The Bigfoot Story I Promised You

If you've been hanging out at this blog for any time, you may remember some references to one of my hobbies: stories about Bigfoot. I'm not obsessed with the Big Guy, but I do collect sightings, especially in our area, and try to keep on current news about him. Personally, I think he's some kind of unofficial primate that may migrate up and down mountain chains. (Many of the sightings in Colorado, for example, move up and down the Rockies, and often center in spring - fall, though there are exceptions.)
    My family thinks this is hilarious, and has had plenty of time teasing me about it.

Until now.

Daughter #2 and boyfriend Keith went bowhunting all last week. Here they are, reasonably cleaned up...but still wearing some of the gear. This morning, they got a shot off at a "dumdum elk couple," as Angel called them -- and barely missed. At least they saw something -- last week, it rained like crazy, did some snowing as well, and they saw very little.
     But they heard a LOT.

 They've asked to keep the exact location secret: Keith is headed up again this week, and they both feel that having extra people poking around will mess up the hunting potential. Suffice it to say that it is on the Western Slope, wayyyy up in the mountains (they had to hike more than 8 miles to their campsite) -- and no one in their right mind is going to be up there in the pouring rain, pretending to be Sasquatch.

No, this isn't Bigfoot -- just their dog Karma

 The first night they camped, they heard a series of strange howls, about 1/4 mile away. Must be coyotes, they reasoned.

Next day, they staked out a butchered elk carcass. Keith has a bear license this year, and they'd noticed that a bear had been visiting the carcass. They hoped he'd come back.
    Just before dark, with no sightings yet, Keith tried adding an elk bugle call -- and was interrupted right in the middle of it with a HUGE growl/scream not 20-30 yards away, at the end of the forest. Angel said it was so loud that she felt as if her hair was blowing back, comic-book style. And it was saying, "THIS ELK IS MINE. GO AWAY."
    So they did.

That night, they were snoozing in the tent, when about 3 a.m., the howls started up again. Only this time they were closer - a few hundred yards away. And they kept on. And on. And ON, getting louder. At times, a coyote group nearby would answer the screams back. The screams were accompanied by wood knocking.
    Meanwhile, A&K were in the tent, wondering if Mr. Bigfoot was going to come pounding through the side any minute. (I asked what they would have done if he had put his hand on the side of the tent. They both looked at me, then raised fingers, gun-style: "Blam, blam, blam.")

After AN HOUR of this, the screaming and wood-knocking suddenly stopped -- but they heard the crunching of leaves as something circled their campsite.

Then silence.

Had whatever-it-was tailed them from the elk carcass? They think so.

Both are experienced hunters -- Keith, in particular. Both know what a bear, elk or mountain lion sound like. I was assured this was nothing like any animal they'd ever heard --- "one of the freakiest things I've ever listened to," A assured me.

They never saw anything, nor did they smell anything unusual. (But A reminded me they were doused in elk urine at the time. "We probably wouldn't have noticed," she said.) But that kind of sound had to come from SOMEWHERE.

It will be interesting to see if Keith gets any more visits from Mr. S. He plans to take his IPhone up this time...I said, "Get a photo with him!" I'll post you on updates, if anything else happens.

Sent by nephew Andrew - I wonder if this BF knows the Colorado ones?