From Denali To Prince of Wales: Alaska Sasquatch

0:00 You're listening to Big for Society, and I'm Jeremiah Byron. Tonight's story is from a pilot, a man who's flown metavac jets across every corner of Alaska. But it wasn't in the cockpit where things turned strange. It was when he was alone on a river, his boat tied off the night still, when the owls began to call, one by one from every corner of the dark. And in the stories he's gathered from nurses, ferry workers, and native villagers, the pattern is the same. Alaska's Sasquatch isn't just watching, its closing in. So this is the story of Craig, the pilot who asked the question that no one else dares to stay with us. All right, Big Fat Society, You've got the privilege of talking to Craig today. Craig is an individual got connected too. And what Craig does is he flies a lear jet for a metavac company up there in Alaska, and he has a lot of really interesting connections with native people up there from all over the state about Sasquatch or harry Man, and he's had some things happen himself. So welcome to the show today, Craig, how are you doing, sir?

1:06 Oh? Thanks man, I'm doing great. Beautiful day, another beautiful day of beer. Fantastic, fantastic. I don't get to talk to a lot of people from Alaska, but it's always great when I do. You guys have some really cool stuff going on up there, so you know, feel free to take us back to when you first started getting involved with this big foot stuff up there. Well started probably meaning back on the forum back in the middle seventies. You know, when the sun goes down, he gets dark, and I'd be out there in some field trying to back the tractor up to wagon. Then you start thinking, hey, is there anything to this big foot thing? You know? I was always scared of that when I was a kid driving a tractor out on the forum. It's good of what started. And then I lived here for quite a while. I've never really thought too much about it. Then one day I got one, if there's any thing through that up here? And then I started going down that rabbit hole, Holy cow. And then by not being afraid to ask questions, I can't go probably just every few days and run and not run across somebody who doesn't have a big foot story.

2:17 You just got to be not afraid to ask, you know. And then then wow, everywhere everywhere you go, somebody's got a big foot story. And I'm thinking, hmm, now, have I actually ran across one or have I seen one? No, but I did have something kind of interesting happened to me one time. I didn't know about it at the time, but afterwards it's made me think. And I don't know if you want to hear about that or not. Absolute I took my jip boat from Fairbanks and I trailed it down to Nana and I got on the Neiana River and then I headed up the Techlanika River. And it's hiding out or camping out there along this property is look at it by him. And we always hear about the stories about how big footish and squats are really good at imitating different sounds. You know. Well, I didn't know about it at the time, but you always hear about the stories about how they imitate owls. Well, I'm sitting there in the boat. It's got full of vinyl campy on it, and I'm tight off and it's just one of those picture perfect moments, you know, life and listening to the river flew by, and I hear this owl start hooting off the left corner of the boat.

3:31 We're corner them. Oh that's cool. And it wasn't too long, just a few minutes. Then I hear owl hooting off the right corner of the boat, not very far away. I was like, well, that's cool, and then I hear another one hooting off the front of the boat. Now I got an owl hooting on all corners of the boat, and I didn't know about it at the time, but now afterwards, I asked, what does this mean anything? Is it possible have three hours shooting off of each corner of the boat. I don't know, It's just that's one question I asked people. That was kind of the most ironic thing that I've had happen, and I've had family members have other things go on.

4:13 When you hear the owls, it's such a weird thing because you know, first, I guess I got some questions for you. So did they sound like a normal owl or were they different in what you would usually hear from an owl out there? Well, for memory, I don't know that they sounded too much different. I think that the first one definitely sounded like an owl. And I don't remember thinking, wow, that sounds really like a strange owl, because I didn't know about this at that time, you know, so I can't really say all that, you know, the first one was good and the other two were definitely weird or sounded incorrectly, I can't say that. So, but then I don't call anything at that time being abnormal about.

5:02 It, okay? And did it sound like the same size of an owl? Sometimes people will report like it sounded kind of big, which is a little strange. Yeah, I don't remember anything like. I just I don't remember anything being really abnormal. But I just think it's strange now that I hear about it, about these stories and of all the owl stories that you hear about, and I think that's really weird. Strangest things have happened to myself. Right right, you know, being in the community of pilots up there. Actually, before we get into that, can you explain what it means that being a metavac pilot, what does that entail?

5:54 Well, there's we have turbo props and we have jets. Yeah, and the turbo props go out to the shorter gravel strips and pick somebody up and these we uh you know, the beach graft can here for that, and then they'll go to gravel Strip to take them someplace, okay, and then we go with allergic to another airport, maybe like we have an ambulance, and maybe they'll run into an airport hospital or to the hospital and pick them up, bring them to the airport, and then we'll take off and fly them. Neither do Ancreage or Seattle. Usually that's our two destinations. Okay. So it's just transporting people around the state to need medical tear.

6:38 Okay, gotcha. So you are not the guy that's in the turboprop going out into the bush, but you're the guy who's doing the last leg of the journey. Yeah, not today anyway. You know things can change, right, but yeah, no Reasonally we just take off the leergit and go some places. Look from Fairbanks for thirty years, and for thirty years I've been flying out of the airport in Fairbanks and all things have kind of changed a little bit and been flying mostly at it Am I going to Anchora, hep Out or Juno mostly or maybe once in a while kitchen can. Does it ever come up when you're talking with your your pilot buddies and maybe you know the ones that are going out into the bush with turbo props. If you ever get to talk to any of those, they ever share you with you any stories about like, yeah, I was, I was flying over this area and I did see something weird down there. I'm not quite sure what I saw.

7:38 Oh yeah, one of the pilots I work with within this company down in kitchkn has told me that he's out there flying over the Prince of Wales and looks down and see this called dark thing dressed in black and out in. The middle of nowhere and no gun, no rifle or no backpack. You know. So yeah, he's not gonna say what it is, but we all kind of know. I feel like we all know what it really was, you know, here, especially in the Southeast. The Southeast is so many stories. Can I give an example? Oh yeah, I would love to hear some things you've heard. Well, one day. I usually ask questions. It's kind of a form of a joke. That's why it's easy out for the person if they don't want to talk to me or answer the question. So if I form a question like a joke or something they can just make fun of me, give me bad time, whatever, you know.

8:34 So I'll go down to catch Can and the Southeast is an amazing country because everything's on islands down there. The airport is on one island and the town's on another island, so you got to take a ferry in between, right. So we go down there and it's kind of like in the middle of the night. It's pretty late, and we land there, and a lot of times the patient will have an escort, a family member or a friend or somebody right along with me. So I'm talking to this gentleman and I kind of phrase it like like a joke. Hey, buddy, you know, hey, I just saw something on TV about Bigfoot before we left to come down here, you know, which was not really true. But I gave him way out, you know, if you didn't want talked about it. And instantly, I mean instantly, I asked you, well, I asked him, is there anything about bigfoot down here? Do you know anything about that? Then he goes instantly, he says, you're not going to find him east of town. You're going to find the west town.

9:29 My uncle used to know whether it's a family I mean, without no hesitation that was not made up. There was no time to I can't even think of something like that. And I'm a pretty good storyteller, but but you know. And then so I was the first one. And then I have the opportunity to meet Fred Role. Have you ever talked to him or do you know who he is? Oh? Yeah, I interviewed Fred once. He's a great guy. We talk every once in a while. Yeah, yeah, he's a great guy. So about And there's either two or three summers ago here in Fairbanks, we had kind of a big Foot conference and I went there and I listened to all you guys every night, you know, lay there in bed with headphones on, listen to the big Foot podcast. And I recognized him when he walked in. So I walked up to him and said, sirtady, you have time for a question. Man? So friendly, He took me outside. We sit on the steps for ten or fifteen minutes out there in Fairbanks at the Carlson Center talking about Bigfoot. You know. Then I texted him once and I know Fred's from dealing him. Well, I get to dealing them regularly with allergic So I'm sitting there and we land in the medic stine time with this lady, and so I'm talking to her, her husband and a really cool Native guy. You know, somebody really would like the guy to know better. But I gotta be careful kind of what I say, you know, when I'm working like that. So I said, sir, I can

11:01 ask you a question, and he goes, yeah, I said, there's a gentleman here from Deiling Hand as a podcast on Bigfoot? Do you know anything about that? Have you ever seen Bigfoot? And he walks away. They don't really want to talk to it about that with a non native person, you know, right off the get go. When he doesn't know who I am. He's gone for about two or three minutes and he comes back. He comes up to me and he goes, I haven't seen him. I have friends who have. There is a spirit world. Wow, that was pretty interesting, you know. And it's just I bet stories after story after a story. I've talked to the native people, you know, asked another ladies you know, one day, and she goes, he I haven't seen them, but she's been screamed at and her dad had seen him, you know, And so it just goes on and on on everywhere you go, you can find a big Foot story if you're willing to be or not afraid to ask.

12:02 So it's kind of. The gist of the most man. Hats off to you for figuring out how you have to do it, which is you got to throw your pride right out the window, and yeah, you gotta be you know, not afraid and you're doing it the right way. What do you think he meant by there's a spirit world. Well, that's a good question, and there probably isn't anything about Bigfoot. I haven't heard, you know, just from listening to all you guys with the podcast and everything you know. And I definitely think from whatever from what all I hear that there's a spirit. Can I just come out and tell you what I think the an I would love that. I think they're definitely from the DNF DNA testing that I've heard people do about completed or died conducted.

13:07 I guess for form and everything else that I hear about them. I definitely think the female side was human and they don't know seem to know what the male side was, right and talking with all these people about it, I think there's some kind of demonic dimension to involved with there somehow. I think maybe if you want to go talk about the NAT form, But I think they've been around here since way back when. And that's a question I have. You know, I can't say because I don't know anything. I'm never even seen. I can't prove they even exists, you know. But if I had to make a place of bet, I would bet in favor of you know, I would have to do that. So I think there's some kind of demonic side to them.

13:56 If you know, you hear Fred some of these people talk about the demand on excreames and everything. I think there's something not good there. But that's just what I think. So many different ways to look at it. But uh, there, you haven't heard it yet, but there there's some interesting conversations that are coming out on the podcast. People listening to this will have already heard it. But but yeah, there's some some very interesting discussions out there. And sometimes when we have those discussions, phones quit working, which is always fun. Thankfully, we're good so far. But something I've noticed in talking to people from Alaska is a lot of the encounters usually are highly aggressive. Do you have any thoughts about about what why that might be the case or Is that something you've noticed yourself when you've talked to people.

14:59 That's the one question I asked Fred out there at Carls Center the steps before he spoke at their bigfoot covers. Why do you see the big foot up peers seemed to be more aggressive or more violent? That was my first question for him. And he didn't really have He goes, I think if I remember correctly, He says, I'm really not sure why. You know, maybe it's a lot more open country. They don't have the exposure to people as much. You know, I don't know, but they definitely that's the word on the street that they seem to be a lot more violent, you know. Uh. I have another story, you know. I talked to one of the nurses up and hanging one day and I never talked to her one on one before, some kind of teasing a little bit, and they said, hey, where are your boyfriend working? You know, he's an engineer on the ferry some Seattle, Vancouver Island.

15:55 You know. Oh cool? And I said, well, now that I think you're probably thinking that I'm funny or weird. Now I'm going to prove it to you. I said, did you know that Vancouver Island a hotspot for bigfoot, and I'm expecting her to laugh at me, you know, and she doesn't laugh. She just goes totally serious. She goes, no, I didn't know that, but I've seen their tracks. Well now I'm floor. Now the joke's on me, you know. And I said, where did you see big foot tracks at? Well? I was writing stow machines from Bethelo and any act on the Customhorn River and I was getting behind my boyfriend. I didn't want to get lost, but I saw the tracks alongside of everybody. Didn't have time to go over and take a close look at him, you know, or get off like at him. And here's just you know, you know, this nurse, this young professional lady talking to me about bigfoot tracks and the hangar just blew me away, you know. And I got family members who got stories.

16:52 But one here's kind of a funny one. I was in catch Can and I stay at the hanging while I'm down there filling in and when every few days I'll get in a van, take the ferry cross over and go get somebody in town. And there's a little pizza really neat little pizza place that I go in there, and it looks like it's kind of slow. You know. I want this guy maybe be having a tough day, you know, so I want to try to cheer him out and make him laugh and give him someplace else if I can, you know. So I said, hey, buddy, I'm the only one in there, and I said, hey, buddy, I'm big in a big foot. You got any big foot story? You know, trying to strike up a conversation with this gentleman, and he goes, no, I don't really have any, And I thought that was going to be into it, he goes, but then he goes, I have two friends who do, and one was in California. Our family got congrassed by one, and the other one was just east to catch cat up in the mountains. Guy seen one hunting. So wow, cool, thanks for the story.

17:50 I get in the van, I drive across town and I'm going up to the ferry term I'm getting on the ferry to go back to the hangar, and the fairy just get aut ready to stop running for the day. So I'm the only car on the vehicle. So I pull up there, roll down my window, and the deckhands talking to him, and I say, hey, buddy, where are you from Oregon? Cool? You got bigfoot stories from me? I do? And he goes, I used to see him. It's so good, you know, it's so good, dude. So you know, laugh at everything, you know, most people. But he goes, I do have stories. And he goes, when I was a kid, I had this flashlight. And he's telling me about this flashlight he had with his kid.

18:31 He's a probably the flashlight and he would he would hear him up in the trees when he's walking down from the house to the bar to do chores, and he goes, I just signed my light up and I can see the ice shine, you know, wow. And then he goes, this is a grown man, you know, probably at least in his fifties. And then he just you know, he just stops and he goes. And then last year I was I was someplace I wish I never was. And that's all he tell me, you know. But so many people I work with down in the Kenai area, you know, they got stories, you know, out there being kind of rapped with the family out on trail hiking, you know, and it's just it goes everywhere I go.

19:15 Everywhere I go. I can't not get a big Foot story if I. Ask and Craig, when I laughed there, I was laughing at myself because it is so obvious what you did. But it's like people aren't realizing how you just have to like ask that you myself. I need to start doing that because I'm making it too hard. When I'm in person somewhere like just at a you know place like you're talking about, just just ask them. Hey, you gotten bigfoot stories? You're a genius. Man. I didn't mean to play. You were laughing at me. I didn't mean to do with but I had no way. But you know, I don't care. I'm getting old. I don't care if you laugh at me. I don't care as long as you're laughing. I don't care. As long as you I've had me, I don't care as long as you're laughing, right, they'll care about But yeah, it's amazing.

20:05 The gal there on the gas station, people in the restaurants, you know. And you know, being in this job doesn't make me anything, but I get to hang out with some people, you know, a lot higher on the social lighters than I or I will ever be. You know, some pretty prominent business people, you know, and uh, you know, and I asked them. They're from the native community, and and you know, it's just everywhere I go, But everywhere I go. I'll make you promise it. I'll go around and ask and I'll bet you that I can come up with a bigfoot story today at some points out of the blue, you know, where somebody doesn't have time to think it up or make it up, you know, have I you can ask me if I do I know anybody who's ever seen them? I do? I know two people. One's a very close family member here in Fairbanks.

20:57 So one jumped up in front of his truck and Idaho one time. He needs to if you ever go on the BFRO website and check out the database. I don't know if you've ever done that, or he's got a story there, okay, And and I'm I'll reveal too much because I haven't asked about but if I could talk about it. And then another lady saw one in early sixty stand alongside of the road in California, shoes down there, you know. So and Jesus, real, little lady, these people aren't gonna lie to you, you know. So there's two people that I do know that have seen them, and I'm always out in the woods by Sadden and I we kind of both worked two weeks and two weeks on and two weeks off, so we pulled another all nighter night before the ass got back. Late last night we went down to the Dinnale Highway and we're way back off in there with a side by side riding around and they go down there a lot. Since I worked too on and two off, I can't always find somebody has the same kind of schedule I do.

22:00 Usually out there by myself, you know. And there's some podcasts out there that talk about that. You now I Highway in great detail, you know, So I'm always looking. And another thing I like to do is ride motorcycles. Last year last May, I took off myle was down there and rode ninety three hundred miles around the whole US and had a wonderful opportunity to stop in Bailey, Colorado and meet Kim Biles. And that man was incredible. He spent the whole day with me. He took me out in the woods, showed me things, and yeah, he was a great guy. So got to meet him and a few other people up here. It's been it's been pretty interesting to get to talk with those guys. You know.

22:50 So when you were driving around the US on your motorcycle, were you then asking for Bigfoot stories no matter where you were? I usually I kind of playing that one out like that, that one I had planned, you know. I left Las Vegas and I was headed back and and kind of headed up to Sway, so I knew I wanted to stop that one. There's one I looked up. You can go on the internet and look at how many states have big flip museums. There's quite a few. Nebraska even has one, you know, And so we're going to stop there.

23:31 I just missed you out there in the blowing Oregon's that one. You were there just a few days ahead of me. So I rode. I just did another three thousand mile right down there from Iowa clear up to Portland, Seattle. Then I got on the ferry and went out to spend the night on the San Juan Islands and a night out on the Van Couver Island. I finally made it, and why in we did, And I've probably been to Seattle three hundred times in the legit Fairbanks up here and flying over those iland. I'm saying, man, that's one of the most beautiful places on earth, you know. So someday I'm gonna ride my motorcycle there. And I just did it this month. You know, that is fantastic. I didn't get that what you said before the show starts. So you went to the NABC in Boring, and uh, they were like, Jeremiah was just here.

24:20 Yeah, actually, hey do you know this guy? Yeah? I was just here. Was that Cliff? I don't, I don't. I don't know that June Okay, one. Of the guys there. Yeah, they're all good guys. Yeah, yeah, funny. Yeah. So I when I say that, even you told me you were going to be out of town, but I didn't. I was going to catch up. With and three thousand miles for probably two thousand miles from Iowa to uh Portland. And then I went up there world across uh uh ray the bridge at Tacoma, and I got friends that live up there. That's why thing about being Asian, You're going to have friends, a lot of friends.

25:03 It's a small world, you know. And yeah, it was pretty cool. Got the right across the Comba Bridge and then you just take off, do not know where you're going to go. I see a ferry, get on the ferry. I don't know where it was going. And it was pretty cool. I have that kind of freedom, you know. But if you ask me, Craig, where could I go to see a bigfoot? Well, let me ask Let me turn that around. If I asked you, hey, buddy, where could I go to see a bigfoot? Where would you? Where would you tell me to go? Well, you know, I think I don't know if I would say a certain area, but I would say a certain type of area. I would say, you need to look for woods, probably a creek or river that's got a lot of bends to it. There's got to be a pretty good food source in the area, not a lot of people around that might point you in the right direction. Or I just say probably around Mount Hood in Oregon.

26:09 Yeah right, I got the most beautiful picture on my bike going past. I would say Fort Lewis on the airfield. Oh sure, yeah wow. And last May I went down to visit some classmates, a classmates and their family down there and I own just south of des Moin and uh, you know, it wasn't like I know this. She's a very sweet lady. But it wasn't like I'm really was close friends with her. You know. She's one of the pretty girls and I'm one of the dumb farm boys growing up, you know, so our pasting crossed a lot, you know. But I know she's a nice person, so we kind of become friends on Facebook stuff. So you invited me down to go see the family, and they have been a very nice home and I'm pretty nervous, but I'm not going to let on, you know. So I'm thinking I need So we're sitting at this big table and I need something to have a conversation piece, you know. Finally I hear one of the family members say they were in the military and Washington. Okay, here we go. Now I got something, you know, And so I say, hey, buddy, you're out.

27:17 And for lewis they got any big Foot stories? And he goes it gets kind of quiet. He goes, no, I don't, but the guys that had been there before me did, because all I can tell you is these places the military won't let you go at night on that airfore or on that base, you know. And then Steve, he's done a kind of an episode on He talked about it on one of his podcast episodes, so that'd be But it was really cool getting to see these places and drive by him. And I've landed there with the Leer quite a few times at for McCord there. You know, it's kind of a joint pace, so I've been on the big but and then I got other people that ran across that wanted to camp out there in the campground between flights, and they were kicked out of there. They wouldn't let him stay, you know. So it seems to be all kinds activity around for Lewis.

28:14 I'll tell you this much. I've talked to I believe I talked to a few people over the years that have had things happen. I've had individuals that almost came on the show and then pulled out at the last minute, which is no problem, right, But I agree with you man, there is stuff that has happened at the area in the past that would just blow your mind. It's crazy, crazy, crazy stuff. So one day I'm flying in the Leer from Fairbanks down the anchorage and fly with one of my buddies and he was at someone he was kind of like somebody in the Blackhawk world, you know, and in the military.

28:59 So I asked him, Hey, you got clearances, can you do me your favor? What's that? Can you look up Mount Saint Helen's Bigfoot and can you tell me if they did sling load bodies out of there after the eruption in May nineteen eighty And he goes, well, you can do as much as I can. How freedom of information act? So we get we laying in anchorage or going a hangar there and start looking down freedom of Information Acts? Mount Saint Helen's Bigfoot? Did that really happen? Somebody already beat me to that one, you know. I'm sure somebody started to get there, so then they I'll hear things, but you don't always believe everything you hear.

29:41 But after you hear it about enough times, then it starts to carry some weight, you know, So maybe that's where they came from. I'm wondering did we transport those from Mount Saint Helen's to Fort Lewis? You know, man, I heard that. It's the one man. That's the main thing I hear multiple times a month in emails and people asking about it. People I know a guy, and man, if that guy is still alive. I would love to talk to him because it's like, you know, he's probably out there somewhere, and I've gotten there's an interview I did where it was a gentleman that allegedly knew the guy or a guy that was involved. But it's like, man, there's got to be like an even step, first steep step closer to that that you can talk to the guy. So it's putting it out there. Guys, if you know that guy, have him reach out in Bigfoot Society gmail dot com.

30:40 I'd love to talk to him, right, that'd be really cool. And then when I was to go through that museum there and born, the one thing that I found the most interesting was because I've watched the video with Roger Patterson interviewing Freid Beck. If you're yeah, that's great, Yeah, well then you see pictures of that actual cabin there and that log that was missing supposedly when they try to open that up. Man, that was pretty cool to preachers all that and fred Beck there, that's what a story. So I'll go to people that don't know too involved with this stuff and just say, hey, you got Google Earth, Yeah, go to Google Earth in the search and just put ape type and ape and guess where it takes your mounts.

31:29 Hell, there you go, There you go. Man. Yeah, you're good. You're good at what you do. I love it. Well, I've learned some stuff. It's good. It's good. Man. Well, I don't know how much. You know, at the end of the day, probably won't even buy a cup of coffee. But you know, I find it a very interesting subject. And here's why. I mean, it's not a question really do Bigfoot exists? I think a bigger question is what really goes on in this world that we're not aware of, because everybody goes through life struggle. Most people, you know, working the butts off to get through life, sport their family or whatever, you know, and we don't have time. But I worked two weeks on, two weeks off, so I have that two weeks a month, and one day I'm riding my motorcycle down to Salt Lake City and I can't. I'm horrible. Names the guy that bought Skinwalker Ranch. I see his buildings, Fieulgal, thank you.

32:29 I appreciate it, and I've wanted to ride by there. I've come pretty close, you know. But so last year I told her. I went on a big bike ride. I wanted to say, I've been to all forty eight states on a motorcycle and I did it in three rides. That's pretty cool, you know. I got to ride twenty ten hond go wing down there. I keep it eyewall at my sister's house and then I'll go on these rides, you know. And it was pretty cool the things you get to do and learn. Having that two weeks off, you know, they took off on a road in ninety three hundred miles and twenty three days all around the country. Got to stop and see Jim Myers there, and I told you that, what a great guy, what a great role model. You know, if we could all be like him, that would be good, you know for this world. Absolutely awesome guy. And there's a lot a lot of good outside the big Foot world for mankind too, you know.

33:23 So I want to put a plug in for him. Yeah. I would like to get to meet David paul Otis some day. That'd be cool, and come close to getting to talk to him on the phone one day. Jeff Meldrum, he's another big name in the big foot world. Saw him up here. I was talking about men of the hacked people. Buy his book, got autographed. Talk to him. Ron Morehead would be another great guy to talk to you if you ever talked with him. Actually, his booth was right next to mine at in Oakridge last month, so we got to hang out a little bit. It was great. Really nice guy. This nicest guy you'll meet. Such a good guy.

34:03 Yeah, it seems like that's well, I think cool about all these people. He seems like to be very honorable, decent down the earth people. You know, there's no like you know, weirdose or anything like that, or you know, misrepresenting it or anything like that. So I think they'd be all fun to meet and talk with. And but that southeast area of Alaska, that's the one that kind of interests me. In the Yukon River, I got a lot of friends. I wasn't home depot just the other day. One of my native friends from Glenna was there and hey, hey, buddy, I'm big in the big Foot. You got your stories? Nah? I don't, but he's other naty body's there with you because he probably does. Yeah, I got stories. I know where he lives. I just hasn't seen the cav Listen you know, that's just a spurt the moment they trying to make any of that stuff up, you know.

34:54 Oh my goodness, so incredible, Craig, I got to ask you this, Uh yeah, just for fun. So you focus on Bigfoot a lot up there, But do you ever hear any other stories that are just as weird but not about Bigfoot? I did one time. It stuck out and I used to fly a piss and twin you know, around well, various airplanes around here, but I used to just go to all the villages in a small twin or single or whatever and mail and deliver mail and freight, you know. And it's up in Ala Cack at one time and talking to their agent and he said something about little people and I said, well, there's no little people. Oh man, did he get upset with me? So that was the other thing the little people say. Is there something to that?

35:45 You know? I don't know. It just seems kind of strange to me. But man, yeah, I learned not to not to make fun of little people around him. Absolutely not. And why I will tell you this. So it is a thing where, especially in the william At National Forest around Oakridge, I've had people that will tell me off record that, yeah, I've seen I've seen pretty much little people around here. I've seen something that looks like a gnome or a dwarf or whatever, a fairy. And I asked him, hey, would you would you be interviewed about what you've seen around here? And they're like, Nope, not going to do it. So I think there could be something to that.

36:28 Dude, right, do you think that I can ask you a question? Absolutely think bigfoot are inter dimensional? H do you think you think it can be there? And that were some gentlemen I've already mentioned his name, took me up and to a gifting spot one time and knocked on a tree with a stick. Hi, I'm back. And he introduced me and anything I can't tell anybody. They just to put me in a rubber room. You know. I can't be in it. I can't tell anybody. I just was introduced to Sasquatch and bigfoot, you know. And he goes, oh, they know we're here, and I think wow.

37:13 So it's made me open my mind to think about things that I would have never thought of, or I would have scoffed at or laughed at in the beginning. Now I'm asking serious questions about them, you know. So it's a really good question. I'll say right now, there's nothing I've experienced that makes me think one way or the other. But I did experience a really weird thing just last month in Oakridge when we went up into the woods one of the times. And what I experienced was so I went off a little bit into an area off the trail by myself, to the area where I had found tracks the year before, and I said verbally out loud, I was like, hey, if you're out there, can you do something? And I will tell you, Craig that within a few seconds this is weird. So within a few seconds about i would say probably ten twenty feet into the woods, wood knocks in response, and I was like, oh my goodness. And I try it again.

38:33 I said again, I was like, hey, if you're out there, you know, can you do something out loud? Right? And within a few seconds wood knock response a group of three And I was like, I've never had anything like that happen to me before. And I was like, I'm not sure what just happened, but it was very, very real. And so no I've heard stories about, you know, individual one of My favorite stories is a saddle Blanket Mountain story that was told on a BFRO expedition down in Arizona that took place just outside of Oakridge. Pretty Much, this individual hiked in two days to this old Indian Malala Indian trail saddle blanket Mountain. When he was out there, he ended up walking through an area and he looks around and it's no longer Pacific Northwest scenery. It's like jungle scenery. This hairy arm reaches out of nowhere to grab him, and he hears something say gotcha, And he sees this hand go by, and it's a big hand with like long nails and just barely scrapes the side of his neck, and pretty much he starts booking it.

40:00 He's able to get out of what he says was a portal area and ends up running back to the Oakridge area. It's the craziest, craziest story I've ever heard. So, yeah, there are stories about like portals and other dimensions out there. Have I personally experienced that, not yet, But I'm not saying that I never will. You know what I mean, Well, that's what I was because you just answered my next question. Besides the big flat thing. You know, the portal things is what really interests me. And that Oak Grade is that out there in Oregon. Yeah, so you know where Eugene is.

40:42 I do. I was there and I spent the night in Klamba Falls on my motorcycle trip. Oh yeah, and I wanted to drive food there, but I kind of a hurry to get up to that other place, so I kind of didn't drive the Oak Ridge. But I heard you talk about it one time and tell that story a little bit, so I wanted to go through there. So you'll you'll need to go there someday because that is actually where another Bigfoot museum is. It's a newer one in just the last year, but it's called the Area fifty eight Bigfoot Information Center. It's an Oakridge and you'll need to look it up, but that's right there, and they're owners, great people. They also do the festival there too, so it's a good newer museum.

41:26 Awesome because I left my motorcycle and storage in Billingham right across the road from the airport there right fly and once in a while, so I'm planning on riding it back to Iowa and October and I'm looking for places adopt that are Bigfoot related along the way, so that could definitely be one of them. Absolutely, Yep, that'd be cool. And I was hoping it's being through northern Minnesota. Hopefully gang Gang connects with that Randy well he's got going on. Yeah, that'd be pretty cool, I. Man, and especially after time I can see it, you could definitely probably do that. And yeah, I would say check out that. I think I have that Facebook group linked on the episode of Randy from Minnesota. Okay, cool, Yeah.

42:17 Because we used to hope there for vacations and I can't Yeah, I think I can say I've been to every airport in Minnesota, you know, and I'd love to go see him and swing by there. And I know northern Minnesota pretty good. He used to live in Minneapolis for five years, you know. So I mean, so that's one one thing cool about aviation is allowed me the opportunity to get it out, you know. On that last year motorcycle ride, I wanted to be able to say I phoned an airplane in all forty eight states and had five left, and I knocked out four of them on last year's bike. Right now, I only got Wyoming left, so Wyoming is the only stated I have phone an airplane in the lower forty eight, you know, And that's that's pretty cool for just so dumb farm boy from teams out.

43:02 You know, that's that's quite the accomplishment. I did find his group, so it's called Randy's Bigfoot Research on Facebook groups. If you join that, that's how you can get in touch with them. Oh. Thanks man, I'll definitely look into it. Craig, it has been it's been a fun chatting with you. I mean, you've got more stories that you've heard then you may realize, and I just appreciate you sharing them. And also I think you taught everyone a little bit about how easy it is to get accounts if you just kind of, you know, chill out a little bit and just ask. So thank you for just don't be.

43:42 Afraid to ask, absolutely, And what you find out is you can see a lot of the times in their face, like, wow, I'm glad you brought that up because that's not something I would have ever talked about, right, And yeah, so if you can, you know, it's all about helping people if you can. So if you can be an idiot or don't mind acting like an idiot. You know, you don't know. What you're going to do for somebody else, you know absolutely well, Craig, you know keep us in mind. If you ever have any interesting things happen in the future, don't be afraid to reach out and you'll be able to catch up when in the future. So thank you so much, appreciate great talking with you, Brad. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Big Society podcast.

44:24 Craig's stories remind us that sometimes the scariest encounters aren't the ones we live through, but the ones told to us by people that we trust. So huge thanks to Craig for sharing what he's seen and what he's heard from the wilds of Alaska to the skies above Prince of Wales Island. If you enjoy this conversation, please subscribe to the channel on YouTube, hit the pell icon so you don't miss future episodes, and share this one with a friend who's in a big Foot Alaska or just a great story. And if you're listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please follow the show there and leave us a five star positive review. It really helps listeners find us. If you or someone you know has had a Bigfoot encounter, especially in Alaska, Washington, or Oregon or anywhere in the world. I'd love to hear from you, so please email me at Bigfoot Society at gmail dot com and we'll talk. If you haven't heard yet, we do have a new membership community where you can hear early ad free episodes and members only episodes every single week.

45:27 It's also a way to connect with other people that are into Bigfoot as much as you are, so if you want to take part in that and support the podcast at the same time, head on over to www dot Bigfoot societypodcast dot com and click on the members login area and we'll see you there until next time. Keep your eyes open, keep asking questions, and never stop wondering what else is out there, and see you in the woods.