then we told the stories, tried to call loved ones...spotty cell coverage. Then we played a game of hide and seek all through Orleans and Willow Creek.

In our hunt for a wrecker service to extract the vehicle, Bobo went one way, we went another and before long we were separated from the gang. Sheesh!

I stayed at the Bigfoot Motel, while everyone else took care of the tow truck etc. About 9 pm I am upset. I imagined they all went over the mountain...finally I get a call and they got the truck out, for a mere $597.50 fee.

I treated the guys to steak dinners. They deserved it!

Bobo and Slash stayed with Wooly until the whole mess was over. They are my personal heroes and I hope to meet up and hang out with them again some day soon.

Word of the day-Harrowing

So, we all start getting up and shaking off the chill from the night. The sun slowly begins to make it's presence known. Breakfasts are made, hikes to the creek for one last look-see.

We break camp and load everything into the rental Santa Fe and people pile into Bobo's truck to head up the mountain. Great, we are getting an early start!

Bobo sped up a little so he wouldn't dust us out. The sun is getting warmer.

We were traveling a little ways behind Bobo and I was taking video of the crazy ride from the back seat, and Brad was taking still shots with his fancy camera.

I gaze upwards at the rock slide area and said, "Hey Brad, that is a great photo op". At this point Mr. Woolheater, thought he would help us out by stopping so we could take a picture.

The Santa Fe is a front wheel drive vehicle. Craig then gave it a little gas to get our momentum going when the shale and other loose rocks shifted and slid the truck to the edge of the drop off.

We were screwed.

We tooted the horn hoping Bobo would hear our S.O.S. but to no avail.

We didn't want to disrupt the vehicle in any way for fear of it tumbling down the mountainside. After about 15 minutes, I said, "I have to get out, my leg is pinned against this gear and is going numb". Brad then instructed me to open the door very slowly without jiggling. This was difficult as the passenger door was tilted at an angle due to the position of the car and I had to work against gravity to hold the door open so I could get out. I was like a ninja I tell ya. I slowly slid out of the back seat and was tempted to scream SEE YA! and take off running for dear life. But, I stayed. I tried to assess our situation.

Craig and Brad are big guys and their weight was holding the car steady.

I used Brad's camera to take pics of the tire angles so they could make a plan of action.

There was no way this car was moving without going down the mountain.

I helped Brad exit the vehicle by holding the passenger side door open and anchoring it with my entire body weight...he got out. One to go.

i was constantly letting out my very loud whistles to get anyone's attention. Nothing.

So Craig is sitting in the vehicle alone. He could not go out the driver side door because it would have brought the car down with him. We decided to wait it out for the return of the rest of the tour gang.

Then we heard the rocks giving way beneath the front tire!

We said, we gotta get him out of there!

Brad and I both anchored the car from the passenger side, using our full weight.

Craig then slowly slid from the driver's side to the passenger side. and finally popped out.

What a relief!

I said he moved slowly, but I never saw a man his size move so quickly or nimbly!

After about 10 minutes of ground kissing and high fives, Bobo returns with Slash..did I mention how cool those guys are?

Bobo and Slash

So there we are sitting around in the dark.
(We are not allowed to have a fire due to the many forest fires. The firefighters are local heroes around here..restaurants open up for them after a long day of putting out fires.)

It was now approaching 11 pm and we had given up on Bobo when all of a sudden, careening down the mountain side at about 60 mph and coming to a screeching halt within inches of Diana's chair, it's Bobo!

This dude is HUGE! He introduces us to his friend Jimmy, and they are two of the coolest dudes ever! They have the whole California surfer vibe going on...squatching in flip flops...they were a riot!

Bobo and Jimmy (aka "Slash") kept us entertained with stories all night long.

It was freezing out. We all retired about 2 am. Bobo and Slash camped further down from our campsite and it wasn't long before Bobo came back to our camp and told us there were squatches in the creek. Mike, Diana and Brad heard an odd whistling all night but that is about all, no sightings, no rock throwing.

To be continued......

Bluff Creek or Bust!

Met up with the entire gang in front of the Bigfoot Museum in Willow Creek. The museum is usually closed on Mondays, but they opened it up just for me since I had never been there before! I felt honored!

I took some video and pictures and those will be forthcoming.

We then headed up the road to meet Steve at his bookstore. He was going to be our guide into Bluff Creek.

We eventually get on the road to Bluff Creek, and the lead vehicle pulls off the road and we follow. I was a little tired and didn't realize that we had actually pulled up to The Bluff Creek Company store! This was the actual place that Bob and Roger got their supplies.

A gentleman approached us and he knew Steve. He was the owner of the property and I asked him so many questions! He did request that nothing be reported about my conversation with him. However, I can tell you that he has plans to tear down the building if he cannot sell the property! He is asking a FIRM $650,000.00. Soooooo, if there is anyone out there who is interested....my birthday is August 27th! :)

We then proceed past Fish Lake, which in hindsight would have been the best area to spend the night but anyway... we drove through the mountains until the Believe it Tour van could go no further. We then consolidated all the gear and people into two trucks. Steve led the way down the mountain. It was highly treacherous with just a narrow road with the side of the mountain on one side and a straight drop down on the other. Driving verrrrrrry slowly we finally arrive at the bottom, and there she is! Not Patty, Bluff Creek. It was a very reverent feeling being there. I felt like a kid at Disneyland.

Steve then took us to the film site. It was a nice hike through dense brush and fallen trees. The actual sighting area seemed so small when you see it in person. Crossing over some fallen trees, I fell through a beaver hole, swallowing my entire right leg! I was glad there weren't any angry beavers in the hole!

Took lots of pictures! I know you are all waiting for the pictures!

We hiked back and set up camp. Steve was not spending the night with us and he soon departed leaving us alone, at Bluff Creek with one vehicle.

We sat around, talked, ate dinner and waited for James "Bobo" Fay to arrive.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Drove 4 hours to Willow Creek to meet up with the Believe it Tour gang. I stopped too many times taking pictures of things bigfoot related.

Checked into the Bigfoot Motel, then drove up to Cinnabar Sams to meet the Believe it Tour gang, Mike, Diana and Brad. Also in attendance were Linda Jo Martin and Steve Sreufert, the owner of Bigfoot Books in Willow Creek. Steve had a lot of knowledge about bigfoot in the area.

We all went back to the motel and changed into squatching clothes. Steve took us to Brush Mountain Lookout for a little night hiking and squatching.

We were able to play around with the thermal camera and Gen III night vision. We didn't see anything but we had a great time watching the meteor shower.

Headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Arrived in Sacramento and proceeded to drive 2 hours to Vacaville to meet Bob and Kathy Strain, and John and Montra Freitas for dinner. I did not interview them at all, but we just ate, laughed and had a good time! John and Montra wanted to see the movie District 9 so we all went to the movie theater across the street. I had been awake for over 24 hours at this point and slept through the whole movie.
That's about it for this day.