BF Miscellany 3: Bigfoot in the Bars, Russian and Other Wildman Encounters

Bigfoot roams the hills, but he also appears in bars. The creature is exploited in merchandising products and used for humorous gags. Though all of this, including pranksterism and hoaxing, gets in the way of serious investigation of the subject, one has to admit that it is... funny.
[Parental Advisory: this blog entry contains murder, gross bigfoot nudity, and terribly bad beer! Parents are advised not to view it.]

Here one may see the LOGGER BAR in Blue Lake, in an undated photo that appears to be from the 1960s. The thing on the platform around which the men are gathered is a BIGFOOT CORPSE, supposedly shot up in the hills east of town. One may find this historical photo among many others documenting the logging heyday of Humboldt by looking in the hallway right before the restroom doors. In the admittedly "blobsquatchy" enlargement (click it to view even larger), one may find the "creature's" head to the right side, with its hand dangling out further.

This image, found in SIMON LEGREE'S Roadhouse, in Hawkin's Bar (about ten miles east of Willow Creek on Hwy. 299), depicts a jokingly vandalized JIM MCCLARIN BIGFOOT STATUE in Willow Creek. This act of local hooliganism really happened, sometime back in the 1980s. It is not a Photoshop job.
Simon's bar also has a relic of the days around 2005-06 when a quite tall man calling himself "Paul Bunyan," from somewhere around Redding or Anderson, had planned to lead a Bigfoot Outdoor Camp and expedition training in our area. He came here, carved a lot of wooden footprint stompers, chopped some trees, and then disappeared.
One may also find the Coors Beer Wildman raging from banners and posters in many a bar or liquor store.

Here's one sighting from Willow Creek's FORKS LOUNGE. The Forks is right across the street from the famous Bigfoot statue and the Bigfoot Collection, at the Museum.

Some of you may not have heard that famed 19th Century Russian literary novelist, IVAN TURGENEV had an encounter with a Wildman--or I should say, wild woman--that includes apparent erotic pursuit. While swimming in a river, "Suddenly, someone's hand touched his shoulder. He looked around quickly and saw a strange creature... gazing at him with great curiosity. It looked like something in between a woman and a monkey. The creature had a wrinkled face of a monkey. Messy red hair was framing the face and flowing down the back.... He started swimming to a bank of the river, not even trying to understand what he just saw. However, the creature was swimming beside him, touching his neck and back and feet." The amorous wild creature had to be driven off with a whip. It's actually a pretty typical sighting of an Almas in that region, and typical for the time period. Read Myra Shackley's book, "Still Living?," aka "Wildmen," for some fascinating, non-North American ABSM-ery. We'd also refer the reader to Chad Arment's "The Historical Bigfoot" and Scott McClean's "Big Newsprints" (link to right). Older bigfoot-type stories seem to lean more often than not toward the feral human rather than ape-like subjects. Check the whole story out HERE, at the interesting CARGO CULTE blog, a great source for all your "Freak Belief" needs.

I won't even begin to talk about the Jack Links Jerkey ads. Someday Sasquatch is gonna soundly kick their asses!

OK, sorry about that!!! I'm feeling lazy today.

Coming up soon, the Bald Hills Expedition, Meeting Mr. Moneymaker, and the Klamath Trip futilely looking for the BFRO.

Copyright Steven Streufert 2009, save for Jacklinksquatch and Turgenev; images and quotes from text free to use with full credit and link to this blog.

BF Sighting in Oden Flat, Roadside Sasquatch in Redwood National Park, Native American "Bigfoot Magnet," and Bob Titmus

Along the Trinity River and Highway 299, just past the little town of Salyer, about five miles east of Willow Creek, is the area known traditionally as Oden Flat. Heading out of Salyer going east one enters a narrow bit of road hard up against a rock wall to the right and a deep cliff into the river canyon to the left, the road bends sharply to the left and then to the right at a 25 mph sign, and then straightens out at the top. This is the area where bigfoot activity has been going on of late. It is just about a mile from the sign announcing the roadside rest area ahead.


"Fisherman" Ken Hodges and family visited Bigfoot Books last week to tell of rock-clacking heard in the woods around their home. This has been going on for a while now, with Mr. Hodges speculating that the sasquatch has been hunting the many deer that use the property for transit from the hills to the south and the river to the north. This is an area, as seen in the aerial photos above and below (click images below to enlarge area!), that is very sparsely settled by humans but with ample wildlife habitat surrounding it.

At dusk, on the evening of Sept. 11th, 2009, the family's kids were playing out in the yard enjoying the last of the late summer weather. The house is about 200 yards from the small State Route 299. A large creature was heard and then seen by the family's daughter (who looked to us to be about 12-13 years old). Whatever it was was partially obscured by bushes, about 30 to 40 feet away. At first she assumed it was a bear, but then it STOOD UP, and proved to be over seven feet tall, almost four feet wide. Her father entered the driveway after a few moments, and the creature fled away bipedally. The girl said the Bigfoot was certainly NOT a bear or any animal they are familiar with in their area. It was definitely taller than her 6-foot, 4-inch father. Though she could clearly see its hominoid form, the failing light did not allow her to get a good look at its facial features. It WAS looking at and facing her directly, though, and demonstrated an obvious curiosity about the kids playing in the yard. It had dark brown, not black, hair covering its body. This reiterates many other sighting reports we've had where a Bigfoot shows interest in children and women, but flees when a male human arrives on scene.

The witnessing family were here in the store, and they made a very favorable impression on this reporter. Footprint depressions were found in the forest debris, but were not really castable due to their being made on leafy material. Mr. Hodges estimated them as quite large, pointing out on our ruler the length of an estimated 19 inches in length, 7 and 1/2 inches wide. We may be able to do on-the-ground investigation on this site, if there is any further activity. They seem open to it, though they don't want any strangers hunting around on their property.

The family told of their friend, a Native American man named James, who the say is a "Bigfoot Magnet," so often does he encounter the beings. One time while sleeping on the ground up near Waterman Ridge and Horse Linto, outside of the Willow Creek area, he was hunkered down in his sleeping bag when he heard motion in the brush outside his camp area. The thing moved closer, eventually bending down and sniffing/smelling the sleeping bag and the man inside. The man moved and was able to see the startled creature as it loudly jumped down the bank.

Some other RECENT REPORTS:

Occurring just a couple of weeks prior to the recent BFRO Redwood Expedition in Redwood National Park, we had a report come in of a bigfoot sighting on what the reporting individual says was "the new road into the (Redwood) park," just a couple or a few miles in, going east. The creature was seen in the roadbed, after twilight, and then it of course entered the forest as the driver drew near. The usual details of a Bigfoot were described. But of most interest, this sighting confirms the BFRO's interest in activity in the area, and adds yet another report to the many others coming in over the last few years from that area.

AND THIS: The most strange kind of report we get in here is the kind where the person starts talking, but then stops mid-story and seems to think better of telling further details. This often happens with the old-timers from around here. On this last Sunday we had a fellow come in who had grown up in Willow Creek area, and was old enough to recall the stories told by his elders of the 1958 activities up on Bluff Creek, as well as the events around the Patterson-Gimlin film event in 1967.

He told me this, about "a taxidermist's shop in Anderson," and I chimed in, oh you mean Bob Titmus? He vaguely nodded, but then said he was "sworn to secrecy" by his brother who had seen something there. To paraphrase, he then said, Let me just say that if you didn't believe in this Bigfoot thing before, you'd certainly have to think twice after this. SO, WHAT did he see in Titmus' shop??? Could there have been some evidence not revealed to the public? A dead Bigfoot, perhaps? Well, we are waiting on needles and pins over this one. It could be a stunning revelation from a man who knew Titmus from outside of the bigfooting community, if the brother is willing to tell his story.

Read John Green's biographical EULOGY OF BOB TITMUS, or PETER BYRNE ON TITMUS, both found on the fabulous BIGFOOT ENCOUNTERS web site.

Bigfoot Miscellany 2: New Lost World Species Found, Cryptids, Bigfoot Icons of Happy Camp

Cryptic enough for you? What is this, a chupacabras?

A "lost world" was found recently living isolated within a 2,000-year-old extinct volcanic crater in Papua New Guinea. Many new, unique species were found there. View the slide show of the creatures here, the articles here and here, in The Guardian. This reminds us of a previous bunch of new species found in an isolated area in the Foja Mountains, Indonesia, the island of New Guinea.

Life is multifarious, highly variegated, always evolving, adapting. The world is more mysterious than we currently know. And then there are forms, like the shark or the redwood, that have lived on in nearly the same form since very ancient times.

If the Coelacanth can live, why not a surviving descendant of the old ape, Gigantopithecus?

And ask yourself this, if you had no foreknowledge of the panda, which of these two would you find to be a more ridiculous proposition? I mean, pandas are just too teddy-bear-like to believe. How did these things evolve?

Keep these facts in mind.... The Giant Panda was not accepted to be a real species by the West until a pelt was brought in in 1869, and a living specimen was not seen by a westerner until 1916. The Mountain Gorilla was not verified until 1902, and before that it was a cryptid, seen as a myth of the local folk by most outsiders. The Bonobo chimp was "discovered" in 1902. The Giant Squid was not seen live until 2005, and thought to be a legend until a dead one was found in 1878. The huge Megamouth Shark was not found until 1976. So, GO FIGURE! Is it really so ridiculous to believe in the Sasquatch as a real, live species?

Check out the International Cryptozoology Museum!

To explore further: Megafauna Discovered in Modern Times, and CRYPTOZOOLOGY on Wikipedia. As always, check CRYPTOMUNDO.COM for all your cryptic needs.

BTW, folks! The word "cryptozoology" is NOT pronounced with a "zoo" in the middle. Check it: krip-tə-zō-ˈä-lə-jē.

And now, as part of our Regional Roadside Bigfoot Iconography Series, here are some images taken in Happy Camp, CA (read Bigfoot Sightings' great aricle) which is just north from the Bluff Creek area.
Happy Camp is a tranquil little hamlet nestled at the bend in the road along Hwy. 96, where the Klamath River starts to head up to the Northeast to its headwaters up in Oregon.This town rivals Willow Creek for its Bigfootiana, including a grocery store, RV park/campground, Bigfoot Towing, a massive metal Bigfoot sculptural monstrosity, and even a wooden Bigfoot statue at the post office. It is also the former home of Java Bob's Bigfoot Deli-Cafe. Java Bob has since moved on along the Bigfoot path with Tom Biscardi's... um... organization.
Click Images to enlarge. All Happy Camp images crypto-copyright, as usual, Steven Streufert, 2009. Feel free to use if credit and notice is given.

If you're ever in Happy Camp be sure to contact Linda Martin, local researcher--especially if you see something big and hairy lurking in the woods.

BIGFOOT DAYS 2009 Update. CRYPTOMUNDO Joins the 2010 50th Anniversary Cause. More Photos

Cryptomundo.com (link in their logo, below) has joined the battle for Bigfoot in Bigfoot Days, 2010. Our blog was blogged again on the site, view the entry here: http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/bf-days-2010/
On his notable cryptozoological blog website Loren Coleman has publicly offered to be a speaker for the 50th Anniversary of Bigfoot Days in Willow Creek... for the mere price of his plane ticket out here and a room in the Bigfoot Motel. Maybe we'll have to get the Committee to hold a bake sale? Or collect aluminum cans? Raffle off a Bigfoot cage? The event's coffers are not exactly brimming over with gold these days. What Cryptomundo said: "I often have been amazed with the success of the little town of Roswell, which can have 1.25 million visitors per year tour their little museum. Meanwhile, Willow Creek, with their Bigfoot museum, struggles to get any media attention." A good point, one that only BIGFOOT can answer. Bigfoot Days is a great celebration of the local Willow Creek community, that is its main purpose; but it could be so much more, and can do more good for this little town.

[Images: Two Bigfoots look on at the event, grumbling and scowling a little. "Is this thing about ME, or just Indian Tacos and POW flags?"]




We'll say it again. Any of you out there in the bigfooting world who might like to come and speak, set up a bigfoot table for merchandise and information (they only cost $25.00, so if you have a book to sell or organization to promote...), or just attend--do contact us, or the folks listed at the end of this blog entry. I'll assemble an information email list to keep you bigfooters posted as to any progress.
Of course, it all depends greatly upon the openness and cooperation of the Bigfoot Days Committee. If we can get them on board (just had a good talk with one of them today!) it may be possible to speak from the main stage later in the day, after the bands, or else to get the VFW folks to "donate" the use of their hall (this is where the 2007 40th Anniversary event was held to celebrate the Patterson-Gimlin Film).
If we can help in any way with your travel plans, as well, we'd be pleased to assist.

Now, here are some more photos from the event....

It didn't rain on this parade, but lo, it started sprinkling some right after it ended!

Unofficial "mayor" of the hamlet, Steve Paine, officiates again.



The folks from Sentinel Winery, makers of Bigfoot Red Wine, appeared with their little dogs and tractor.

Groovin' in the park: hippies, Elvis impersonator, and Ras-tafari vibes, mon!

Here are a few other contact addresses that one could use for a lobbying campaign and comments:
The Museum, bigfootcollections@gmail.com
The Chamber, info@WillowCreekChamber.com
The Organizers, bigfootdays2009@yahoo.com

All images crypto-copyright Steven Streufert, 2009; but you're welcome to use them non-commercially with photo credit and an email to let me know where they'll be appearing.

Coming soon: Meeting with Matt Moneymaker, BFRO Founder
Bigfoot Miscellany: Lost World Found! More!
Bald Hills Expedition and Timeline Research
Hail Bigfoot!!!

Willow Creek BIGFOOT DAYS, 2009 REPORT. Call for Speakers NEXT Year (?)

The 49th annual BIGFOOT DAYS celebration in Willow Creek went off swimingly as the small town community event that it is. This year's theme was "Stompin' the Trinity with Bigfoot."

(Click images to enlarge.)

A veterans' color guard led the way as usual, followed by the Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department's and Forest Service's trucks, Smokey the Bear, a kids' Ju Jitsu clan, belly dancers, fancy souped-up classic cars driven by grownups and mini cars piloted by kids, some floats of varied themes, the Little Miss and Mister Bigfoot winners; and yes, Bigfoot did make a few appearances in the parade. There was even an appearance of the Sasquatch costume of infamous Georgia Gorilla note, this one fully animated, not frozen in ice with guts tossed on top. Some cute Bigfoot suits and masks were presented on floats, a wild guy in a gorilla suit ran through some antics, and even the Ray's Market folks were shown providing "groceries" for a Bigfoot's Breakfast, complete with giant boxes of cereal and milk.

Down in Veterans Park the usual festivies ensued. There were plenty of Indian Tacos, buffalo burgers and sno' cones, plus the usual knick-knack and craft sellers, even a foot reflexologist. Not much Bigfoot presence appeared this year, however, but there were some enterprising youths selling their new Bigfoot Maps in a nice new adaptation and revision from the older one you may have seen around. Also, the "Messin' with Sasquatch" character appeared to promote Jack Links. Here anyone could appear to be abducted by Bigfoot, as did yours truly. A couple of tables had new Bigfoot merchandise items, a Bigfoot Poster and some "I Love Bigfoot" hats, as well as another with t-shirts reading "You know what they say about men with Big Feet." Missing this year was old "Mr. Bigfoot," Al Hodgson. We are hoping all is well with him and his family. Also missing was a presence from the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum, home of The Bigfoot Collection... what's up with that?

We here at Bigfoot Books had put in some effort to rally the troops for a Bigfoot speakers presence this year, but apparently the planners had too much on their hands to make provisions. The festival is in a kind of transition between the retiring old guard and a new, younger group of organizers. They all have families and jobs, so heck, I guess Bigfoot isn't too angry they didn't get back to us. Maybe NEXT year we will have to try for a mini-conference in the VFW Hall? If any of you are interested in attending or speaking at such an event do let us know ASAP so that we may put in the necessary lobbying and planning to make it happen. But darn, this year we could have had Loren Coleman, Dave Paulides and Sean Fries, not to mention HSU biologist (yes, he is a believer) Richard Stepp! Heck, yes, let's do it next year, EH?

It will be the grand 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the fest, so let's put it on! This thing is almost as old as the Jerry Crew footprint casts, by gum, dag nabbit.

All photos copyright Steven Streufert, 2009. You may use them for non-commercial purposes if you give credit and hopefully email me to let me know where they will appear. All links to this blog are greatly appreciated.

COMING SOON: From Bald Hills to the Redwoods and the Sea, another squatching research expedition.