Big Feet, big......oh, never mind...

Wausau Daily Herald - Group plans search for elusive Bigfoot

Some believe that somewhere in the depths of Wisconsin's forests lives a reclusive and seldom-seen, hairy biped with large feet. And one group is determined to find it.

They're looking for the guys who wear plaid flannel shirts and don't shave from two months preceding deer season until the day before Easter? They're in the right place here, then.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization will hold two, three-day expeditions next month in northern Wisconsin. The researchers hope to track, collect evidence of and possibly spot the elusive creature. The organization has heard 30 reports of a 7- to 10-foot-tall sasquatch in the state and is asking people to come forward and describe their experiences. So far, the organization has no published reports of sightings in Marathon County, but that does not mean one hasn't been spotted here, the researchers say.

I haven't read any reports of kangaroos here, either.....but that doesn't mean they haven't been spotted here. What would we do without researchers???

"They are a good organization, but to pay $400 to be frightened by raccoons -- I am always skeptical of situations like that," he said. Participants pay a $400 fee to camp with the organization and follow along as its members collect data. The expeditions are June 22 to 25 and June 29 to July 2, according to the group's Web site. The first expedition is full.

Where do I sign up?? This has *got* to be waaaay more fun than snipe-hunting!! Yes, I hang my head and admit that when I was 11 years old, I was suckered into a snipe hunt. Rattling my paper bag, shining my flashlight into it, making "snipe calls", the whole embarassing routine. Hook, line, and sinker. Can we say gullible??? My only defense is that it provided weeks of hilarity for the many adults involved in this adventure, and I did NOT pay $400 for the experience.

Bigfoot Field Researchers has reports that people can access online. Before it posts any claims, it investigates them. According to the Web site, Lincoln County has had one report, while Price County has had four and Oneida and Vilas counties have had two each.

Well, that got me...I had to go see about the sightings in this area. This one came from an area I'm quite familiar with; I've spent quite a bit of time camping up there. Here was this witness' description of his second (second?!?) Bigfoot encounter:

"The sounds I heard a half hour or less later were definitely not bear sounds. There were several sets of high pitched squeals coming from the same direction sometimes they seemed closer sometimes they seemed farther away, like two animals communicating. My friend claimed they were elk mating calls, but I have heard those before and am pretty sure thats note what these sounded like, this coupled with the loud, heavy footsteps made me think it was a bigfoot. I don't think elk would be hanging around making mating calls if it was a bear I heard."

Yep, if I heard squeals and heavy footsteps, the very first thing I'd think of would be Sasquatch, too. Not to mention the fact that elk are about as common as Bigfeet and kangaroos here. But that doesn't mean they haven't been spotted here after all!! Do you know how badly I want to go out to the woods to hand out paper bags and flashlights to these people????