Bigfoot...in the Northwoods

Two weeks week ago, I along with the rest of the SIM Crew journeyed to the far reaches of northern Minnesota to go on a Bigfoot expedition. In Minnesota? Yes, a year ago last spring we came across compelling evidence suggesting that Sasquatch was alive and well in MINNESOTA. Who'd have thought? In my world Bigfoot hung out in the Pacific Northwest. But we had eyewitness accounts, from a solid source that this creature did indeed inhabit parts of extreme northern Minnesota.


In May of 2011 we were in International Falls, Minnesota for two investigations, a fabulous coffee shop and a private residence there. While chatting with a friend who lives in the area, he told us about his experiences with Bigfoot. In the Nrthwoods. The glimmer of a Bigfoot expedition began to tickle my brain. Excited? Oh ya, and so, me being me, I questioned and questioned our source until he told us everything he possibly could and we all were left with an inkling to search for Bigfoot. I have always followed the stories about Sasquatch, and so this information was very exciting.

The SIM Crew is busy, and we all have day jobs, and so we sort of pushed Bigfoot to the back of our minds, until this past spring. Two of my crewmates, Mae and George often go to International Falls, this is Mae’s hometown; when they were up there over Memorial Day they and our eyewitness, went out into the woods and put up a trail cam, and heard, unknown animal noises. They told us it sounded like the sounds that the Bigfoot hunters on TV say Bigfoot makes. Well, after this? We all knew we had to go in search of Sasquatch, and thus we planned our expedition for the first weekend of October.

We felt we would be early enough to miss snow and cold, but Mother Nature? Laughed. On the drive up to the border the snow fell at a good clip and the winds howled. In the midst of that crazy weather though, we were privileged to spot numerous Bald Eagles on the drive up, BEAUTIFUL, and astounding; I had never seen so many of these majestic, gorgeous birds of prey in Minnesota. It seemed like they were watching over us as they were there, in many spots all the way to the Border.

The weather was bad, but we weren't to be deterred and once there we made trek into the great forest to find Bigfoot. Our guide on our adventure was our eyewitness, who was excited to show us where he had seen Sasquatch on numerous occassions. He took us to the locations where he had seen the creature, and we spent time at each place. The Northwoods are beautiful, and it was easy to spend time out in the wild, even in the inclement weather.

Our first location was in the thick woods. There was a path to begin, but just a few feet into the trees it ended and we had to bungle our way through the thick vegetation. The trek was difficult, not only were branches reaching out to keep us back, the terrain was uneven as well, all making our first foray into the search for Bigfoot quite tricky. We didn’t see or hear anything for our time here so we moved to the second location.

In the second location it was easier to maneuver, and we hiked along, our ears listening intently for any abnormal sound, our eyes searching the trees for movement. We finally came upon the Rainey River, which separates the US from Canada. We stopped there and looked across the water at Ontario. Though a separate country, it sure didn’t look any different than our own. After a time we trekked back to our vehicles and proceeded on to the third and final destination.  

  

I guess you might say we saved the best for last, as it was in this place we found huge footprints, from Sasquatch? We have no idea, and we tried shooting photos, see the one below, but the light was not optimal and what we saw so clearly with out eyes, is difficult to see in the photo.

 The strides were large and followed along side a creek, now dry from our unusually dry summer. The site was beautiful; a clearing made by the creek, which headed south. In place of water, the creek bed was overgrown with beautiful long grasses that swayed back and forth in the wind. We followed the prints as far as we could, but as with our first location, this terrain was uneven and difficult to traverse. We were losing light, and the weather had turned once again, and sleet began to fall. For safety reasons, we decided to complete our expedition and head back the 30 or so miles back to International Falls.

Though I knew we had to go, I didn’t want to leave this place. I stared out into the long grasses of the twisting and meandering creek and wondered if Bigfoot was there. Was he watching us? Or maybe he had passed this way hours before or even days before. I wanted to follow that creek, but it was not in the cards for this trip. Jerry was calling me and so with one last look at that beautiful place I turned back with a sigh, wishing that I could just have another hour or so. I wanted to look Bigfoot in the eyes. I wanted to see one, I knew they were near, I could feel it. We were so close, but yet so far.

We planned a community meeting I titled “the Bigfoot Conversation” in International Falls for the next day at the very same coffee shop we had investigated before. We were live on the radio during this event, and as we had hoped, many locals came to the coffee shop and told us their experiences with Sasquatch. The stories came from folks who were normal, and well educated. These weren’t people who would tell tales, or fanatics. These were honest, hard working people. And their stories? AMAZING. I chatted with a man for quite some time who told me stories of not only Bigfoot, but of UFO’s as well, but that? Is for another blog.

Is Sasquatch real? In my mind he is as real as you and I, and I want to meet him or her. I want to look into their eyes and what? I don’t know, maybe give them a hug? Oh that’s such a Stephie thing to do, but really, I want to see them. Our eyewitness told us he saw what appeared to be a family of them; so we know that they hang out in groups sometimes. I think this journey has whetted the SIM Crew’s appetite; there will definitely be another Bigfoot Expedition in the Borderland wilderness, and hopefully we will experience a SASQUATCH.

  

Jerry and I, searching for Bigfoot.





Shadows....

It is that time of year. Yep, the veil between our world and the world of the dead is thinning and has been doing so since the Autumnal equinox; what is so special about this? Spirits can more easily make themselves known. And they do.

If you are sensitive to the supernatural, like me, this time of year is especially thrilling, oh and perhaps a little scary. In my back yard I have been seeing shadows frequently moving around for several weeks now; the most recent? Late last night. As I locked up our deck door before closing it, out of the corner of my eye there was movement. When I looked fully to my left I saw a shadow move quickly across our deck that wasn’t from me or anyone in our home. I felt the “chillies” that I sense when something supernatural is near. Being an investigator, I searched for something “normal” that could have made that shadow. There were no birds flying overhead and no animals on my deck, nothing out of the “normal” realm that could have made a shadow. I believe it was a shadow figure, something/someone from the other side of the veil was visiting, and it scurried across our deck with great speed. Though I experience otherworldly presences a lot, I was spooked with this one. Why? Because, it was on MY DECK, close to the door.

We have some crazy things happening in our yard, in fact Odin, our gargoyle in the back garden, was tossed over and his wing broken just last weekend. Could it have been squirrels or other animals that knocked him down? Maybe. But Odin is a little too hefty for a squirrel or chipmunk to knock over, and we have had other figures moved as well.

I will certainly be on alert for more activity in my own back yard, but honest? I hope there is none….it’s just too close for comfort.

Mermaids...real?

Why am I writing about mermaids in my ghost hunter's blog?  Because we at SIM want to explore all parts of the supernatural.   I have always been interested in everything paranormal, be it Mermaids, Sasquatch, Nessie, Werewolves, Vampires - all appeal to me in a big way.  Why?  Because they are out of the norm, aren't they?  We really can't prove that any of them truly exist, but maybe there really is an Edward Cullen out there, or a Jacob Black; Sasquatch most assuredly exists and Nessie?  She probably does too.  The quest to discover and try and understand how these supernatural beings could truly be in our world has taken on a furor.  So Mermaids?  Yes.  Read on, you will be amazed!

Mermaids. We’ve all grown up with stories of mermaids living in the sea. When I was a child my grandmother used to tell me a bedtime story about a mermaid who lived under the sea, in a house made of shells. Oh, she had beautiful golden long hair and she used to brush and brush that hair until it looked like liquid gold. When my daughter was little, the best mermaid story was Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” with Ariel the red headed mermaid. Ariel fell in love with a human prince and left her aquatic home and family for a human life with him.

The fact is that mariners and sea-faring people all around the world have told stories of mermaids since time began. These half human creatures who live in the sea, are they real? I believe that there is a little bit of truth behind all stories, and mermaids? No exception. I LOVE the sea, and the animals that make the oceans their home. I spend oodles of time out in the Pacific Northwest with Orcas, dolphins, seals, all kinds of sea mammals, and though I have never seen a mammal that looks like a mermaid, I don’t doubt they exist.

I have read that at the time the US Navy blasted the oceans with sonar (in 1997 and 2004) killing hundreds of whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals, their lifeless bodies were found on beaches. It is said that the bodies of aquatic humanoids washed ashore along with the marine mammals. The stories say that the Feds got there first and quickly hid their bodies. True? I have no idea, but we all know that the Feds are good at covering things up and that they hold vaults of secrets that the public will never be privy too. I mean, just look at Area 51? Oh and what about Roswell? OK, so I’m not saying conspiracy theories are true, I guess we will never know for sure, but Mermaids or Aquatic Humanoid?  could definitely exist, and I believe that they do.

Our family watched the Animal Planet’s fake documentary “Mermaids: The body found” and though it is fictitious, it is based on some eye-opening scientific facts about how this could be. Oh, and I find it very interesting that NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), made a press release stating that they have never found any evidence of aquatic humanoids shortly after this program first aired.  Some compelling scientific facts:

The “Bloop”.   A sound from an underwater array of hydrophones that originated in a remote area of the South Pacific that is from some kind of being that is not identifiable. Some say it’s from an aquatic humanoid. Some say it is from a huge creature in the deep, we probably will never know, but it is quite thought provoking.  Listen to this "bloop"  here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBN56wL35IQ&noredirect=1

Ancient Cave Drawings show cavemen battling mermaids; crude, but definite drawings of people throwing spears at creatures that are half people, the bottom half? A fluke.

Our own anatomy; think the webbing in between our fingers for example; could this be leftover from aquatic living? We all evolved from the sea, perhaps some of the human line stayed in that aquatic environment, while we evolved on land?  Humans are able to hold our breath longer than any other land animal.   Newborns instinctively hold their breath underwater, why?  Subcutaneous fat; humans have a layer of this, just like marine mammals.

The oceans are largely unexplored; in fact in the past decade two new species of whales have been discovered. Do you know that humans have explored the moon more than our own seas? Yep. It is possible that these mermaids have learned to hide over the centuries, and have avoided discovery.

Several places around the world people are assisted by dolphins in catching fish. Where did the dolphins learn this behavior? From mermaids? The theory is that mermaids hunt with dolphins, sharing the bounty. To me? This speak volumes. 

Do I have your attention yet? Jerry and I hosted FATE radio last Wednesday night, the subject of our show?  Mermaids. To me it is absolutely fascinating.

Much like Bigfoot, Mermaids are the stuff of legend, and are Supernatural. Although the SIM Crew will be embarking on a Sasquatch expedition later this year, I am pretty sure that searching for mermaids is not something the SIM Crew can ever do – it’s way out of our league - but It’s a fascinating subject, isn’t it?