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Photo: Ken and Laurie Hamilton
In this article, Laurie Hamilton gives us an inside look at the story behind the store, Sasquatch The Legend.
Many people ask us why we opened a Sasquatch store and what we hope to do with it, so we thought we’d share a little bit about us.
In 2018, while mountain biking near Duck River Mountain in Cullman, Alabama, we had an experience that changed our lives. We were biking on a remote trail, just exploring and appreciating the forest after being in the desert in Arizona for the last couple years. Ken had fallen a bit behind, and I (Laurie) was about a mile or two ahead of him on a pretty desolate path.
Duck River Mountain area, Alabama. Photo source: Alltrails.com
We hadn’t seen hardly any people or mountain bikers that day, but I didn’t mind the quiet, figuring that the worst we could see out there was a snake. I started getting a weird, uneasy feeling in my stomach for no apparent reason, so I pulled over to the side of the path to drink some water and to make sure Ken was still behind me. I waited a few minutes, listening to the eerie silence, when suddenly I heard a loud whooshing sound. Something massive was being hurled through the treetops, snapping a few branches as it went. Within moments, a giant boulder sat in front of me on the trail!
The way the boulder flew through the air with such force and audible sound and the way it seemed to have been flung down intentionally in front of me, I was certain it couldn’t have fallen through an act of nature—this was done to get my attention. And there was no way a human could have done it. To describe it as a rock would be an injustice, as this was a very heavy boulder and could hardly be budged when I tried to push it off the path. The trees around me were well over 10-15 feet in height, so for this rock to be able to hit and snap the smaller branches on the tops of the trees was unfathomable.
Duck River Mountain area, Alabama. Photo source: Alltrails.com
I looked up in the direction where the boulder had come from, but all I saw was a large, shadowy figure. I couldn’t make out who or what I was looking at, but my mind went to the worst case scenario. Another rock came flying through the air, a smaller one, but still weighing an impressive amount, and it landed almost right next to me. Then I knew that someone or something did not want me there.
People have asked why I didn't take a photo in that moment. The answer is that it didn't even occur to me. This was a frightening experience, and pictures were the last thing on my mind at the time.
It felt like hours, but within a few minutes Ken finally rode past me on his bike, whistling at me to follow him, and nonchalantly maneuvering his wheels around the giant rock in the path. But when he saw the raw panic on my face, he circled back to help.
At a loss for words, I told him there was someone there and we needed to return to the car immediately. The ride back for me was fueled by pure adrenaline and the strangest uneasy sensation. It wasn’t until months later, after doing research and listening to podcasts, that I finally came to the inescapable conclusion that whatever I experienced that day was not human.
Since that time, Ken and I have become immersed in the field and study of Sasquatch, to the point where we dropped everything and moved to the Pacific Northwest to open a store dedicated to this topic. With our store, we hoped to provide an extensive array of Sasquatch products without being offensive or gauche in doing so, as this all stemmed from a place of personal intrigue and curiosity.
We hope that our merchandise attracts people who have also had similar experiences so we can discuss our encounters and collaborate on projects. This topic is so often mocked or diminished to folklore, but there are many people out there just like us who never thought they would believe in Sasquatch until they were given no other choice.
One of our goals for the Sasquatch The Legend store is to provide a clean, happy, family-friendly environment and an ideal place for others to come forward and feel comfortable enough to discuss their stories with us. Forks has a rich logging history which so far has brought with it some remarkable tales of local Sasquatch encounters, making it a wonderful place to host our store.
Inside the store is a tremendous selection of all things Sasquatch, including a 10-foot-tall replica statue created by Tobe Johnson, based on many different eyewitness descriptions, as well as a broad and impressive library of informational literature. We have also been working with local artists and members of First Nations and Native American tribes to showcase their art and highlight the many Sasquatch stories they have been generous enough to share with us, and we are also producing Forks Sasquatch Days, a conference held each May in Forks, Washington, with guest speakers, vendors, and informative and entertaining presentations.
We are excited to have the opportunity to meet others who have experienced Sasquatch and to provide the community with a wide array of information, connections and merchandise.
If you would like to share a story or connect with us, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach us at ken@sasquatchthelegend.com or laurie@sourceone.org.
For more great stories, check out our News & Views section, here.
