Bigfoot Encounter in Arizona

Ken Hulsey of http://www.cryptomundo.com/ posted his encounter with Bigfoot in Arizona’s high country. He and an ex-girlfriend decided to detour to the Grand Canyon on a trip home to New Mexico from California. When they took a shortcut on an obscure highway through the mountains that lead to Flagstaff, they encountered a creature that can only be described as a Bigfoot. Here is just a small excerpt from his article:

“I remember my ex exclaiming, “Is that a bear?”


As we came closer to the animal, it became apparent quickly that what we were looking at was not a bear. There was a very large, hairy, mass walking away from us on two legs. I can still remember the arms swaying as it strolled naturally down the side of the road away from us.


As we got closer, about 50 yards or more as I remember it, the cars headlights shown past the creature. It was at that time that our companion on the highway became aware of our presence. It stopped, and I stopped…..

For his entire story, click here.

Hurley Says Goodbye to "Lost"

Here is an article by Jorge Garcia who played the lovable Hurley the past six years on ABC's Lost.  He wrote a wonderful article for Variety about his experience on the show. Take a moment and read what he had to say. Hurley, along with John Locke, was one of my favorites.

Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park

Besh-Ba-Gowah is a 700 year old pueblo ruin located near Globe, Arizona. You enter through the narrow passage between the remains of buildings that once housed the Salado Indians. These passages lead to the central plaza where ceremonies were held and many of the dead were buried. It is presumed that the small passages were used as a defense mechanism against enemies or other dangers to those that live there. During excavation of the ruins, pottery, utensils, jewelry and other furbishing items used by this pre-Columbian tribe were found. These items are displayed inside the buildings that are still intact along with ladders leading to the upper levels. The ground level was used for storage while the families lived in the upper levels. Many of the ladders and some of the buildings were restored to recreate how they lived for those of us visiting the site.

The Besh-Ba-Gowah is thought to have been established around A.D. 900 by the Hohokam. They built a pit-house settlement which was abandoned by them approximately A.D. 1100. Around 1225, the Salado Indians started the construction of Besh-Ba-Gowah and the ruins that we see today. The name Besh-Ba-Gowah comes from the Apache language and means, “place of metal” or “metal camp”.

The Salado Indians were highly developed group of people. Their remarkable abilities to create utensils, decorative pottery and colorful cotton cloths, showed how advanced they were for that era. The Besh-Ba-Gowah museum displays the largest collection of the Salado artifacts. Along with the ruins and museum, the site also has an amazing ethno-botanical garden.  The garden demonstrates how the Salado Indians may have used these plants that are native to Arizona. These plants were used for all their needs for not only food but fibers, construction materials and dyes.

For all the information about the Besh-Ba-Gowah, check out this site.

...and who are these shady ladies?

Creature Found in Phoenix Zoo Pond

During the latest cleanup of the Phoenix Zoo pond, they found a 62 pound “alligator-snapping turtle". This creature has been described as “straight out of prehistoric times” and found living in the deepest part of the pond located in front of the Zoo. The jaws are so strong that they are able to snap off a child’s arm or leg.

According to Wikipedia: “The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America, the alligator snapper keeps to primarily southern U.S. waters, while the smaller, more aggressive common snapper inhabits lakes and streams from South America to Canada. These turtles can remain submerged for three hours. Typically only nesting females will venture onto open land. The Alligator Snapping Turtle is characterized by a large, heavy head, and a long, thick shell with three dorsal ridges of large scales giving it a primitive appearance reminiscent of some of the plated dinosaurs.”

The Phoenix Herpetological Society says that this creature does not belong in Arizona. They feel that it was an exotic pet for someone. More than likely they didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of it and dump it in the zoo’s pond. No one knows how long it has been in there but have the feeling it made meals of ducks, fish and other turtles leaving in the pond.

Apparently the zoo’s pond seems to be a dumping ground for unwanted exotic creatures. The workers have found approximately 600 non-native turtles living in the pond over the past four years alone. This particular creature is not only dangerous for the beings living in the pond but those visiting the zoo.

LOST Finale: Alternate Endings

Mike and I agree that we were satisfied with the ending even though some of you were not.  The Jimmy Kimmel show, in its humorous way, has provided three other alternate endings.....enjoy!

OOPS! THEY REMOVED IT.....OH WELL, MAYBE IT CAN BE FOUND ON THE ABC WEBSITE.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I thought that I would post something a little different today. Last night I went to a wedding and this song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole, was played while the bride and groom danced.  This is my favorite version of the song. The video I'm posting is IZ singing the song while all of his family and friends celebrate his life and death in the island tradition. He died of weight-related respiratory illness on June 26, 1997, at the age of 38.

The Three Blogateers

One of the dreams that I share with Autumnforest (Ghost Hunting Theories) is to visit as many of our blogger buddies and give them a hug. We had a long talk about many of you on our trip to Globe. Were your ears ringing? Before we left on that trip, we stopped off and visited another AZ blogger, Devin. He has a wonderful blog called My Favorite Monsters. We have all read each other’s blogs for over a year now and added comments to the posts. From his comments and blog posts, we got a sense that he was sweet, kind, intelligent and well verse in several topics. He loves to read and has his favorite writers and poets. He shares their writings in many of his posts.

When we arrived, Devin was waiting to greet us. We were finally able to each give him a long awaited hug. He walked us to his condo where Clementina, his cat, peeked around the corner of the hall, scoping us out. She finally realized that we were nice people, came in the room, and greeted us in her charming kitty way. We spent a couple of hours talking, laughing, sharing, and it felt like we had known each other for years. When it was time to go, we made plans to meet again, hugged and said goodbye to our “little brother”, Devin.  Be sure to read his blog, you will love it.

The trip to Globe and our stay at the Noftsger Hill Inn was a fun ghostly adventure. For an account of some crazy things that happened while there, I will link you to three of Autumnforest’s posts. She did a funny video of Dale the Doll called, VIDEO: The Doll Hangover; Dales’ perspective on the trip, Dale The Doll: Don't Listen To The Human; and finally a recap of the trip, Noftsger Hill Inn. Check them out. Meanwhile, I added some miscellaneous pictures from our trip.

Inside the Noftsger Hill Inn

We are in Globe AZ at the Noftsger Hill Inn. The place is just amazing inside. The rooms are large with a chalk board on the wall, a reminder that it once was a school. The windows are large too and almost take up an entire wall. The ceilings are very high, giving that loft feel to the room. We are ready to ghost hunt tonight. The first three pictures are of our room and the rest are various rooms inside the Noftsger.

Noftsger Hill Inn

This Tuesday I, along with Sharon (Autumnforest), Debe and Ginny, are taking another trip back to Globe, Arizona. But, instead of it being a daytrip, we decided to spend the night at the Noftsger Hill Inn. This once was an elementary school and has had many reports of paranormal activity. We plan to do a little ghost hunting while there and hope that we get some great evidence.

The Noftsger was built in 1907 and was known as the Noftsger Hill Elementary school. It sits near the Old Dominion Mine in Globe and looks over the valley below. Stories of strange occurrences were reported even back when children filled its halls. Some would see a lantern light shining through the windows when no one was inside. The children often found the books in the room were moved from the place they were left at the end of the school day. Other objects had also mysteriously moved overnight as well. Children’s voices could be heard in the distance when there were no children present at the time. After the school was closed in 1981, stories of teachers buried in the basement circulated and many said that the place was haunted with their ghosts. A lady who lives nearby reported hearing a telephone ringing from inside the building but it was empty at the time.

Today, the Noftsger stands as a six room Inn and decorated with memorabilia dedicated to the mines that once made Globe a booming town. With all the paranormal claims at the Noftsger Inn, many of the souls from that era seem to be still hanging around the building. Some of the accounts are of children’s voices when no child was staying there, phantom footsteps, strange lights, objects moving on their own, and apparitions have been seen between the old walls of the Noftsger Inn.

It sounds like we have a vast array of paranormal phenomena that have been reported there. It looks like we will need to keep our eyes and ears open for any of it. I will post our experience on my blog. I am sure Autumnforest will post something about the trip on her blog too, Ghost Hunting Theories.

The Grand Canyon and UFO's

I was looking for some bizarre story about the Grand Canyon, and I found one. Apparently a 4,000 year old UFO was found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Here is an excerpt from the article I found:

“Flagstaff, Ariz. - A team of experts called in to examine strange debris at the bottom of the Grand Canyon discovered the wreckage of a UFO that crashed a mind boggling 4,000 years ago!

The scientists, members of a highly secret joint military task force on UFOs, inspected the spherical craft and found it to be in good condition despite its rough landing and incredible age.


The relic is made of an unknown metallic substance and emits low levels of radiation, according to leaks from highly placed sources. It was immediately removed from the site and is now in a secret location.”

Here is the full article explaining the story in more detail. I don’t remember ever hearing about this and can’t say whether it is true or not, but it does make for a great bizarre story.

Apparently, the Grand Canyon is another place the UFO’s like to visit. The following are a couple of videos that visitors captured of “UFO’s” at the Grand Canyon.

Buford House: Tombstone's Haunted B&B

Located on Stafford Street in Tombstone, Arizona, is the Buford House Bed & Breakfast. This adobe home was built in 1880 by George Buford, a prominent mine owner. At least two sheriffs, a mayor and state senator have called the Buford House their home. The owners Ruth and Richard Allen have played host to many famous visitors such as the Duke himself, John Wayne. Along with the living guests that have laid their hats in the B&B, many claim that there are others guests that have long since gone who seems to want to hang around.

One of those past guests is that of George Dahl who lived there with his father in the late 1800’s. At the age of 21 years, George asked his beloved Cleopatra Evans to marry him. Petra, which was what she was called for short, was only 17 years of age at the time. George had been in love with her since childhood. Knowing that he didn’t have enough money to support the both of them, he went to work for the mines. After returning nine months later, George appeared to be wealthier and ready to marry his lovely fiancé. Unfortunately, he was too late and Petra had fallen in love with another man. He was completely devastated and spent the entire night crying. His father was deeply concerned for his son and kept checking in on him regularly to see if he was alright. By morning, his tears have turned to anger and he left his home with gun in hand. Petra came to check on him and before she knew it, he had shot her about four times. George then put the gun to his head and shot himself, dying instantly. Petra crawled her way to the doctor but he refused to help her. He did not approve of her loving another man when she was promised to George. A surgeon, who mended wounded gunslingers, just happened to be in town and took care of Petra, who was close to death. He stitched up her wounds and she did recover. Even though Petra stayed in Tombstone, got married and had children, she was never accepted by the residence because of betraying George.

The Allens and many the guests that passed through the Buford House doors claimed to have seen George’s ghost hanging around the house. Many think he is still looking for his long lost love, Petra. Pictures taken by visitors have revealed a ghostly figure of a man in a cowboy hat who appears to be looking out the window. Owners have reported a mischievous ghost that will turn lights off and on or ring the doorbell at 3:00 in the morning. No one is ever there when they answer the door. Some female guests have reported their hair being touched or some unseen hand stroking the back of their necks. The lingering odor of lavender has been smelt by some in the rooms. Perhaps Petra is still hanging around as well.

There have been other reports of unusual activity at the Buford House. Strange looking orbs appear in many visitors photos. Some guests staying in the upstairs room have reported seeing a strange light in the room. There are no street lights outside the house, so they have no explanation for the light. Items left in the rooms while the guests were out, were moved and hidden by some playful ghost. One lady reported her wallet missing after searching the entire room once, they didn’t find it. They decided to give the room another once over and found the wallet under the bed. The wallet wasn’t there when they looked the first time. The money and credit cards were still inside.

Another interesting ghost that only a few have seen is that of a feisty old woman. One woman claimed that she saw the old lady ghost rocking on a chair in her room. She goes on to say that they had an argument about whose room it was. The ghost screamed at her, “this is my room, GET OUT!”, but she wouldn’t budge. According to the owners, this went on all night. All I have to say is that it doesn’t matter if you are dead or alive, stubborn is stubborn, lol.

This bed and breakfast is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Buford House B&B is just another noteworthy haunted place to visit while in Tombstone.

Haunted Tour of Scotland

Hey everyone, my friend Debe Branning (Arizona Haunted Sites) is helping to organize a trip to Scotland to visit some of its most famous haunted places. It sounds like an amazing trip and if you are interested in going, here are all the details below:

Ever wished you could visit Edinburg Castle, walk among the tombstones of Greyfriars Cemetery, or being on a Lochness Monster watch? Tours of Terror and GHOSTour are presenting a new Haunted Tour of Scotland coming May 8th thru May 15 2011. Be a part of this inaugural ghost tour of Scotland by reserving your seat today. The tour promises to be an enchanting haunted vacation for travelers seeking a spooktacular adventure!


Now members of your paranormal team can sign up for this new Haunted Tour of Scotland and join with other paranormal team members on this fabulous adventure! Picture what it would be like traveling through Scotland together on our OWN bus! I did their Haunted Tour of England trip last year, and it was GREAT!


The week long haunted vacation tour of Scotland will be hosted by Charles F. Rosenay("Cryptmaster Chiller Chucky") from http://www.examiner.com/x-9764-Horror-Happenings-Examiner , along with Danny Levine, and TV personality/paranormal investigator Richard Felix ("Most Haunted"). Debe Branning (“Arizona Haunted Sites”) http://www.examiner.com/x-2345-Arizona-Haunted-Sites-Examiner will be along for this first-ever GHOSTour of Scotland. The tour follows in the haunted footsteps of Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charles. It is a Week of Horrors you will never forget!

Check out Debe and Charle's websites for all the details and their email addresses.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to go (money issues), but if there is a way, I will be there.

John Henry Thompson: Arizona's Most Colorful Sheriff

For 8 long terms, John Henry Thompson served as sheriff for Gila County in the years 1890-1912. He was born on December 19, 1861 in Bell County, Texas and in the early 1880’s arrived in the Payson area. He settled and farmed 160 acres which were located under the rim rock of the Mogollon Mountains. People gave him the moniker of “Rimrock Henry”, and that name that stuck with him his entire life.

On January 12, 1887, John married Carrie L. Nash and then moved to the town of Payson and was selected Postmaster. The sheriff of Globe at the time was Glenn Reynolds who was shot to death after escorting the Apache Kid and other rebel Apaches to the Yuma Territorial Prison. Afterwards, Jerry Ryan was appointed to fill the position of sheriff. His term was short lived when he died six months later. He drowned trying to save a family friend. John decided that he wanted the position and needed his neighbor and close friend, John W. Wentworth, to endorse him. Wentworth was a man of importance, a miner and Justice of the Peace in Globe. He wasn’t sure if Wentworth would agree, after all Thompson’s cattle did meander onto Wentworth’s land and destroying his mining equipment. After using his step-father, O. N. Cresswell as a mediator between the two of them, Wentworth finally made the recommendation. On June of 1890, after swearing to the oath of office for sheriff of Globe, Thompson moved his family there. He continued to get elected as sheriff until 1896 when he decided not to run for another term.

Thompson, like many others, was hit with gold fever and decided to travel up to Alaska to see if he could get lucky and strike it rich. In 1890 he returned to Globe but no one knew if he ever found any gold. He started a partnership with Dick Barley in the feed, fuel, and livery stable business. In 1900, he got the bug to run as sheriff again, and added his name to the ballet. He easily won the position at the same time his businesses were thriving. Thompson was able to buy property in town and rent out some of the buildings. He also built his family a brand new home. He took another break from running for sheriff when some of his old mining claims had problems and took up much of his time.

Thompson couldn’t stay away from running for the office of the sheriff of Globe. In 1908, he ran for a sixth time and won. He ended up as Globe’s sheriff for a total of eight terms which ended in January 8, 1912 at the urging of the county supervisor. Thompson and some buddies were having some drinks in the Globe saloon just a few days before Christmas in 1911. All of a sudden a shot rang out and the bartender was dead. Upon investigation of the body, the bullet was a match to Thompson’s gun. He and his friend, Harry Temple were accused of the crime of murder. They were watched over by Frank Haynes, who took over for sheriff after Thompson resigned. They were found not guilty but Thompson’s career as sheriff was over at the age of 51. He had racked up the most arrests and convictions than any other sheriff in Arizona history.

Thompson spent the next 20 years working for the Arizona highway department, selling real estate, mining, and cattle ranching. Carrie died in 1926 and in July of 1932, he married a widow named Allie Smith. Thompson and Wentworth butted heads over many issues throughout the years until his death on August 2, 1934 in Globe, Arizona.

This Wild West lawman, prospector, and businessman have been described by many as Arizona’s most intriguing sheriff.

Seeing vs. Believing

I was checking my DVR list yesterday to see what I had recorded.  I wanted to get caught up on some of my favorite shows that I couldn't watch when they were on.  I forgot that I recorded a show called, "Seeing vs. Believing", on Sunday.  At the time this show recorded I was watching Amazing Race and hoping that the cowboys, Jet and Cord, would be one of the top three teams in the finale, and they were....eeeehaw!

Yesterday, I watched the show which was labeled as a documentary.  The show follows Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake, All My Children) and his friend Jeff travel across America to try and find answers to mysterious phenomena.  Since the death of his father, Ricky who is the believer of the group, is trying to understand his father's life.  Paul Goldin was a world famous hypnotist and psychic and kept a journal of all his fascinations about his findings.  Ricky finds the journal and because he doesn't share his father's gifts, he takes off on his own journey to find answers.  Ricky is joined by his friend, Jeff Gurtman, a hard core skeptic, who is out to prove that there is a logical answer for all the unexplained phenomena.

I'm not sure if this will become a regular show, but I did enjoy watching their findings and seeing Jeff come around on a couple of things.  The two work well together.  I tried to find videos of the entire show but could not.  I'm sure that TLC will air it again, so I will keep my eyes out for it.  Meanwhile I have posted the trailer:

Tubing with the Ghosts

One of our Arizona traditions is to go tubing down the Salt River. You usually go with several friends and family and head down to the Lower Salt River. The first thing you do is to park at the place where you rent tubes and then grab a bus to take you upstream to the higher elevation to get started. There is usually a crowd of various types of people of all ages and sometimes they bring their pets. I don’t recommend that because those poor animals are terrified of being on the river. I also don’t recommend stringing tubes together. That will just get you into all kinds of trouble on the rapids especially when there is a fork in the river. More times than none, the entire group will hit the bank and fall off their tubes. We usually attached with our feet so when the rapids move faster, we could unhook and go solo. We would have one person attached to the cooler which had its own tube and another person would be attached to the plastic container which usually carried the dry foods, suntan lotion and other items. There are several clever people that will attach a stereo to a tube providing music so we can jam down the river. We usually will stop mid-way at the bridge to take a break from tubing. We use this time to eat and reapply our suntan lotion.

It is fun but not without problems. You are basically floating on top of a tube for at least four hours, baking in the harsh sun. You must have plenty of lotion, a tee shirt to cover your shoulders later on, a towel to cover your legs later on, a hat and sunglasses. You should have plenty of water to stay hydrated along with other beverages. We usually bring beer but drink responsibly. The problem is, not everyone will. Not only do they fight with others but they do stupid things and don’t watch the ever changing current of the river. Here lies the place where the ghosts come in. I can’t tell you how many people have drowned because they were too drunk handle the dangerous situations they get into. They lose all cognitive thinking. Some are not adults but children that were not being properly watched. Then there are the ones that are drunk, strip off their swim suits or clothes, and jump off very high cliffs not knowing what lies below. This decision has been fatal for some. There have been reports from those who have been at the river in the dark of night of seeing ghosts and hearing unusual noises. I’m sure there are many lost souls hanging around at the river that have died from a tragic accident.

Spending the day tubing can be a fun day for all but you need to do it responsibly. These days, I don’t go tubing anymore because being in the sun too long just makes me feel ill. I have my memories and they are good ones. Here is a video I found that will give you an idea of what it is like:

Is Dustin Pari Still a GHI Team Member?

I was emailed this post on masslive.com. In the article, the question was brought up did Dustin Pari leave GHI for personal reason, or was he simply replaced, or is he taking a season off.  They used Twitter as one of their sources to show that Dustin was not with the GHI team when they were investigating.  Whatever the reason for Dustin's absence, personal or not, the show will still go on. GHI will still have Robb, Barry and Paul and take us to some amazing places to investigate the haunts. Here is the article on Dustin.