Media Article # 577
Article submitted by Sandra Maisel

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

BIGFOOT IN PLEASANTON???

By Sandra Maisel
Alive Magazine

Yes, really. And no, it’s not in my freezer!!! I have a copy of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum newsletter from last April that details a very credible Bigfoot sighting back in January, 1963 that happened right here in Pleasanton!!! Two hunters from Castro Valley, who were out hunting quail, saw a 7-8 ft. tall hair covered Bigfoot walking upright in a sugar beet field by Gold Creek, just a quarter mile from Hopyard Rd. It was early in the morning and raining, when they came across this dark brown, hairy creature walking on two legs. They became very alarmed and exclaimed, “What the heck is that thing?!!” It was 60 to 70 yards from the creek and it started running away from them, then it stopped and turned around and looked at them. They were quite shaken by what they saw. (I would have fainted!) They followed it for a short distance until it disappeared into some dense bushes and trees along the creek. The “monster” had a very long stride, and it left behind 20”x7” impressions in the mud that were 3 inches deep. Also, approximately 4 years later in 1966 or 67, one of the hunters was told of an article that appeared in the Pleasanton Times that reported a woman and her daughter saw a Bigfoot crossing Hopyard Rd. late one night. What was Bigfoot doing in Pleasanton??? I don’t think the Hopyard Alehouse was there yet, was it? I’ve heard that Bigfoot likes beer! Now you have to remember that back then there weren’t many houses here and the land was mostly fields and wooded areas. When I read this report, it gave me cold chills, because Gold Creek runs through the property I live on.
I know it’s hard to believe that these big, hairy creatures once roamed in my own backyard! Back in the 1800’s, there were reports of Bigfoot being seen in Crow Canyon and the Diablo Mountain range as well. If anyone out there knows of any other sightings in the Tri-Valley area “back in the day,” please contact the Bigfoot Discovery Museum at mike@bigfootdiscoveryproject.com.
I definitely believe they do exist. My interest began back in the early 1960’s, when I was on a Girl Scout camping trip in the hills of Marin County. My parents came along, and my dad went off by himself hiking in the woods. He said he found a HUGE pile of human looking scat that looked too large to be from a human, so he thought it could be from a Bigfoot. He didn’t tell us about it until we got home, because he didn’t want to frighten all the little Girl Scouts! I know that one night we were all awakened by some loud growling noises, which scared us, but it turned out it was just my dad snoring!
I have read some reports of Bigfoot being seen in the hills of Marin back in the 60’s, but I don’t think he was a “flower child!”

I recently went to Bigfoot Discovery Day II held at the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, Ca.
I got to meet all the famous “Bigfooters” that have been featured on MonsterQuest and other TV programs about Bigfoot. Dr. Jeff Meldrum was there. He is the author of “ Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.” Dr. Meldrum is a prominent researcher, an expert on footprints and is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Anatomy at Idaho State University. He gave a lecture on the Yeren, which is the Chinese version of Bigfoot. He made the trek to China to research the subject, and it will be shown on MonsterQuest. I also got to meet former San Jose police investigator, David Paulides of NABS (North American Bigfoot Search), who just released the book “The Hoopa Project.” He spent several years on the Hoopa Indian Reservation in Northern California investigating Bigfoot sightings by the Native Americans that live there. He had a police sketch artist draw what they had seen, and you would not believe what these sketches looked like. They had VERY HUMAN looking faces!! It was shocking to see how human they appeared! When I told David Paulides about my father’s discovery of the scat, he excitedly said, “Come with me, I want to show you something.” So he led me to the back of his SUV, and he pulled out a gallon storage baggie that was filled with what he believed to be Bigfoot scat. It was very interesting and it did look human-like but much larger.

I also had the privilege of meeting Bob Gimlin of the famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film shot at Bluff Creek in 1967 He was a very nice man, but he was almost sorry that he had ever seen the female Bigfoot knick-named “Patty,” because of the ridicule he had to endure afterwards. But he was treated like a real celebrity at our Bigfoot gathering. Kathy Moskowitz Strain and her husband Bob were there. She is the author of the book “Giants, Cannibals and Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture.” I saw her recently on an episode of MonsterQuest. Her husband, Bob, had a sighting of a 9 foot tall Bigfoot in 1975 while hunting in Idaho.
I wouldn’t want to run into THAT on a dark, stormy night!!! Or in the daylight, for that matter!!! Bigfoot researchers Daniel Perez, Rick Noll, Cliff Barackman, James “Bobo” Fay, and Bart Cutino were also in attendance. Craig Woolheater of the Texas Bigfoot Research Center came all the way from Dallas to be there. He’s been featured on several programs about Bigfoot on the Travel Channel. The curator of the museum, Mike Rugg and his wife Paula hosted the event. They had a barbeque with “Bigfoot burgers” and hot dogs. Tom Yamarone entertained us with his Bigfoot songs played on his guitar. It was quite a thrill for me to get to talk to all the researchers that came to this Bigfoot convention. They had a great turnout for the event. It’s amazing how many people are interested in Bigfoot. Some of the researchers stayed at the new Bigfoot Resort in Felton, which just opened for business. It’s nestled in the woods by the San Lorenzo River, and if you stay there and you’re lucky, you might hear a Bigfoot howling in the forest!!!

More and more very credible people are having sightings. Even my own dentist saw one many years ago in the summer time while he was camping in a travel trailer with his wife. He said it looked to be about 7 feet tall and covered with hair and walked upright like a man. He said it was HUGE with very broad shoulders. They were parked at a rest stop somewhere in Northern California and they saw it walk by their trailer and cross the road. It scared them pretty good, so they left immediately. There are thousands of reports coming in from all over the world. If you would like to read some, go to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization website (bfro.net). They have a lot of very interesting Bigfoot reports, but let me warn you, these can be addicting! There have been several recent sightings here in California, but I don’t think anyone has seen one lately in Pleasanton!
(At least I hope not). There have been numerous sightings of Bigfoot crossing highway 101 north of Willits, CA, and many sightings by the side of the road. People have reported it crossing roads in 2 or 3 steps.

WHERE’S THE EVIDENCE???

Bigfoot has left behind plenty of evidence in the form of huge footprints showing dermal ridges, hairs that are from an unknown creature, scat, DNA evidence, and of course, all the sightings. Possible Bigfoot beds and shelters have been found in the woods, along with broken, twisted tree branches that are too high up for humans to reach.
Horrible, ear-piercing howls have been heard that cannot be identified. Credible researchers, doctors and scientists are investigating this evidence, and no, Tom Biscardi is not one of them!

These huge, hair covered hominids are known as Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Swamp Ape, Yeti, Hairy Man and numerous other names, too many to mention here. They are big and smelly and like to frighten campers by walking through their campsites in the middle of the night and raiding their coolers. They also let out terrifying screams that are extremely LOUD. So, the next time you are camping in the woods, lock up your cooler and sleep with one eye open, and listen for things that go “bump in the night!”

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