Where do I start? Over the weekend, the wife and I started a four day trek into the land of Sasquatch and Bigfoot. First off let me tell you, I want to be a believer, hold on, I am a believer.
When I was a young fellow, My Mother and Father got a divorce. I stayed with Mom in Florida and My Father and brother moved to Utah. One summer my Mom and I drove to Utah to visit. During that time, my Dad would take me and my brother camping in the foot hills of the Wasatch Mountains. It was around 1972 or so. I didn't know anything about the Patterson-Gimlin film until later, but my Dad did and he let me know all about it. We used to lie down in the dark and watch the stars and see satellites cross the sky as the fire crackled in the background. My Dad loved to tell scary stories to his two boys, and he could lay it on thick. In the darkness, around that camp fire is where I first heard of the big footed man of the woods. I have been a fan ever since.
Well Thursday we struck out on our little outing. We hooked up to our camper and headed out first to Blue Ridge, GA. Just a few miles south of Blue Ridge is Cherry Log, GA which is home to the worlds largest Bigfoot museum, Expedition Bigfoot. It's well worth the trip to go through. It only takes about a hour if you move slow. Some good stuff is in there. The museum, was just the first port of call on our Squatchy tour of the south.
The next morning we headed north another 170 miles, give or take, to the mother of all Bigfoot destinations, the Smokey Mountain Bigfoot Conference in Gatlinburg, TN. We arrived, set up our camp, and out we went. Let me tell you, I really don't want to travel to Gatlinburg much. The traffic is HORRIBLE!!! That is no lie. I have never been there and found the going to be good. Ok, whatever. Just know if you go, be prepared like a good Boy Scout.
Saturday morning rolled around and I was ready for a day with the crew. The conference was held at the Smokey Mountain Conference Center in downtown Gatlinburg. Parking was across the street. The SMCC was very convenient and accessible.
All went as expected, there were vendors, and speakers. To the left you can see the schedule of speakers. Some better than others but all interesting. Some where on the far end of the Bigfoot world, you know, UFO's, portals, floating lights and the like. Well, I'm not there, not yet. I'm currently a firm believer that its and unclassified mammal. That's right, he's just an animal. Anyway, spiritual powers, mind speak, UFO's, stepping out of portals, vocalizations, rock thowing, you name it, someone covered it. Boy howdy, my wife had a few good laughs about this stuff.
Who we where really there for was Wild Bill and Huckleberry of the Mountain Monsters TV show on The Travel Channel. Now let me tell you a little secret. The serious Squatchers don't like the Mountain Monster fellers at all. At least it did not appear that they did. The conference had two panel style of speakers, the Mountain Monsters and the rest, Charlie Raymond, She-Squatchers, David Paulides, and Ron Morehead all MC'ed by Matt Pruitt. The two panels where distinctively different in content. The Mountain Monsters were light, funny and importantly not self absorbed. All the others, on the other hand, took their subjects very seriously. I don't really blame them for that. If you sink a lot of your time into life passion, your going be serious. We rolled up back into our driveway Sunday afternoon about 2pm. I successfully had a nap after that.
All in all it was a great weekend and a great conference. I am already planning to attend next year. Who knows, they may even really discover Walter, you know, Walter. That's his name.
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