The seeds for this latest Terror Dave adventure were planted during last year’s road trip while driving through Tennessee. We’d just seen a UFO house near Chattanooga when I asked the other Dave what his thoughts were about us visiting Roswell, New Mexico. After all, why should we toil in residential neighborhoods when we could go straight to the UFO capital of the world? David readily agreed so, for the next fourteen months, we saved the necessary funds while I spent hours mulling over maps, perusing websites, and thumbing through books on the region in an effort to create the perfect itinerary. I also spoke with numerous friends who were familiar with the southwest and could give me some input on what they considered to be “must see” spots.

After about ten revisions, the trip evolved from us starting with our usual drive from Chicago into our flying into Denver and renting a vehicle we’d use to cover 4,000 miles in two weeks while making our way through New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Though a pricier option, it would allow for more activities including The Grand Canyon and Rachel, Nevada a.k.a. the vicinity of Area 51.  It would also afford us time to see less grandiose attractions such as the subject of today’s post; the world’s only officially sanctioned “Bigfoot Crossing” sign.

The day after arriving in Colorado we headed to Pike’s Peak State Park to see that which we’d never have otherwise believed to be possible. It was a beautiful day and we spent the morning at The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. At this juncture we were still in awe of our mountainous surroundings as my native Chicago and the other Dave’s Rhode Island are devoid of them so we took our time exploring.

The sign is located about two and half miles up the mountain and even then we stopped every so often to photograph the scenic views; something abundant in this area. David did the driving while I kept my eyes peeled for the hallowed sign. For the record, its presence should not imply that Colorado State officials acknowledge the creature’s existence but is rather the result of them caving under public pressure. So far as Colorado is concerned their well-meaning local tax-payers likely saw a bear while allowing their imaginations to run wild. Regardless of what they saw, this sign is testament to the sheer number of people who saw something. And you know what they say…”50,000 Elvis Fans Can’t be Wrong.”

David (now in the habit of automatically stopping at lookout spots) was just pulling into one when I saw the sign further up the road. At this point we were like, “To hell with the beautiful landscape…let’s get over to that sign!!!” and rushed right over.

In preparation for our visit, we both wore our International Museum of Cryptozoology T-shirts that we’d purchased during our visit there in 2014. Personally, I think my shirt was more apropos as it looks like Bigfoot is actually in the process of crossing something but they were both ideal for the situation.

Despite Colorado State officials refusing to acknowledge the existence of Bigfoot, the Park Ranger we spoke with on the way in was happy to point out that there was also a Bigfoot statue located further up the mountain. After we finished taking pictures of the sign, we returned to our car and located a Bigfoot rest stop that lead to yet another scenic view, some bathrooms, and a Bigfoot themed gift shop. The statue (actually a log carving) was near the washrooms and also featured signage discussing America’s most famous cryptid.

It ended up being a perfect stop as the gift shop offered some hilarious items and we certainly weren’t going to turn down a visit to the bathroom either. That was one big revelation we had during this trip; our eyes and bladders are starting to transition into “old man” territory.

We opted to go back down the mountain rather than further up as, let’s face it, the summit of Pike’s Peak would be downright anti-climactic after this experience.

We spent the rest of the day at The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and May Natural History Museum before heading further south. It was now time to kick off the UFO portion of our vacation.

Coming Up…The UFO Watchtower in Hooper, Colorado!

Dave Fuentes~