Sasquatch Walks Amongst Us

Native American legend is filled with stories about a mystical creature known as Sasquatch.

According to the people who have seen him, this tall, hairy, man-like creature roams the forested areas of this country. Ever since the 1967 Patterson–Gimlin film of the Bigfoot in California, there has been an increase in not only reported sightings but actual pictures of this beast. 

I always thought I would be the last person to see a Bigfoot until a summer day just outside Creede when both Trixie and I saw what we believed to be the elusive creature.

Now you may guffaw and look askance at us for claiming such a thing but her tee-totaling parents were along and the photo shows that we were not imbibing in local spirits. The sighting was also far in advance of the legalization of marijuana, not that I have ever done any of that either. 

The day started out normal as most days do when history is about to be made and we stopped for a picnic at the mining museum. We had just got settled to our food when I spied a tall upright hairy creature loping along the creek bank toward us. 

Not wanting to alarm my friends, I calmly screamed, OH MY GOD. Trixie spilled her drink, her dad dropped his sandwich and her mother choked on a pickle but all were able to turn around fast enough to see the Bigfoot drop to all fours, then onto his belly and slither into the water like a beaver.

He proceeded to swim across the pond toward us doing porpoise dives all the way in the cold, nasty, yellow water. 

Exiting the water on our side of the pond, the creature shook his foot long shaggy hair and stared at us. The distance to the truck and safety grew considerably at that moment but I figured that if her dad was anything like mine, he would not be easily separated from his lunch. 

When I was very young, my family vacationed in Yellowstone National Park and a bear tried to take our family lunch. My mom ushered my sister and me into the car but my dad remained at the table and simply swatted the bear on the nose, keeping our lunch intact. I learned there and then not to come between dad and his lunch.

But, back to Sasquatch.  Losing my normal good sense, I got up and started walking toward it thinking I would gain my 15 minutes of fame by capturing it or being killed by it, either one a sure road to riches for Trixie who was recording the event for posterity and as proof of death for my life insurance claim.  

Her mom, on the other hand, was screaming for me to come back to safety. But curiosity got the better of me and I followed the Sasquatch until he crossed the stream.

I know it was a male due to the lack of good sense in swimming in that tailing pond in cold weather and lack of a matching shoes and purse ensemble. As I approached closer he crawled into a cave and into immortality. 

Being a good citizen, I went to the Sheriff's office and reported what I had seen. He did not seem as concerned about it, though. Perhaps, he was already counting the tourist dollars sure to follow this monumental discovery.  

They always say strange things occur in threes and that week was no exception to the rule. News of a Goat Man in Utah soon came to the forefront and now, being investigative reporters, we had to find out about him.

It would seem that some hikers in the back country of Utah had photographed herd of Rocky Mountain Goats and there was a strange creature with them. Upon further examination, it was found to be a man dressed up like a goat living with the herd. 

A huge national clamoring for information soon followed and a “leave the goat man alone movement” soon followed.  

Fearing he might become a statistic with the start of the hunting season, wildlife officers soon deduced that it was a man practicing his skills on sneaking up on a goat herd to hunt them. And with that, a great myth and story was destroyed forever. So much for the Goat Man T-shirts I had just printed for distribution.he third thing that occurred that week was the death of a man in Montana who dressed up as a Bigfoot and was subsequently run over on the highway. Officers investigating the accident indicated that alcohol “may” have been involved. I would hope so as a man dressing up in a costume and dancing around on the side of the road is a little on the strange side. 

As for Sasquatch, he remains at large and again fades into places in our minds not often visited by the sane. We fear what we do not understand and so remain visitors yet in a world that is still unexplored. And, next time I see him, I plan on getting a photo with a handshake.