With its mountain terrain, thick forests and remote areas, Eastern Idaho is very “squatchy.” If you’re not familiar with the term, then you probably haven’t seen the hit television show “Finding Bigfoot” on Animal Planet.
As the Bigfoot phenomenon has resurfaced in popularity with shows like “Finding Bigfoot” and the recent discovery of supposed DNA evidence, Idaho and the Northwest have a long history of believers and tales of sightings.
The legend of Bigfoot has gained momentum in Eastern Idaho, too. Some of those tales can be found in a new book “Bigfoot Lives… in Idaho” by Becky Cook, who grew up in rural Blackfoot and now lives near Burley.
Grand Targhee Resort is also taking an interest in Bigfoot and is currently hosting the “In Search of Bigfoot” nature walk that will continue through this winter.
Bigfoot’s popularity is such that area businesses are even using the creature in their advertisements. Paul Raube at Longhorn Corral in Driggs is one Eastern Idaho businessman who thinks Sasquatch is a good marketing tool.
The Bigfoot book
On a more serious level, author Cook chronicles in her new book what she calls graphic evidence of Bigfoot in the form of eyewitness stories. An Eastern Idaho encounter appears in Chapter 7 where Cook tells the story of Rod Bidwell’s experience in the Big Hole Mountains between Rigby and Driggs.
On Nov. 7, 2006, on his way back to his hunting camp, Bidwill said he heard a high-pitched, raspy scream. His horse froze in place and Bidwill said it sounded like an animal that had been startled, but he couldn’t place the animal with the scream. At first he thought it was a mountain lion, but on the other side of him he heard a loud whistle followed by verbal grunts that sounded monkey-like. Eventually Bidwill got to his flashlight and headlamp and pointed them to the middle of the creek where he says a pair of eyes was peering back at him. The hunter said he thought about shooting at the creature but is a firm believer in not shooting what you can’t clearly identify. And besides, he said he never felt threatened. Then, he thought maybe he blinked and suddenly the eyes disappeared.
After the trip, Bidwill talked with Idaho State University professor Jeff Meldrum, a nationally known Bigfoot expert, and was convinced that he had actually seen two Bigfoot in the Big Hole Mountains, but he wanted more proof. Bidwill took his son and tried to recreate where he spotted the creatures. They found a footprint and that was all the proof they needed. Cook quotes Bidwill as saying “after learning all I could about these animals for the last few years, I’m 100 percent sure they were Bigfoot. I wouldn’t have traded this experience for the biggest bull elk in Idaho. I will never forget it. If this was some type of cosmic test, I think I passed it that night.”
To read about more tales of Bigfoot sightings in Idaho, Cook’s book can be ordered by visiting bigfootlives.info.
Kids search for Bigfoot
On a lighter note, beginning Dec. 14 Grand Targhee Resort is launching a one-of-a-kind program for kids to look for signs that Bigfoot is in fact in the area. Since Bigfoot is known to be most active in the early evening the search will be conducted just after dark using flashlights provided by the resort.
This children-oriented program is called “In Search of Bigfoot Night Adventure Walk” and will be open to all 6- to 14-year-old youths brave enough to attend this one hour adventure. Parents and friends are welcome to join the group but must stay a safe distance behind these brave explorers as they, with their flashlights, trek through the woods looking for signs of Bigfoot’s presence.
This free walk will take place every Friday at 5:30 p.m. but because of limited group size, advanced reservations are highly recommended. For further information and reservations call (307) 827-4433 extension 1355 or 1391.
Bigfoot in advertising
Driggs businessman Raube is also jumping on the Bigfoot bandwagon, so to speak.
“I think human nature just wants to believe there is one,” said Raube about the world’s obsession with tracking down Bigfoot. “You can probably put that toward a lot of different things. We love the underdog. We love the mysterious stuff, the unexplainable incidents.”
Raube said he and his family get a kick out of the television program “Finding Bigfoot.” He also gets a kick out of corny advertisements, so earlier this month he thought it would be fun to play on Bigfoot’s popularity. His ad in the weekly Teton Valley News featured the infamous outline of the creature. Raube is himself a hunter and fisherman. He said he’d like to think Bigfoot exists, but believes what most people think they’ve spotted is likely a bear standing on two feet.
Raube said he’s never seen one and you won’t find one at his store, but hopes customers will come in with their best whoop, howl or scream, a technique used by Bigfoot hunters to hopefully drum up a response from Bigfoot.
“I think we want to believe in the lore,” said Raube. “People swear up and down that they’ve seen one.”
While the ranch supply store doesn’t specialize in Bigfoot trapping equipment or supplies, you will find livestock or pet feed. And who knows, maybe that will be discovered as Bigfoot bait.