Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Rainy Season Begins

The warm summer Florida sunshine has brought with it the rain soaked afternoon showers. I haven't been about to get out into the woods lately because most of my trails are flooded. I'm sure the big guy is loving the refreshing evening thunderstorms though.

I'm camping with some friends in the Keys at the end of the month, but no areas to investigate nearby. We'll be doing plenty of fishing and lobstering though. Should be a delicious trip. I'd love to spend some time in the sawgrass on the way down but I don't think we'll have time.

I'm going to be checking out a few spots in Myakka State Park two weeks from Friday. I'm pretty excited about this. I should have some cool pictures to post from there hopefully the weekend after that.

I've also got a new idea on how to search an area in Jennings State forest that up until now I've not been able to access. I've got my hands on a Kayak that I'm going to be taking up into a shallow branch of Black Creek. It's a creek that's between Jennings and another patch of forest that I think might be a travel route used to avoid the main roads and trails. I'm planning on hitting the water as soon as the wet afternoons slow down.

Until next time, stay safe and take the time to look at the details, you might be surprised what you find.

James

Sunday, July 10, 2011

My Toy - An experience I had as a child.

I have another story that I want to share with you all about an encounter/experience I had when I was younger. It takes place before the last story I shared about the time I saw Bigfoot. I can't remember when it happened, I just remember the experience. At the time I thought nothing of it, but today as I look back, armed with the research I have learned over the years, I know that it was another sign of the creature that I couldn't possibly understand at the time.

I grew up in a nature lover's paradise with my grandparents. There were acres and acres of swamps, woods, and an awesome creek that were literally in my back yard. From the time I could stand I was fishing from the banks of the creek and finding all sorts of animals near the tree line and bringing them home. My grandmother would always promptly make me return them.

My younger sister and I would also play on a swing set that my grandparents had for us. It was in the side yard near the tree line. We would spend hours on the swings and fight over who's turn it was to go down the tiny slide attached to the side. One day we were fighting particularly more than normal. At the time I was 5 or 6 years old and she was 3 or 4. Both of us young, loud bickering kids, actually not too big of a contrast from today where we are now old loud, bickering adults. I had a toy elephant that I liked to play with and carried with me everywhere I went. This thing was beaten down.  It was small, about the side of a coffee mug and made of a grey corduroy fabric. The nose was all droopy and misshapen from where I used to chew on it when I was a baby and had used it instead of a pacifier. I called him"EL". This thing meant the world to me and my sister knew it.

As we continued fighting over who's turn it was to slide or who was going to tattle on who for swinging too high she snatched the little elephant from my hands. She taunted me viciously... well as viciously as a four year old could taunt and said she wasn't going to give it back. I tried to catch her and wrestle it out of her hands but it was too late. With one swift move she launched it deep into the swampy woods that was a few feet behind our swing set.

I was horrified. I remember tearing up instantly as I ran for the house to tell my grandmother. My sister quickly followed as we entered the house still fighting with each other. Tears ran down my face as I told the story to my grandmother. She hugged me and made it all better like grandma's always do. My grandmother promised that tomorrow we would go look for "EL". I was okay with that and thought nothing else of it for the rest of the day and that night.

The next morning I had forgotten all about my toy. About mid morning we headed out to play. As I approached the swing set I looked over at my sister who was walking next to me.  We were both shocked at what we saw.  There sitting on the bottom of the slide was "EL". He was laying on his side, wet and dirty. There was also a bunch of feathers and acorns piled next to him. I thought nothing of it at the time, I was just so happy that he had come home and rushed to get him. I took him inside and my grandmother immediately threw him in the wash so he could stay with me for many more years to come.

I can't say for certain but I think that possibly the same creature I would one day get the chance to see in that same patch of woods may just have been watching us play that day. She might have found my toy out there and gave it back to me.  Plus those other wonderful gifts that I wish I had not taken for granted at the time. I swear to you everything in this story is true and I can't explain it. If she did, she'll never know how happy it made me to have that silly little toy back.  Just thinking about this event again to this day gives me goose bumps.

Until next time, stay safe and take the time to look at the details, you might be surprised what you find.

James

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

Anyone have any background on this video?  has it been debunked?



I've got some time in a week or two that I'm going to be down in this area and thought I might take a look around.


Until next time, stay safe and take the time to look at the details, you might be surprised what you find.

James

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Quick Afternoon Walk

So I was checking out a spot that I go sometimes to look for tracks and came across something very interesting on the walk.

One of the places I like to look is about two miles into the woods near an old military installation that they shut down years ago.  To get deep into the thick you have to go down a bike/walking trail that the city has built adjacent to these woods.  On my way there something near the side of the trail immediately caught my eye.

This rail fence that separates the trail from a rather
large pond was cracked.  I mean seriously damaged.  It would have taken something very heavy to cross over this thing and cause the bolts to bend like that.

I tried recreating the damage to another section of fence nearby.  I'm a 250 pound guy and it was impossible for me to even make the wood creak! There's no way a person could make it crack like this.

Notice the split piece of post that's broken off and laying in the grass, incredible.

I have heard of a few sightings near this place and have spent lots of time walking these woods and haven't come across any evidence of note.  Most of my experience tracking the big guy has been in Jennings Forest, a large patch of state land about four miles from this area.  Is it possible that he's moved into this area because of the fires to the south?  Maybe there's a another family group living in these woods related to the ones in Jennings.

Just because I've had no luck at this place in the past I get the feeling there's something out there.  When I'm walking the woods I get that I'm being watched feeling.  It's pretty creepy being alone two miles into the forest and feeling like something or someone is there with you.

I would love to check this place out after dark but it would be impossible to get in there without attracting some sort of police attention.

I searched the rail and post area carefully, all the time hopeful that some hair or other trace evidence would have been left behind.  There was nothing.  Maybe if I had come before the rain.  It looked like if anything might have gotten left behind it was washed away now. 

I think what amazes me most about this find is the bolts.  They're obviously big.  The wood fence they are holding together is not light weight by any means. It's a heavy duty rail.  There had to have been a huge amount of weight put on this things to bend it like that.  My estimate would be upwards of 600 or 800 pounds, round about the average weight of a healthy adult Sasquatch.

The wildlife in this area in abundant, I've seen many Deer, Raccoons, Skunks, and Possums while hiking here.  There are several large ponds including the one just over this rail fence where there are large groups of water fowl that stop seasonally.  Plenty of food to keep a hungry Bigfoot family happy.

I think I will be spending a lot more time searching this place in the future.  I can't wait to get back out there and keep looking for more evidence.

Until next time, stay safe and take the time to look at the details, you might be surprised what you find.

James