Bigfoot, Sasquatch...whatever
After taking The Wonder Dog on his morning constitutional, I settled in with a great cup of coffee and the Travel Channel. This morning, they were re-airing an episode of Weird Travels in which they discuss Bigfoot. I had no idea that there are reports of Bigfoot in Texas. Specifically, the East Texas, Big Thicket area. My grandfather's ranch is on the far west side of what is traditionally East Texas. His land is majority pine forest and such, just like the Big Thicket area. Hm..wonder if I've missed some obvious clues?
I'm not so sure I'm willing to believe in this stuff. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to bizarre things, but this might be too far-fetched even for me.
The people the Travel Channel story spotlighted are very into their Bigfoot research. Not only do they believe the creatures exist (and there are reported to be many, many of them), they often believe they have in fact seen irrefutable evidence of them, if not sighting an actual Bigfoot. They conduct investigations that seem rather scientific--evidence collecting, photographs, written reports when the investigation is finished. Good for them.
Regardless, watching the show prompted me to hit the Internet. Being a librarian, I live to research. Here are the two most interesting sites I ran across.
Bigfoot of East Texas ~~ This one neither instills confidence nor provides sufficient evidence that they aren't nutty. The reported sightings/hearings could be attributed to any number of un-fantastic things. Also, the pictures they've got posted don't show anything I haven't seen when I've moved branches and rocks around in the woods myself.
Texas Bigfoot Research Center ~~ Okay, these guys are better organized, they even host a conference every year. I think this is the group featured on the Travel Channel show, I recognize a couple of images that were flashed on the screen. Anyway, the site details handprint evidence, research studies, and has a pretty broad collection of sitings in Texas and surrounding states. (There was even a fairly recent report of a siting about 5 miles from my grandfather's place!) What I liked best though was the bit on photographs. These guys actually discredited some of the more "well-known" alleged pictures. Nice strategy--prove your own legitimacy by disproving someone else's.
I don't want to sound sarcastic or condescending. I'm sure these people are sincere in their belief/knowledge of Bigfoot creatures and their existence. I'm not. My inability to believe was actually supported by the Travel Channel's show. Everyone of the people they talked to in conjunction with the East Texas studies appeared to be what we call "good ol' boys" round here. Now, I may have missed the portion of the show where their credentials were detailed, but frankly I doubt it. I'll even go so far as to admit that maybe I'm being a bit stereotypical, if not a bit hypocritical, since so many of my friends and family members could be labeled good ol' boys and I happen to know they're intelligent and credentialed people.
Call me a sympathetic disbeliever.
I'm not so sure I'm willing to believe in this stuff. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to bizarre things, but this might be too far-fetched even for me.
The people the Travel Channel story spotlighted are very into their Bigfoot research. Not only do they believe the creatures exist (and there are reported to be many, many of them), they often believe they have in fact seen irrefutable evidence of them, if not sighting an actual Bigfoot. They conduct investigations that seem rather scientific--evidence collecting, photographs, written reports when the investigation is finished. Good for them.
Regardless, watching the show prompted me to hit the Internet. Being a librarian, I live to research. Here are the two most interesting sites I ran across.
Bigfoot of East Texas ~~ This one neither instills confidence nor provides sufficient evidence that they aren't nutty. The reported sightings/hearings could be attributed to any number of un-fantastic things. Also, the pictures they've got posted don't show anything I haven't seen when I've moved branches and rocks around in the woods myself.
Texas Bigfoot Research Center ~~ Okay, these guys are better organized, they even host a conference every year. I think this is the group featured on the Travel Channel show, I recognize a couple of images that were flashed on the screen. Anyway, the site details handprint evidence, research studies, and has a pretty broad collection of sitings in Texas and surrounding states. (There was even a fairly recent report of a siting about 5 miles from my grandfather's place!) What I liked best though was the bit on photographs. These guys actually discredited some of the more "well-known" alleged pictures. Nice strategy--prove your own legitimacy by disproving someone else's.
I don't want to sound sarcastic or condescending. I'm sure these people are sincere in their belief/knowledge of Bigfoot creatures and their existence. I'm not. My inability to believe was actually supported by the Travel Channel's show. Everyone of the people they talked to in conjunction with the East Texas studies appeared to be what we call "good ol' boys" round here. Now, I may have missed the portion of the show where their credentials were detailed, but frankly I doubt it. I'll even go so far as to admit that maybe I'm being a bit stereotypical, if not a bit hypocritical, since so many of my friends and family members could be labeled good ol' boys and I happen to know they're intelligent and credentialed people.
Call me a sympathetic disbeliever.
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