I was born in 1967 the year that Roger Patterson shot the famous Bigfoot film

I was a suburban 10 year old living in a medium-sized midwestern town with no knowledge of the film when my family moved to the country. The year spent on our land in the adjacent 2000 acre wildlife refuge

gave me a great appreciation for nature. I know that if you sit

quiet enough for long enough and listen closely to the natural world, it will always

amaze you.

The years following my childhood were spent outdoors as much as possible. I've hiked and swam and climbed and kayaked,

bikes be lumped and backcountry camped on five continents.

The world's deserts and rainforests and too many mountain ranges to mention have been my

playground.

It taught me two things. Don't look at the sky full of stars

and tell yourself there is no other life in the universe and don't look at a planet

full of unexplored places and say that things like Bigfoot can't exist.

Although I would never have denied their existence, it didn't mean that I expected to see one. The topic has

always interested me. Movies and books and articles and websites and the

like have always drawn me in. But to see one, never thought about that.

My girlfriend Carrie didn't have the advantage of a lifetime in the wild.

Hers was a much more conventional story.

She graduated early from high school and zoomed through college and got married and had three kids

and explored nothing. Three years ago when we met I opened those doors for her

and discovered that she had a natural inclination for the wilderness.

It paved the way for a lot of wonderful adventures together.

Even while we were climbing mountains in the dark to see the sun rise or swimming in the lagoons of extinct

...