Christmas Came
Early This Year
Over the River and
Through the Woods…
to John Green’s
House We Go
By Tom Yamarone
John Green is a great inspiration to
me…Heʼs the reason Iʼm out looking for
bigfoot…Heʼs the reason I attended the
International Bigfoot Symposium in
Willow Creek, California in 2003 –
apivotal event in a personal journey. So,
when the email came across asking if
Iʼd like to join a group of folks planning
on a Saturday visit with John Green, the
decision did not take too long. “Carpe
diem,” was all I thought.
Iʼd like to share some of the moments
from this trip in words and photographs.
It was quite a large group that made this
trip, so there wasnʼt a whole lot of 1 on 1
time with John Green. On the other hand,
this wasnʼt a trip made with any
intentions other than to talk bigfoot, visit
with friends and spend the afternoon
together. The people making this journey
are a group of researchers who are active in
the state of Washington. I met some of
them on the BFRO Olympic Peninsula
Expedition in August 2004. We met up
again at the Sasquatch Research Conference
in Bellingham, WA last May as well.
Bob Gimlin will be joining the group for
this trip and I was excited to get to spend
the weekend with him again.
December 2, 2005
The group meets in the Seattle suburbs
and begins the 3 hour trip north to
Canada. The backroads out of Bellingham,
WA are very scenic. Snow covered the
terrain on this day in stark contrast to the
verdant green I experienced here last May.
Our caravan snaked along the state
highways leading to Mount Baker and
then veered north towards the border. We
arrived in the Fraser Valley after dark and
had dinner in Harrison Hot Springs. The
Sasquatch Store was closed, but we knew
weʼd make a stop there the next day. We
all retired to our bed and breakfast and
watched bigfoot documentaries in the
home theater well into the night.
December 3, 2005
We arrived at the home of John Green just
after 10 am and were greeted by John, his
wife June and their friend and fellow
researcher Thomas Steenburg. It took a
while for introductions to be made and to
settle in, but soon the group of 14 was
down in the garage/basement looking over
the reverse copy of the Skookum cast.
Richard Noll works closely with John on
several projects relating to this lower body
impression and also the Patterson-Gimlin
film. We stood around and talked about
the importance of this cast as well as other
topics. John shared his stories and was
very amiable about answering the groupʼs
many questions.
Above: Provincial forest road in Sasquatch Provincial
Park, British Columbia
Below: 17 inch tracks found near the Skeena River
in British Columbia by Bob Titmus, 1977
Right: Tom Yamarone and Thomas Steenburg
2
We gathered again around the warmth of
the wood-burning stove and I played a
couple of songs. It was special to share my
latest song, “John Green” with the group.
The subject of the song had some
recommendations for “lyrical modifications”
—and that was great to hear.
We then got a chance to look at a small
portion of his footprint cast collection.
Each had a very descriptive paragraph
written on the back of the cast. (Note to
self and other researchers: this is a good
practice.)
Later in the day, we took a drive to
Sasquatch Provincial Park. The stark
scenery was beautiful – I canʼt imagine
what it would look like in summer. The
area surrounding Harrison Hot Springs
would seem to be prime habitat for the
sasquatch even today. Dramatic, forested
mountains rise sharply from the broad
valley floor. Within a short time one can
be well into the forest outside of town.
Our day included lunch at a nearby tavern,
a short stop by the Sasquatch Store for
some souvenirs and dinner in town. It
was well worth the trip and I would
recommend Harrison Hot Springs, British
Columbia as a destination for anyone
interested in the bigfoot phenomenon.
There are many interesting historical areas
nearby that we didnʼt get a chance to see
in our short, weekend visit including Yale,
BC (site of the “Jacko” story) and Ruby
Creek, site of a famous 1940s incident.
There is an excellent interview with John
Green at the website of my friend Gerry
Matthews.( http://www.westcoast-sasquatch.
com/ ) Check it out! GCʼs
interview with John Green…on the right
when youʼre at the main page.
I hope you enjoyed the photos and notes
from this special, pre-holiday trip…my
present to you all. Hereʼs to a productive
and eventful New Year 2006!