Talking Bigfoot with Lon Strickler on Arcane Radio

Earlier tonight, was a guest on Lon Stickler's (Phantoms and Monsters) Arcane Radio podcast. Very nice conversation; had fun. Take a listen: Arcane Radio.

Wapiti (Elk) and Sasquatch: A Memory

(cross posted at my Orange Orb blog on Word Press)

[Preparing for my interview on Lon Stricker's Arcane Radio podcast this coming Friday, I've been putting together my Bigfoot material. Here's one of those things:]

This isn’t a particularly Fortean or cryptid sort of experience, but it was a profound one, and one I find revisiting more than forty-five years later. However, there is a piece of this experience that does fit in with Bigfoot and other crypto phenomena in a small way as we’ll see.

When I was a Girl Scout (Troop 1534, the Robin was our crest)  we went camping in Northern California. It was a great trip, and my first experience camping. We slept in tents, we hiked in the forests, ... the whole real life camping thing. New to me but I loved it. The first night, I remember laying awake in awe at the strangeness of listening to the screams of a woman, or maybe it was a baby. On and on it went, and I couldn’t understand why none of the adults seemed to care. Finally, I came out of my tent, scared but also intensely curious, to find out what was going on. I was very surprised when the camp leaders assured me those “screams” were not the pleas for help from a human in trouble, but wild peacocks. It took some convincing. I simply had never heard such a sound before. I’d seen peacocks in the zoo, but they never cried out like that, just walked around, their brilliant green and emerald tails bursting into jeweled colors every few moments. It was hard for me to put that pretty image together with the sounds I was hearing that night. Of course, since then, I’ve heard peacocks call like that many times. In fact, in the hills surrounding the city where I live, the wild peacocks can be a nuisance. 

It was during this camping trip that I saw my first elk. I’m not sure what I was doing off by myself; I only have the memory of the elk sighting, and not what I was doing before or after.  But I think I was just . . . walking around, which is a bit odd, since we were all about the buddy system and checking in with the adult staff and basically just not doing stupid things like being twelve years old and walking around in the forests by yourself on your first camping trip.

I come out on the side of the road; a highway or something. Everything is very still, and very beautiful. I’m surprised the road is here, I didn't know there was one close by. We came in another way, that involved dusty dirt roads and turns. I just stand there, looking. It seems I’m waiting for something, and suddenly I hear a loud crashing sound coming from  across the road. I watch, and hear a snort, a kind of chuffing sound, and almost magically (or so it seemed to me) there was an elk. He came rushing out of the thick foliage and then stopped right at the edge of the road. We were no more than fifty feet from each other. I was amazed; what a beautiful animal! I wasn't scared, but I was in awe. True awe. There he stood, looking straight ahead. He must have known I was there, but he didn’t look at me or come towards me. He seemed to be allowing me to look him over. (I’ve wondered, years later, if the elk wasn’t afraid of me, how did he know I wasn’t a hunter? Or was the elk unaware of me  --- but I am sure he was absolutely aware of me.)

He just stood there -- he had antlers and huge black eyes, and was very large. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at at first; I had never seen an elk outside of books before. At first I thought it was a very large deer, but realized this was no deer, but an elk. (verified later when I looked it up.)  And here we were, standing at opposite sides of a road. After a few moments the elk seemed to fly across the road; just bounded in what seemed like one long graceful leap, and into the dark green of the other side.

I remember thinking that this was a secret thing that had just happened, a glorious strange private thing. I walked back to our camp (I assume I did) and that was that.

Bigfoot and cryptid debunkers and skeptics often say that people mistake the usual for the unusual. A bear, elk or some other animal is mistaken for a Sasquatch. The wild calls of a cougar, coyote, etc. is believed to be Bigfoot cries, or possibly something even more preternatural: the Beast of Bray road, or some such. All mundane sounds of animals mistaken to be something paranormal by nervous humans. 

It’s a disingenuous and insulting explanation, which is applied to all witnesses who find themselves out in the woods, regardless of their experience. The person who’s grown up with camping and hunting or who’s lived their entire lives in rural areas is considered in the same group with those unfamiliar with flora and fauna. Myself, at that time long ago. I had never heard the peacock’s eerie calls, or seen an elk in its natural habitat. Yet I didn’t jump to supernatural conclusions. At twelve, I was only vaguely aware of things like UFOs and strange creatures, but I did have an open mind, and in fact, assumed that things like ghosts existed. I don't know where this trust in the “other” came from, just the way Im wired I guess. Even so, I investigated the call of the peacock, and simply accepted the gift of seeing wapiti. I didn’t assume those things were banshees or Bigfoot or anything strange. 

I know too many people that I trust who have shared with me their Bigfoot encounters. To varying degrees, all of those people are familiar with the outdoors, having lived in the country, or hunted, fished and camped all their lives. To suggest they “mistook” a bear, or something else of a mundane nature for a Sasquatch is ridiculous. In fact, it is irrational to suggest that. 

The debunker’s dismissal that “people see what they want to see” is also ridiculous. I didn’t, even in my twelve year old mind, believe I saw a fairy, or Bigfoot -- I knew I saw an elk, even though I’d never seen one before. (Believe me, as wonderful and magical in its way seeing that elk was, it would have been much cooler to have seen a fairy.)

Another tactic used by uber-skeptics is the “life itself is magical enough, only the bored or disturbed need to create something --Bigfoot, ghosts, etc. -- instead of seeing the natural beauty around them.” What these skeptics don’t understand is that both exist; it’s not a contest.  That elk was magical indeed. 

And so is Sasquatch, (and that’s with or without the high strangeness aspects of the phenomena, another topic for another day) which, so far anyway, I have not been blessed to encounter. At least not in a literal, flesh and blood way.

"My Name is Flix" cover

Many years ago, when I first started out in the paranormal bloggingverse, I self published a booklet on a Bigfoot type encounter in Oregon. Cut and paste, comb bound. I'm sure the thing is full of typos -- I didn't keep a copy. I managed to sell a few on eBay. Found an image of the cover while looking around the internet:

The photograph is of Conser Lake, although it isn't called that anymore. I know the new name but, while it is a matter of public record, (I assume) I won't share it since the lake is on private property and I think the owners got tired of people going down there.

White orb frightens fox

From the Sasquatch Chronicles site, a game cam caught a white orb that comes zooming by, scaring the heck out of a fox. This was in the Catskills, a place full of spooky anomalous stuff. Take a look. 

Brings up the question about orbs of course: just what are they? Orbs have been seen around Sasquatch. Of course, there are different categories of orbs: spirit orbs, UFOs/craft, something else, like the one in the video. Or is that orb a 'spirit' orb? We don't know of course. One thing seems evident; the orb has some sort of sentient energy.

Red Wolf DNA in Strange Canines?

Not much there. But here it is.

Another Idiot Shooting Things

Can't find the words, except for one: "idiot!"

Local Sasquatch Synchronicity: Answering My Call?

(Not a literal call; more on that good old metaphysical side of things)

More on the incredible Sasquatch-work-synchronicity. (see post below)

Met briefly with the person related to the co-worker who had a Bigfoot encounter in the Cottage Grove area. Which is a local hot bed of not only Sasquatch activity, but UFO and general all over weirdness vibes. Turns out the researcher he was with was Ron Morehead! He asked me if I knew Morehead; I said no, not personally, but I was familiar with Morehead. But at the time, I couldn't place the name of the researcher with the theory. When I got home I looked him up and of course! Moorhead was on Coast to Coast not long ago, and he discussed the more anomalous, paranormal aspects of Sasquatch.

While I go on about Sasquatch in my area (Oregon; Willamette Vally) as well as everywhere -- terrestrial and none terrestrial -- I miss the obvious. As in, a gathering of local researchers and interested parties in the Cottage Grove area. Which I will be sure to attend this month!!!!

What seems odd in the past two days is the location. There are several schools in our district... many elementary schools. (I am an EA in an elementary school.) What are the odds staff members -- not only close in terms of area of sightings such as the Cottage Grove area roughly 25 miles south of here) but friendship, as well as work location? Not only do I feel an affection for this co-worker (long before I knew of the Bigfoot connection) but our rooms are in the same wing, and only separated by one room.

It's logical to assume that these same people, or, myself, could be at another school in another part of town, and never know each other.

Adding to this Fortean type connection: just this week, I was putting out "the call" concerning Bigfoot.  Show me a connection, a message, something, a dream visit, I asked, and, a few days later, this.

Sasquatch Synchronicity at Work

Oh my! But the delightful weirdness! Today at work, a staff member told me that a person who is related to another staff person was with a Bigfoot researcher — the two of them were hunting in the Cottage Grove area here in Oregon (Cottage Grove: a hot spot of both UFO and Sasquatch activity) and saw a Bigfoot. This person wanted to talk to me, knowing of my interest, but being at work, wasn’t possible to get away and talk Bigfoot. Later today, I was asking the person if they knew so and so  (well known Bigfoot researcher inserted here) and they said “He’s my cousin.” Get OUT! I asked them if they knew so and so, and so and so —  various Oregon Bigfoot researchers.  “Oh, yes…” !

So tomorrow I will talk with the witness, and ask for permission to use names. As in, who is this researcher the witness was with? Details about the sighting, and anything else that might be shared.

A Note in the Back of the Book: Thom Powell's Edges of Science

A few pages to the end of Thom Powell's excellent Edges of Science. I had set the book aside for a long time, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but just due to life. Work, etc.

I had forgotten that I wrote the following in the back of the book:

December 22, 2017

Last night, I dreamt I was in a lighted tunnel/cave -- narrow. The others with me refuse to go in with me. I come upon a barrier; I could have gotten around it if I really wanted to, but I had the distinct feeling -- the knowledge -- that beyond this point was Sasquatch Realm. I really shouldn't go any further. I was curious, as in awe, but not afraid. Yet I knew it really wouldn't be wise to continue. So I left.

When I finished writing the above dream in the back of the book, I turned back to where I left off. The first paragraph at page 121. Read to the bottom of the page, where Powell quotes researcher Toby Johnson who, Powell writes:

"Toby insists he still was not scared, but stricken by awe." (Thom Powell, Edges of Science, p 121.)

This in context of Johnson walking "right into something invisible but tangible."

Check Orange Orb on WordPress

I am pretty sure I am moving over to WordPress . . . from now on, Orange Orb posts will be over there.

Old Debate, New Article: Kill Or No Kill

New article (To Kill or to Capture Bigfoot: The Great Cryptozoological Debate) on the old debate that rages on. Sad that it rages on, sad that some people think one has to kill themselves a Bigfoot just to prove to science it exists. Not enough for one's own experience to be the proof; Big Science has to know as well in order for those with the bloodlust to feel vindicated.

“You would need a heavy-duty rifle,” according Jim Lansdale, co-founder of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization (GCBRO). “I would suggest a 30-aught-six or better; .458 or something like that. Maybe a seven-mag’. But it’s all shot placement and you’d have to shoot him in the head. You can’t body-shoot him. They’re too big.” [Jim Lansdale; Gizmodo]

Disgusting Lansdale has spent a lot of brain energy figuring out just what weapon will do the job.

Skeptic and debunker Benjamin Radford gives his reason why those, like myself, are against killing a Sasquatch:

"To them it’s not just like killing an armadillo or an elk—it is a symbol of purity.” [Benjamin Radford; Gizmodo]

I'd like Mr. Radford to know that I wouldn't kill an armadillo (who does that?) or an elk. While some do -- hunters who kill elk in order to provide food for their family -- I choose not to do so. It's not because I believe Sasquatch is "pure", I have no idea. It simply is not right to do so. In this I am very adamant.

I have not seen a Sasquatch, though I have had a couple of odd experiences related to Sasquatch. I know a lot of individuals who have seen Bigfoot. I believe it exists. To me it doesn't matter if it's "pure" or almost human, or human like, or even human, or, 'simply' an animal. No reason to kill it. None.

None.
Nope.
Not one good reason.
At. All.

Having said that, I will make a qualifier here. While I doubt Bigfoot are psycho-beings killing humans willy-nilly, as Lansdale believes, (because, after all, those of us who are NO KILL are "bleeding hearts", which tells you a lot about Lansdale's mindset and political values) if an animal -- human or non -- is coming at me to eat me for lunch, then yes, I'd defend myself.

But I'm not going out to look for a being with the single minded purpose of killing one.

Bigfoot Porn and the Left

I know, Riggleman is on the right. So what do I mean by 'the left?'

'Bigfoot erotica' searches jump as House race gets weird, Pornhub says:
The adult website Pornhub said Tuesday that searches for "Bigfoot" – as
in the giant biped of North American lore – have shot up 8,000 percent
since a Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives said her
Republican opponent was a "devotee of Bigfoot erotica." [USA Today]

Since
Daniel Riggleman was outed as being into Bigfoot porn (I really dislike
that term, as well as the genre), everyone has been having fun making
fun.



Although Leslie Cockburn, Riggleman's opponent,
calls Riggleman's interest not porn but "erotica." Which tells me
Cockburn is straight-laced.  The two are not the same and somehow,
Bigfoot erotica is even worse than Bigfoot porn.



Riggleman doesn't believe in Bigfoot -- it's all a joke to him.



I'm
no supporter of the right, conservatives, or even moderate Democrats.
I'm a liberal leftie and proud of it. But the one thing that the left
often does -- far more than the right -- is mock anything to do with the
Realm of the Weird. UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, you name it. It's all silly
stupid stuff and so, even though I agree that:



A) The term Bigfoot Porn is . . . creepy, and Bigfoot Erotica is also creepy



B) I am no fan of the right. Or conservatives. At all.



C) Riggleman seems to be an ass, and an even bigger ass for his lame Bigfoot porn hobby.





His
Democratic opponent, Leslie Cockburn, gladly has used the 'bigfoot
porn' issue as a weapon to do away with Riggleman. Well, politics is
like that, use what you can so you can win.





I've
been pondering the relationship between politics and interest in the
paranormal, and why, it seems, the left mocks while those with
conservative views  seems to make up the majority of researchers. This
is just my observation. There's something to do this but I don't know
what yet.



Here's
one of my favorite liberal TV people, Stephen Colbert, host of Late
Night on CBS. Colbert is terrific, silly and smart. I respect his being
outspoken about his religion, even though I am not a Christian. But
whenever the subject of the paranormal comes up, Colbert, like most all
of his liberal cohorts, really go to town.

Recent 'Bigfoot Porn' and the Left

I know, Riggleman is on the right. So what do I mean by 'the left?'

'Bigfoot erotica' searches jump as House race gets weird, Pornhub says: The adult website Pornhub said Tuesday that searches for "Bigfoot" – as in the giant biped of North American lore – have shot up 8,000 percent since a Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives said her Republican opponent was a "devotee of Bigfoot erotica." [USA Today]

Since Daniel Riggleman was outed as being into Bigfoot porn (I really dislike that term, as well as the genre), everyone has been having fun making fun.

Although Leslie Cockburn, Riggleman's opponent, calls Riggleman's interest not porn but "erotica." Which tells me Cockburn is straight-laced.  The two are not the same and somehow, Bigfoot erotica is even worse than Bigfoot porn.

Riggleman doesn't believe in Bigfoot -- it's all a joke to him.

I'm no supporter of the right, conservatives, or even moderate Democrats. I'm a liberal leftie and proud of it. But the one thing that the left often does -- far more than the right -- is mock anything to do with the Realm of the Weird. UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, you name it. It's all silly stupid stuff and so, even though I agree that:

A) The term Bigfoot Porn is . . . creepy, and Bigfoot Erotica is also creepy

B) I am no fan of the right. Or conservatives. At all.

C) Riggleman seems to be an ass, and an even bigger ass for his lame Bigfoot porn hobby.



His Democratic opponent, Leslie Cockburn, gladly has used the 'bigfoot porn' issue as a weapon to do away with Riggleman. Well, politics is like that, use what you can so you can win.



Here's one of my favorite liberal TV people, Stephen Colbert, host of Late Night on CBS. Colbert is terrific, silly and smart. I respect his being outspoken about his religion, even though I am not a Christian. But whenever the subject of the paranormal comes up, Colbert, like most all of his liberal cohorts, really go to town.



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I've been pondering the relationship between politics and interest in the paranormal, and why, it seems, the left mocks while those with conservative views  seems to make up the majority of researchers. This is just my observation. There's something to do this but I don't know what yet.

Bigfoot is a Demon

Brett Tingley at Mysterious Universe writes about Christian author Timothy Dailey and his book The Paranormal Conspiracy. Dailey believes Bigfoot is evil:

Christian Radio Show Calls Bigfoot a 'Demonic Virtual Reality Projection' | Mysterious Universe: Dailey argues that Bigfoot and other elements of this “paranormal conspiracy seek to subvert and ultimately transform the rational view of the world through mysterious entities that thrive on instability, confusion, and fear.” He pointed out a Bible verse which mentions “powers of darkness that love darkness rather than light” as an explanation why most Bigfoot or other anomalies are photographed most often at night. I guess he hasn’t seen the Patterson-Gimlin film. [Brett Tingley, Mysterious Universe]

Haven't read the book so can't comment on that. While there are, in my opinion, parallel dimensions and portals, negative as well as positive energies, and entities messing with our heads -- no doubt posing, at times, as Sasquatch or aliens or what have you -- I personally don't believe in the literal and rigid Christian structure of Satan, etc. Keel, Vallee, talk about sources that are at the center of such manifestations, expanding outward to present themselves to us as. . . just about anything.  That I accept.

Bigfoot Porn Has Become A Major Controversy In A U.S. House Race. Seriously. | HuffPost

Google 'bigfoot porn politician' and you'll lots of links, like the one below from the Huffington Post:

Bigfoot Porn Has Become A Major Controversy In A U.S. House Race. Seriously. | HuffPost: Democrat Leslie Cockburn sparked a Twitter frenzy on Sunday by sharing a curious drawing, apparently taken from Republican rival Denver Riggleman’s Instagram page, showing a Bigfoot-like creature with its genitals obscured by a “censored” sign.

The synch/juxtapose of the name "Cockburn" though not pronounced that way, is too much in this creepy tale.



I've never liked the whole Bigfoot Porn motif; cheesy sleazy stuff indeed.



It's also not at all good that Riggleman is cozy with white supremacist. 

From Brent Swancer: Bigfoot as an Interdimensional Interloper | Mysterious Universe

 Over at Mysterious Universe:

Bigfoot as an Interdimensional Interloper | Mysterious Universe



Swancer points out the obvious (to Sasquatch as inter-dimensional beings nerds such as myself) points as to why this is likely the case.

My Ego (Oh Come On, We All Feel This Way at Times)

I always give credit to those that inspire me. If I read an article, someone's blog, book, or even a social media comment that motivates me to comment, rant or rave, I give a nod to the source.

I find it both amusing and slightly annoying when I read something on, say, a blog, a day or two after I've written about the very same thing, and no credit is given. No "I saw this on Regan Lee's Orange Orb blog and got to thinking .  . . " just an obvious riff on what I recently wrote about. There are a specific few blogs that do this consistently. But, since I am disliked by some (aren't we all?) as well as considered uneducated and even mentally unbalanced, no surprise there.

It's my own personal button-that-hates-to-be-pushed, this. It's a cousin to being called a liar. For whatever reason, or reasons, I hate being accused of lying when I most certainly have done no such thing. I've felt this way since I was a child.

2018 OREGON BIGFOOT FESTIVAL in Troutdale, Oregon

 Oh, I hope I can make this!

OREGON BIGFOOT FESTIVAL - Home

Professional Tracker Watches a Sasquatch Carry Away Dead Black Bear | Bigfoot Base

In Washington state, a tracker reports he witnessed a Sasquatch carry off a dead black bear. As the article comments, this story isn't confirmed, but, here goes. Theory: the declining black bear population is due to Sasquatch.

Professional Tracker Watches a Sasquatch Carry Away Dead Black Bear | Bigfoot Base: The creature looked at them and released a “gut-wrenching” scream. It then leaned down and picked up the carcass of a full grown black bear. With the ungodly grace and strength only a giant could wield, the Sasquatch slung the bear over its shoulder. It effortlessly walked up a nearly vertical slope and disappeared into the thick treeline. [Big Foot Base.com]

Mysterious Encounters with Bigfoot at Military Bases | Mysterious Universe

Stories of Sasquatch on military exist, and have existed for some time. An aspect of Sasquatch encounters I'm intrigued by. Here's one story from the late 1970s as reported by Brent Swancer at Mysterious Universe. The witness, Edwin Goday, saw a Sasquatch type creature. Goday shot at the creature, which ran off. After reporting the sighting, Godoy was told to keep quiet, and personnel came out:

[Mysterious Encounters with Bigfoot at Military Bases | Mysterious Universe:] According to Godoy, the mechanics made a secretive radio call and not long after a group of men in what appeared to be lab coats and thick rubber gloves descended upon the area taking samples of the blood and making casts of the footprints. The whole time Godoy claims that he was not allowed to speak to anyone at all, and that he was kept to the side away from what was going on. The perplexed Godoy was then whisked away to the base hospital, but rather than be looked at by the usual medical staff he was examined by a doctor who was from the Air Force, which was odd considering it was an Army installation.

More at the site.



What to think of these stories? I have no idea. True, a cover for something else, what? One possibility is the government's awareness of many things of a paranormal/UFO/cryptid nature, used for their own agendas. The question then is, why? That's when the conspiratorial mind starts its journey down the rabbit hole.