We Got a Gorilla for Sale!

Once again I feel as though I'm waiting and I don't know what for. Why is it so easy to let stories of this nature halt all other agenda? For me it's that way. I'm pretty sure I have an idea of what's going  on. Nothing. But I wait for the fact to be confirmed. Then once that is confirmed, enter the military helicopter and conspiracy theorists who will take up more time. And so we'll be left with however many other Bigfoot have been part of an exclusive govt. coverup, plus one. You know they won't even let us civilians have a peek?

Can't shame those who are selling, because we're buying. Whether they're selling themselves, the name bigfoot, outlandish claims or what have you.
Much respect to true researchers who actually go out into the field and spend countless hours striving to uncover this mystery. Kudos for keeping level headed (for the most part) and not allowing momentary setbacks obstruct your line of vision. 

At this point my field, as well as quite a few others, is a web. And it is tangled. I imagine once I clear away the debris I'll be left with crosshairs and again be forced to wait for something to enter my line of vision. For the love of Zack Morris I hope it's not a secondary view from the scope of someone who claims to have shot a Bigfoot.

 http://youtu.be/r_oaVD4NzYo

Operation 1•8•7 Foot

Contrary to popular belief you can do research or investigate without going into the remote wilds of the closest National Forest. While the majority maintain that's where your best chances lie I don't discount or take lightly the fact that you have just as good chance driving your usual route to work (depending on your location). 

If you do happen to be located in an otherwise (sub)urban area more often than not you may be just a few mile drive to a wooded area. I don't even believe it must be dense woods. Sure, the more rural/unpopulated the better, or so they say. 

Anyway, while I'm restricted due to time, money, resources and life in general I like to take part in a little exercise I refer to as 'Operation 1•8•7 Foot'. You may also call it Drive-by Bigfooting. I make a mental list of reported sightings in my area, choose one and drive by. The nice thing about Bigfooting on the fly is you can do it spur of the moment. For instance, I was at a dentist appt. this morning and on the way home decided to take a route that swung me past the area of a sighting from the 70s. The idea isn't to see a Bigfoot, but observe the area. I especially enjoy the older reports as I'm left to decide what the area may have looked like back then and I find it exhilarating to know I may be in a spot where a Bigfoot also was, even if it was 30-40 years ago. 

It's up to you to decide whether you want to pull over, get out and stretch or venture into the surrounding wood (assuming it's not private property). There are no rules and no right or wrong way to go about your research, investigations or what have you. You are able to take part in as little or as much as you want and I feel the odds are still in your favor. Keep in mind that a lot of sightings/encounters happen to the unsuspecting. I believe you have a good chance if you're sitting in the woods at 2am yelling and I also believe you have as good a chance if you're taking out your garbage or stepping out for a late night smoke (again, depending on your area). 

*Smoking in Natl. Forests may be frowned upon. 

Good luck, have fun!

Bigfooting at 70mph

I'm a bigfoot enthusiast at least. An opportunistic bigfooter at best. Since embarking on this journey into bigfootdom I've gone from severely engaged to slightly skeptic and back to a happy medium of enthusiastically aware. I'm sure throughout the years I will cycle through all the same, if not more, emotions concerning the subject. Unless of course there comes a point when I have a sighting or encounter of my own. I don't think you can discount the sight of a 7'+ creature.
As of current we're heading east through PA and fast. With each pending tunnel leading me through another mountain I'm growing more and more anxious knowing that there is a chance they are here among the trees and creeks. I feel as though I'm close by to an old friend's house and I'm dying to pop in and say hello.
To pass the time I'm listening to Monster X Radio's podcast from Sunday night. For now I'm glad to be able to live vicariously through those who who actually take part in the practices that I so desperately want to be a part of. But it won't belong before I put my fears and hang ups to the side and replace it with my tick spray, drive an hour in any direction and settle in to familiarize myself with the land.

A different perspective

Until 6 mos ago I had no idea that a vast population of bigfooters existed within the wilds of Facebook. There must be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people who share in the interest scattered among the US and territories of Canada. They were an elusive bunch having never encountered them myself. But, I found them. They are here. If you don't believe me, do a little research of your own.

Ohio Bigfoot Conference 2013 The Good Stuff

I awoke that morning at 6:30 am in somewhat of a zombie state. My headache from the night before had not gone away and I was stuck 7 foot off the ground with no way down. I considered jumping, but didn't want to jostle my brain any further. I made it down eventually.
I crept around the cabin as not to wake my sleeping roommates and started the coffee. It took 4 yrs to brew but was worth the wait. While waiting I searched out the back window into the woods behind our cabin for any signs of life. There was a flock of those vultures that seemed to be fighting over a decent meal. They were really flaunting for eachother. I never found out who won the treat.
The cabin came alive as everyone woke. We had coffee and a nice morning chatting. Kelly and I took turns looking out across the lake with the binoculars. She called them binos I called them binocs. Either way, we were super bad ass in our search efforts.
Showered, dressed and packed up we headed to the lodge for check out and to obtain our admission tix. After that, we headed to a spot called Mr. Lee's for breakfast. Good diner food. Good prices.
The conference was in full swing by the time we made our way back. There were vendor tables in every room from the window to the wall (til the sweat drops down my ......) I was in awe. I wanted to visit every table and meet every person. And I did, sometimes twice, maybe three times. Among the people in attendance were a few I had recognized from either hearing their names or seeing their faces on the web. (is it dorky to say web?) I'm not big on autographs. I mean if Tom Cruise offered me an autograph I'd tell him to "no thanks" then I'd ask if he wanted my autograph.
Anyway, I noticed Loren Coleman almost immediately. While I'm not big on autographs I was kicking myself for not bringing my book 'Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America'. I would have had him sign it. Sure, he's an author in a field that I'm interested in. I admire that. Right?  So I decided to at least let him know that I had his book, that it was very highly suggested to me, that I haven't read it yet and that I left it at home. TaDa! I assured him I'd read it soon. It was very nice to meet him. I passed Mr. Coleman a few more times throughout the conference and he'd say "You have my book at home." I'd say "Yes, yes I do."
We made our way around all the vendor tables and met people and snagged up super cool swag (booty according to your preference). The speaker line up was awesome. The speakers I was able to sit in for were Thom Powell (easy listening, supah dupah funny guy) as well as Mark Maisel and Dr. Russ Jones's (very well informed guys and willing to share the deets) with a cameo by Jim Sherman (produces insane recordings). I also watched a bit of the auction. There were some really neat items up for bid. I had so much excitement I lost track of time. I wanted to make sure I introduced myself to the people who had been so kind and I set off. I made it a point to introduce myself to Marc Dewerth. He had done such a great job keeping everyone updated via of email and fb and the outcome was wonderful. I was glad to have found place/event where all of the info and mementos I craved were readily available. I also met with Sybilla Irwin, Joedy Cook, Eric Altman, Elusive MN.Brt (Abe), Jim Sherman, Mark Maisel and had lovely talks with a lot of other kind folks who didn't offer names but were encouraging and kind just the same.
 It was nice to see that regardless of what the general population thinks of the bigfoot phenomenon, it's real and it's here and people are taking it seriously. I respect these people. I'm not sure of all the stereotypes surrounding the bigfoot community, but the people I met were kind, intelligent, funny, dedicated and determined. I think as far as stereotypes go I was probably the kookiest, whack job there. But I hid it well, I think. I look forward to attending many more conferences and in the meantime I hope to set off on my own journey into the wilds of the bigfootery world.

As Good As or Better Than

I'm skimming a book called '50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True'. It was written by Guy P. Harrison and covers such topics as ghosts, UFOs, Astronomy, psychics and the like. Guy is a skeptic and does a very good job explaining why it's important to be so. For the record, I agree with that.
I, of course, skipped to the bigfoot chapter eager to read what he had to say concerning the subject. To my surprise within the chapter there was a full two pages dedicated to Patty.
He delved into the points and issues everyone is already aware of including, but not limited to, the 'fact' that no one, not even Hollywood film studios, were capable of making that much of a realistic suit in 1967.
He then included a list of films from the 50s, 60s and 70s in which he believed the costumes and suit quality were just as good as, if not better than what was shown in the Patty film. So I looked them up. And here they are:
Gorilla at Large (1954)
Konga (1961)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Star Trek's 'Magatu' (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (late 1960s)

Ohio Bigfoot Conference 2013 Arrival

A whirlwind of a weekend retreat. We departed around 1:30 pm Friday afternoon and embarked on our journey to our first Ohio Bigfoot Conference held at Salt Fork State Park. It was our rookie year and we didn't want to make any mistakes. The first half of our trip was uneventful and the second half we ended up on a scenic route. We passed swamps, cows and Skull Fork Rd. I wonder what kind of conferences they have there? Upon entering the park our excitement ran high when we realized we had missed our turn to the lodge. We busted a U making sure not to drive on the finely landscaped berm. As we turned onto the dirtroad I realized it was marked 51. Immediately I decided our GPS was taking us to a well hidden branch of area 51. Midway up the road we reached a clearing in the trees where a single picnic table sat as the GPS announced we had reached our destination. I rationalized silently that the secret passageway to the well hidden, secondary site of  area 51 must lie beneath the table. We decided to ignore GPS lady and continued until we came upon a couple of young guys sat in a pickup at the end of another dirt road. We asked directions and he rattled off the name of an indian reservation and asked if that's where we were going. We had our sights set strong on the conference and we couldn't be sidetracked by area 51 and indian reservations much longer. Even though it sounded really, really fun. 
Finally, we arrived. Check in and off to the cottage. I was less than pleased to find we were the next to last cottage at the end of the road. Sure, during the day I was fine but I knew after nightfall things would change. We were pleased to find the cottage was quaint and lovely and all around peaceful. Plenty of room and very very clean. There was a great view of the lake and we decided to relax immediately by opening a bottle of wine before dinner. Taking our seats around the firepit outside I noticed a lot of turkey vultures, or maybe regular vultures circling above head. I decided they were waiting for us to die and went inside. After we made ourselves at home and got settled we made our way to the lodge for dinner.
The lodge is beautiful and surrounded by rolling hillsides, woods and deer around almost every bend. The inside is very cozy and offers a warm welcome. After dinner we visited the Wildlife Lounge and enjoyed some beverage, pool and annoyed the kind people at the bar with Boston, Guns N Roses and John Lennon. The meet and greet was within our reach and we made it, but couldn't stay long. We decided it was time to head back to our comfy cottage and call it a night. We had a big day ahead of us.
I lost my OBC pin running for my life to the cottage door. I found it hard to sleep. I wasn't sure if it was because I was on the top bunk of a bunk bed, or because I was too excited and anxious about the following day. Either way I was adamant about all of us sharing a room and that was that.