Discovering Bigfoot

2014-04-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, Please check this out and spread the word

http://psychodonuts.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-bigfoot-show-at-psycho-donuts.html

Surf's Up, Sasquatch AND The Little Museum That Can!

2013-11-16T17:11:00.002-08:00

MORE PHOTOS HERE!

SURF'S UP, SASQUATCH!

FINDING BIGFOOT

Tomorrow Night 11/17/13

The FINDING BIGFOOT TEAM travel to Santa Cruz to visit MIKE AND THE BIGFOOT DISCOVERY MUSEUM, who direct them to recent eye witnesses and secret hot spots. Bobo hopes the smells from an authentic Hawaiian luau will be too much for nearby Bigfoots to resist!

The Little Museum That Can!

We opened the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in 2004 in an attempt to educate the public with the facts and current best guesses as to the true nature of Bigfoot. The plan included creating the museum in the form of a roadside attraction in the hopes that visitors' donations and purchases of souvenirs and educational materials would fund the ongoing attempt to gather proof of the existence of Bigfoot. This was to be an uphill climb at best, but I had no idea what a struggle it would be......

Our first obstacle had to do with zoning. It took two years to jump through the hoops required to make everything OK with the Planning Dept. Even though I'd been doing business on the property since 1968, they claimed the return to retail as a museum was not OK because they had changed the zoning to residential. They intended to force us out of business to be compliant with their wishes. We gave them proof of our right to invoke the grandfather clause that enables us to continue operating as we had been, prior to the zoning changes. Whew, that wasted a lot of time and money, but we got past it. By this time we already thought of ourselves as the "Little Museum That Can." Meaning we CAN climb the mountain of ignorance--and actually become self-sustaining while doing so--in spite of all the skeptics, nay-sayers and obstacles to the truth.

The first amazing thing we discovered by opening the museum, was the presence of Bigfoot in Santa Cruz County right up to the present day.The roadside attraction model did indeed work to attract visitors, including local eye witnesses. Unfortunately some folks were reticent to pay admission to view what they thought might be a "scam." Very few hardcore Bigfoot skeptics ever come into the museum. I figured I'd be able to set the record straight by telling the truth in the museum and by maintaining a neutral attitude and point of view. I also had to deal with the expenses inherent in such an endeavor, which includes showing copyrighted materials. Playing of the Patterson Film can cost thousands of dollars in royalty fees. By asking for donations rather than an admission fee, everyone has access to the materials, whether they pay or not. As my accountant advised over and over "You've got to charge for the service you are providing with an admission fee", but I adhered to the donation concept, so everyone has equal access to the facts, and to make it clear we are not doing this for the money. Many times have I heard that criticism thrown out in an attempt to discredit any researcher who tries to leverage his own funding. "He's in it for the money."

Besides the inherent difficulty in fundraising due to the usual skepticism, two events occurred that sent the public acceptance of Bigfoot back 20 years. 1) Ray Wallace died. 2) Greg Long wrote a book attacking the credibility of Roger Patterson. Wallace had created fake Bigfoot artifacts including carved wooden footprints from which he cast duplicates that he sold to tourists as real along with still photos from a film he made of his wife in a Bigfoot costume. His family told the media "Bigfoot is dead," 'cause their Dad created it single-handedly in 1958. (Since hairy wild-men have been described all over the planet since the beginning of recorded history, this was obviously a ridiculous claim.) The misinformation got even worse when they (network news channels) started showing the Patterson Film on screen while talking about Wallace's antics, and in the end an urban myth was created by the news-media that there was a deathbed confession by Patterson and his film was now known to be an admitted hoax. That is a bald-faced lie.

Next came the worst book ever written about Bigfoot

"The MAKING OF BIGFOOT". This unfortunate attempt at "investigative journalism" turned into an ad hominem character assassination of Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. Backed by rumors and innuendo, two men claim to have aided Patterson & Gimlin in creating the creature. One man claimed he made the suit, while another swore he wore the "suit" seen in the film. Problem is they don't even agree as to what the suit was made from nor its configuration!. When asked to give details to back up his story the man who supposedly wore the suit had no idea where the film site was nor its relationship to other neighboring towns. He claimed a five minute drive from Willow Creek to Bluff Creek film site, which in fact is more like a two hour drive. Other mistaken details of the story have been corrected over time between successive interviews; this is easily traceable online via archived interviews. Even skeptics (Bigfoot non-believers) agreed the book was an abomination. But it had a very detrimental effect on the public acceptance of Bigfoot none-the-less.

So by 2008 we were fighting against all this media misinformation and disinformation on a daily basis. Five to Six days a week, 52 weeks a year for the past 8 years I have been speaking out and making the public aware of the facts concerning Bigfoot. Almost every day I had to tell folks the truth about the death bed confession and the untrue hit piece against Patterson & Gimlin. Then came the worst hoax of all. Two men with law enforcement backgrounds (one was a Deputy Sheriff on leave) claimed to the world in a huge press conference in Palo Alto, CA that they had possession of a dead Bigfoot and the carcass was to be turned over to "Bigfoot Hunter" Tom Biscardi for study and monetary exploitation. A few days after the press conference the truth was revealed and the men admitted the hoax but blamed it all on Tom Biscardi. Here we go again,,, more misinformation revealed to the public which had the result of creating additional attacks staging all Bigfoot researchers.

In the meantime our data base of sightings here in Santa Cruz County continued to grow. We went out as often as possible for a number of years looking for Bigfoot especially when we had a fresh local sighting to investigate, and found more and more bits of evidence to support the reports in the local area. We tended to keep a low profile as we didn't want to get accused of being in it for the money. But by 2008 I had run out of money. I lost my home to foreclosure as it was one of many bad loans that went wacky when the banking system crashed. We managed to get rid of the upside down burden with a short sale, but I also borrowed money using the museum property as collateral. That's why the museum has a loan payment to make each month and a balloon payment that recently became due and payable. But with the help of donations from a number of members and supporters of the museum we were able to pay the back taxes and make it possible to extend the note for two more years. Had you folks out there not helped, the museum would be closed now. Overcoming all the monetary struggles since 2008 while fighting to counteract all the media mis-information and the academic backlash against the subject has been a long climb up a steep hill. But I keep telling myself I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!!!!

Then in 2010 CalTrans closed Highway 9 four miles south of us for the entire tourist season from June through October and revenue stream dropped 50%. Most museums are supported by the local citizens via fundraisers and donations. Not so easy to do when many are still convinced that Bigfoot is a joke. In Willow Creek CA their Bigfoot museum has been a major tourist attraction since the late sixties, and even though a great many residents don't believe in Bigfoot, the whole town supports the museum and helps to keep it going. Its not like that here. We do have some volunteer help from time to time by individual locals, but there is no recognition for the tourist impact we've had and very little recognition by educators and county organizations who are in the dark on this subject. When Dr. Jeffry Meldrum wrote a book on Sasquatch, sixty of his peers at Idaho State University signed a petition that suggested he be fired. Most scientists are convinced that the slightest interest in Bigfoot can be a career killer. Most people who visit the museum and actually talk to me, the curator, are very complimentary and astonished at all the information we have to offer, but only a few have expressed their gratitude with more than $20. We have been advised by some to become a nonprofit corporation while others have warned us against it: the fact is, we are nonprofit, so we might as well make it official.

I'm convinced the study of Bigfoot has reached the top of the discovery climb. After 60+ years of study Bigfoot is indeed currently undergoing the discovery process. Something this controversial couldn't be accepted overnight. But in spite of the overall ignorance of the subject there are more scientists of stature looking into this than ever before. I believe its an easy down hill coast from here (to the final announcement of reality) but the big question now is what happens next and will we be around to be a part in it? I feel great satisfaction for the part we've had in the discovery process, but without ongoing occasional funding help we are not likely to continue to be a part of the discovery. It doesn't take a lot of money to keep this museum open, however, and I'm confident all our dedication and hard work--with a little help from you--will payoff in the end because we are The Little Museum That Can.

Mike Rugg

Director & Curator

831-335-4476

Bigfoot Discovery Project & Museum

KEPI GHOULIES'S GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION!

2013-08-18T19:37:00.003-07:00

Buy The Bigfoot Print
This Is The Print Right Here

With GREAT APPRECIATION the Bigfoot Discovery Project would like to announce that Bigfoot Fan and Museum Supporter Kepi Ghoulie, of Sacramento's own renowned Groovie Ghoulies, has rendered an original work of art featuring one of our Imposing Furry Footed Friends, and is donating 20% of all sales to the Bigfoot Discovery Museum!

If you are as amused as we are with Kepi's take on the Big Guy please support the Discovery Project and Kepi by purchasing one of his posters here: Kepi's Bigfoot Print

Thanks so much Kepi for your generous contribution Kepi!

http://www.dking-gallery.com/store/BEL_Groov03.html

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kepi-ghoulie

http://www.lyricspond.com/artist-the-groovie-ghoulies/album-99-lives

FINDING BIGFOOT AT THE FELTON DISCOVERY MUSEUM!

2013-07-30T14:35:00.002-07:00

Bobo, Matt, Cliff & Renae at the Museum (Photo Nadia Moore)

The Finding Bigfoot TV Show Meet and Greet at our Museum yesterday was a GREAT SUCCESS! Matt Moneymaker, Renae Holland, Cliff Barackman & James (Bobo) Fay were all here from 4 to almost 7pm and worked non-stop signing autographs and chatting with all their fans! Their line of supporters wound around the Museum the whole time and probably would have gone on all night if we had let it. We sold out of BBQ 2X and everyone in attendance had a great time!

Mike Rugg, Ralph Jack and all the rest of the Bigfoot Discovery Project Members would like to extend a huge thanks to the Cast for coming by and giving us so much love and support!

If you were not able to attend but would like to see and hear how the day progressed check out Mike's Event Video and the After Hours with Rictor Riolo Show that took place live during the whole afternoon with special guests Bart Cutino, Tyler Bounds, Jerry Hein, Tony Plescia, Roving Reporter Christopher York and of course Matt, Renae, Cliff and Bobo along with Mike himself! And don't miss the picture gallery below!

Episode 218 - Bigfoot Discovery Project Show

Click for the Bigfoot Discovery Project on YouTube

After Hours with Rictor Episode 14 - Finding Bigfoot
at The Discovery Museum Part 1

After Hours with Rictor Episode 15 - Finding Bigfoot
at Discovery Museum Part 2

After Hours with Rictor Episode 16 - Finding Bigfoot
at Discovery Museum Part 3

After Hours with Rictor Episode 17 - Finding Bigfoot
at Discovery Museum Part 4

Stay tuned for new episodes of After Hours with Rictor here!

Hosts: Rictor Riolo, Tammy Murray, Steve Alcorn & Nadia Moore

Photo Gallery of the Days Events!

Museum members Tony Martin, Mike Barrow, Daniel Perez, Mike Shaw, Ralph Jack & Mike Rugg get ready for the big day Monday night! A special thanks to Daniel Perez of the Bigfoot Times for supplying the staff BBQ! (photo Nadia Moore)

Tony, Cliff & Ralph (Photo Christopher York)

Tyler & Mike doing the After Hours with Rictor Show! (Photo Christopher York)

Tyler on Air (Photo Tyler Bounds)

Jerry Hein chats with Rictor! (Photo Christopher York)

Bobo finds a new friend (Photo Christopher York)

The BBQ starts up (Photo Christopher York)

Tony Plescia & Bart Cutino (Photo Bart Cutino)

Tyler Bounds with After Hours Co-Host Nadia Moore (Photo Christopher York)

Tyler & Nadia Hangin' on air (Photo Christopher York)

The Cast Meet & Greet! (Photo Christopher York)

The Barrow's are Bigfoot Believers! (Photo Nadia Moore)


Bobo with some fans! (Photo Nadia Moore)

One last picture to remember the day! (Photo Tyler Bounds)

A GREAT BIG THANKS to all the Museum Members who helped out!

Ralph Jack - Staffing, Preparation, Photo Documentation, Crowd Control, & Clean-up

Tony Martin - Staffing, Preparation, Crowd Control, & Clean-up

Greg Rose - Video Documentation

Michael Barrow - Preparation, BBQ, Broadcasting Technical Assistance, & Clean-up

Tracy Barrow - Preparation, General Assistance, & Clean-up

Michael Shaw - Preparation, Photo/Video Documentation, Crowd Control, & Clean-up

Jerry Hein - Preparation & Clean-up

Mellow Russell - General Assistance & Clean-up

Nadia Moore - Publicity, Live Broadcast Coordinator, & Clean-up

Daniel Perez - Preparation and Preparation Team BBQ

DISCOVERY MUSEUM CELEBRITY FUNDRAISER

2013-07-23T16:53:00.002-07:00

IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE ANIMAL PLANET SHOW FINDING BIGFOOT,

A BIGFOOT ENTHUSIAST IN GENERAL, OR JUST WANT TO EAT SOME BBQ WITH SOME REALLY COOL PEOPLE AND YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA THE AFTERNOON OF MONDAY JULY 29TH PLEASE COME OUT TO THE BIGFOOT DISCOVERY MUSEUM IN FELTON TO MEET MATT MONEYMAKER, CLIFF BARACKMAN, JAMES (BOBO) FAY, RENAE HOLLAND AND OF COURSE OUR FOUNDER AND CURATOR MIKE RUGG TOO!

http://web.poptower.com/finding-bigfoot-animal-planet-tv-show.htm

Celebrity BBQ Fundraiser!!!

The cast of Finding Bigfoot (Matt, Renae, Cliff and Bobo) will all be here to meet and greet and sign autographs from 4 pm - 6 pm on Monday July 29.

Admission is free, BBQ is $5

Bigfoot Discovery Museum

DISCOVERY PROJECT INVESTIGATOR RALPH JACK WITH MATT!

5497 Highway 9 Felton, CA 95018 831 335-4478

http://www.bigfootlunchclub.com/search/label/Finding%20Bigfoot%20at%20Ikes

February 2013 Update!

2013-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum and fellow seekers of truth,

I have some good news and I have some bad news.

First, the good news - Last year was our best ever in many respects, and especially in terms of revenue stream. Thanks to the many of you who have visited our museum, and a few others as far away as Germany, donations to the museum enabled us to function at a subsistence level for over half the year (we doubled our retail sales as a result). What's more when we came up against the threat of losing the museum property via a tax auction, fellow Bigfooters from all around stepped up and we met the deadline with time to spare.

On the Bigfoot research front, we had a number of sighting reports locally, most of which took place in the same general area. Responding to these reports we have collected evidence in the form of sleeping nests, scat, and some tracks that we have cast. This has given us a strong case for an ongoing presence less than 5 miles from the museum. We have picked up several new active members this year who are becoming great assets to the project.

This year we also received--as a gift--a 16-mm film reel featuring Roger Patterson, which has been out of circulation for over 40 years. In October we hosted Bigfoot Discovery Day V, featuring Bill Munns, Jeff Meldrum, Bart Cutino and the Patterson reel. In November Ralph Jack and I traveled to Yakima WA and had a very successful meeting with Mrs Patterson. She was extremely grateful to us for returning the missing reel, and was interested in our plan to produce a DVD featuring the newly recovered reel plus the second reel, along with Discovery Day V's presentations. Our idea was to package all this along with statements from Mrs. Patterson and Bob Gimlin to refute the lies being promulgated debunking Roger's film of the Sasquatch. We had planned to have these DVDs up for sale to help get us through the toughest months of the year (January, February. March.)

Now for the bad news - We are once again up against a financial crisis that could mean the end of the Bigfoot Project and Museum. Primarily because the DVD project did not happen we have fallen behind on paying some important bills which may result in shutting down operations entirely. (The website has already been shutdown, but thanks to the generosity of a local member a new one has already been started.) The P/G Film project broke down because of some misunderstandings which could have probably been reconciled, had a former friend and confidant not interfered by disgruntledly spreading some untruths and negative rumors about Ralph and myself. That action effectively sabotaged the whole deal. Its a shame, because the DVD would have produced revenue for Mrs. Patterson and Bob Gimlin, in addition to The Bigfoot Discovery Museum and the DVD producer and would have been a very strong advocate for the reality of the P/G Film.

Right now we are almost $2000 in arrears (shortfall from last month plus this month's expected shortage). If we don't raise at least this amount in the next two weeks, the power will be shutoff, as will the Internet connection and the phone. We'll likely go into default on the mortgage as well. If there ever was a time we desperately needed to raise money it is now.

PayPal to: harrybiped@yahoo.com and thanks for any amount you can afford to give. Please send it our way anyway you can ASAP.

Sincerely,

Michael Rugg
Curator and Proprietor
831 335-4478
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigfootMuseum
http://www.facebook.com/BigfootDiscoveryMuseum
http://bigfootdiscoveryproject.blogspot.com
http://www.bigfootdiscoveryproject.com/

PS Don’t forget it's the third Sunday of the month coming up... meeting time is 6:00.
Below is an explanation of why we need help and a reminder of why you might want to help.

The Bigfoot Discovery Project & Museum is multifaceted; unique in all the world:

1 - Archival collection of Bigfoot memorabilia
2 - Gallery of Bigfoot art and crafts
3 - Library of Cryptozoology, physical anthropology, UFOlogy and Fortean books, tapes,
   and documents
4 - Research projects and think tank (scientific exploration) and speculation
5 - Educators and promoters of biodiversity and conservation (endangered species
   awareness)
6 - Gathering place and advocates for extraordinary experiencers (eye witnesses)
7 - Historical documentation and investigating the local Bigfoot presence (& folklore)
8 - Field research team concentrated in Santa Cruz County primarily
9 - Neutral Status in the Bigfoot research community; open to hear all stories and reports
10 - Receives visitors from all over the world and collects their stories almost daily
11 - Affiliations with other research groups and individual researchers (AIBR, BFRO,
   International Museum of Cryptozoology, etc)

The Bigfoot Discovery Museum seeks --as part of its mission-- to set straight absolutely false information about Bigfoot that has been perpetrated by the press and hoaxers. The museum also does what it can to bring together researchers in an attempt to gain greater credibility for Cryptozoology and other forms of scientific exploration and serve as an interface between researchers, academics and the general public.

During the past 7 years we have educated and inspired 1000's of children, 100's of students, and 10s of thousands of adults, including more than a few dozen skeptical educators as well. We have been interviewed many times by news media, have been included in a number of TV treatments, profiles, and documentaries and are listed in many Bigfoot reference books. We published monthly newsletters for almost 5 years, and have hosted 5 annual conferences, numerous book signings and lectures.

This year we intend to become officially non-profit, and we are planning to publish--in various media--the results of 7 years of local Bigfoot research. This will include a book filled with local sighting reports, stories and legends of Bigfoot; and a map of areas where BF have been seen from time-to-time In addition we'll have DVD archives of field reports, eyewitness testimonies, recorded vocalizations, video and other physical evidence. We also hope to raise enough funds to start an ongoing habituation/observation project throughout Santa Cruz County (We already have property owners in strategic places who have agreed to host a base camp; we have a growing list of volunteer wannabe campers as well). With adequate funding we'll also produce even more events such as lectures and kindred gatherings.

The Mystery Tooth At The Museum

2013-01-27T21:00:00.001-08:00

Legitimate Testing for the Museums Mystery Tooth still being sought!

Mike Rugg is still searching for a reputable Scientist to test the DNA of the Mystery Tooth in his possession. To date the only person with any kind of scientific background who has looked at it has been a Dentist, who said it looked human, just BIGGER!

If you are not familiar with the tooth that was found at a local quarry and donated to the museum about 4 years ago, you can read and watch all about it below!

The late Richard Stubstad originally paid for Mike to travel to southern California back in 2010, where he had a Dentist extract part of the pulp and it was sent to Dr. Ketchum. When Mike contacted her a year later she informed him that the tooth had not been used in her original study, which is still pending publication today over a year later, as she had not received the proper paperwork for it's inclusion. The tooth pulp was apparently a victim of the legal issues between herself and Richard Stubstad, an original member of the study team. Fortunately Mike still retains most of the tooth. (See Richards last interview below)

Next Mike contacted a local Geneticist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Ed Green, who declined to even look at it during his stop at the Museum, because he was so absolutely sure that Bigfoot do not exist that he did not believe there could possibly be any evidence to look at..........

Finally Mike contacted the DNA Study currently being carried out by Dr Bryan Sykes, Professor Emeritus at Oxford University, to see if he could submit part of the tooth pulp for analysis there, but was told that this study is only accepting hair samples.

What does a Bigfoot Museum have to do to get someone to look at their tooth???

"Message from the Curator:

Now that we have our first bit of potential “physical evidence” I felt inspired to share it here even though we have not yet determined exactly what it is. Our newest member, Matt, came in and donated a tooth to the museum collection. It appears to be an unusually large human molar with the enamel cap worn down to the pulp. About 1/3 of the tooth is missing, and both of the roots are broken off; one more so than the other. It appears to be old and fossilized and when I searched online for an image that matches there were only two that came close so far: one was a bear tooth, the other a Neanderthal tooth. He found the tooth in 2002 in Scotts Valley where people dig for shark’s teeth. It was laying on the ground in the woods above the sand cliff where people normally dig. So far I’ve sent an email to paleoanthropologist Dennis Etler asking him to stop by and take a look at it. He has not come in yet, although he said he would."

- Mike Rugg Volume 3 Number 10, February 2008

August 15, 2011
In this episode, Mike updates us on the very latest of the Bigfoot DNA project as well as the fate of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum's submitted tooth:

October 28, 2011
In this episode, Mike gives us an update on the Bigfoot DNA project:

September 22, 2012
In this episode, Mike talks about Brian Sykes and his request for Bigfoot DNA samples to test:

The Last Interview with the late Richard Stubstad courtesy of Ro Sahebi at The Bigfoot Report:

Read the rest of the Volume 3 No 10 Museum Newsletter Here:
Volume 3 Number 10, February 2008

The "Patty" Recreation of Bill Munns

2013-01-13T03:37:00.001-08:00

We hope to have the presentation made by Bill Munns at Discovery Day V available for viewing in one form or another soon, ideally as part of a DVD including the whole conference. For those of you who don't know Bill's work, he studied Film and Theater Arts (16mm and some 35mm, with cameras, editing, sound, and equipment) at Los Angeles Valley College, studied Makeup Artistry with Mike Westmore, and began a career as a makeup artist at Universal Studios in 1969. He has an extensive Hollywood Resume including freelance Prosthetic Makeup work for the Blackenstein monster in the movie “Blackenstein” 1970.

Bill's in depth research analyzing the Patterson Gimlin Film can be reviewed here at The Munns Report, as well as a list of his P&G Film accomplishments.

Model audition including a nurse to screen out
"enhancements".

These pictures are from Bill's Discovery Day V presentation, as he discussed in great detail his recent work, made possible by a Grant arranged by Dr. Meldrum, in recreating the anatomy of "Patty" using live models for in depth comparisons between her movement and various natural versions of the human form, both male and female, in costume and sans clothing. He also made several chest panels using various synthetic materials available in 1967, in order to try and recreate a costume which would duplicate the appearance of Patty and her movement. The third branch of this project was the recreation of the "costume" described by Bob Heironimus in his claim that he was hired by Roger Patterson to be the object of Roger's film. Not only has Bob been unable to describe the actual location that the film was made, let alone how to get there, but the research of Mr. Munns has now proven once and for all that the "costume", as described by Heironimus, is structurally, anatomically, and logistically incapable of portraying what is in the famous 1967 Film.

Bill describing the necessary angle for recreating Patty's head.


The football helmet head of Heironimus incapable of duplicating the correct angle for eye alignment.

One of several breastplate recreations

Models in action

(More Pictures Below)

Watch the Interview by Ro Sahebi of Hollywood Costume Designer and Filmmaker, Doug Hudson as he explains suit construction and how it applies to the Patterson Gimlin film and other famous Bigfoot images and why he also believes the Patterson Gimlin Film is the real deal: The Bigfoot Report.

And Here is the chat I had with Mike about his thoughts on Bill's work:

Nadia Moore: So do you know how Bill Munns got interested in Bigfoot, and his research on the Patterson Gimlin film?

Mike Rugg: Well to tell you the truth I don't know directly from him, so I would have to guess at that. Um, It's my guess that because he had made that Gigantopithecus replica, which he did at a time when he was doing live animal replicas. So Like when you would go into a museum back in the good old days, you’d see a poor dead animal that had been stuffed. Well that’s come into disuse, people don’t find that politically correct anymore. And so museums, brand new museums, don’t like to put stuffed dead animals in their tableaus and in their displays and so they would rather have a replica of an animal that is made from synthetic material. And so Bill Munns is an expert at that, and he told me that he did sculptures and he took them to an exhibit, and there was a woman there that was all incensed and angry because she was sure that he had killed gorillas in order to make these replicas. “That has to be a stuffed gorilla it is too realistic”. “No Ma’am I’m sorry it’s just my artwork, it is all synthetic, I created it from synthetic materials”. “Oh no” so she was picketing his thing and causing all kinds of problems. So that’s how bad it got. And then he discovered that he really couldn’t sell these things very well as sculptural pieces, even though people thought they were great, it just didn’t work, nobody had ever done anything like this, as an art piece. And so I think this just wasn’t doing well, but he made this Gigantopithecus replica, working backwards from a skull Grover Krantz did, I assume, and that’s all over the internet. And I think he realized that there’s more connection with Bill Munns and that Gigantopithecus sculpture that he made than anything he has ever done in Hollywood. And so I would guess that when he decided to look into Bigfoot a little bit when he had some spare time, maybe didn’t have any current contracts, you know there was a lull in his freelance work or whatever. And I would guess he just decided that, look at this they are fighting over the Patterson Film, you know this is right in my skill set, absolutely perfectly in my skill set. So I think he probably just decided to go give it a shot, kind of on a lark. And then I think what happened was he discovered there would be some money in this, and a way to get some work in his chosen profession. And sure enough National Geographic has paid him, he has gotten a Grant via Meldrum, via another gentleman, to help establish the reality of the Patterson Film. So I think he actually stumbled into some work that was right up his alley. Plus he was enjoying it and getting positive feedback for it. So bing, bing, bing. But he told me that it is just so frustrating, especially when he started going on the JREF forum and answering all the skeptics and stuff, and then he realized the miasma of bipolar activity amongst Bigfoot researchers and skeptics alike.

NM: Yeah and those skeptics are beyond skeptic, they are ensconced in their denial of anything that they have already made up their mind about.

MR: Ahuh, and so here he was trying to deal with Bigfoot skeptics as well as the JREF professional skeptics, well that’s what they call themselves, they’re not really skeptics they’re skoftics and that’s a problem. Yeah that’s it, so I couldn’t say for sure that’s exactly what happened with Bill, but that is my guess from conversations I have had with him. And what I have seen of his work and so forth. And Meldrum of course is trying to establish the Hominoid Inquiry, get himself a Peer Reviewed Journal that is open to things that are a little more exploratory as far as science goes. There have been other attempts in other Journals. The Journal of Cryptozoology that was done by the ISC, The Society for Scientific Exploration which I think still exists, and they publish peer articles. So it’s also possible that you can get a scientific article published in a very specific journal and that still legitimizes it, and it is still a legitimate way to publish. So you know that is a possibility for Melba if the mainline journals, like Science and Nature, don’t want to go there, she might be able to publish in a lesser journal, including Jeff Meldrum’s.

NM: Yeah, and he’s offered that publicly.

MR: Well that makes sense and that is good of Jeff to do so. Yeah, of course we asked him at the panel (Discovery Day V) when he was here, I asked him specifically you know, if someone like myself could write an article for his journal and, no, because I don’t have a PhD after my name or some other letter. Uh so yeah it’s a journal for scholars only. I think if you want to write a book report they might allow that if you’ve got some credentials of some sort. Dmitri Bayanov asked me to write a book report of his book for Jeff’s journal. I told him I would, but then I had a heart attack.... Anyway, well you asked a question, I answered it.

NM: Yes! Can you think of anything else related to Bill Munns or his work on the P&G Film?

MR: Well I think that what I gathered, and I didn’t sit down and quiz them directly, but what’s happening is there is a project being done by Meldrum, in conjunction with Bill Munns, I think they intend to publish it. I think there will be a published paper or booklet and probably a DVD where Bill will show all his experiments with costumes. So I think between Jeff’s proof and footprints with his database bank that he has been developing to back that up, combined with Bill’s work on costuming. I think they are going to join forces and put that out to try and give credit to the Patterson Gimlin Film. And we’re going to be doing something to give credit to that too, to answer all the questions with the skoftics and set the record straight, because our interview with Mrs. Patterson and Bob Gimlin revealed some facts that haven’t been discovered before. At least I wasn’t aware of them. And they put a lot of things together for me, filled in some missing pieces, so we have some new things to say about that which will be coming up.

NM: Awesome! Stay tuned…..

MR: Umm Hmm Hmm

NM: Thanks Mike!

MR: Yeah.

Components of Bob's "Suit"

One of several suit reconstructions

Working on the head

Head angle needed for proper Patty duplication

Another breastplate

The final head

Simulating Patty's "step down"

Trying to walk in the Heironimus "Suit"

Breastplate comparisons

Getting into Bob's "Suit" was a multi-person process

A Trip to the Bigfoot Discovery Museum

2012-12-20T18:59:00.002-08:00

A Great Big Bigfoot Thanks goes out to Randy Harrington for being our first Museum Member Guest Blogger and sharing his recent visit and pictures, while hanging out with Mike Rugg during his trip to California from his home state of Missouri:

My wife and I recently took a two week trip out to Vegas and the West coast. After several days in Vegas, we cut across the Southern section of California to the coast. We drove the scenic highway along the coast up to San Fransisco. Before reaching San Fransisco, we would drive by Felton California. Being a bigfoot researcher, I had to stop in and check out the Bigfoot museum there.

We arrived around opening time on Saturday the 15th, Mike Rugg answered the door and we made our introductions. I spent quite a while looking around at all the artifacts on display. It was a bigfooter's dream, all things bigfoot. From Statues carved in wood out front, to display cases of plaster cast foot prints and hand prints.

Other patrons entered the shop and browsed while I was there. Most wanted to discuss our favorite subject...bigfoot. There was one gentleman from New Zealand, and a couple people local visiting. Mike was full of Knowledge and had many stories to tell, some from notable researchers, and plenty of stories from his own personal boots on the ground research.

I shared with him my sightings and research. We went to my Facebook page so I could share photo's with him. We discussed research technique success and failures...he was very open and generous with his knowledge and experiences. He seemed to be appreciative of my efforts and techniques and results, and I appreciate someone of his caliber validating what I have done. He said he would incorporate some of the things that have worked for me in his current area's...and I purchased a drawing Mike made of the famous Patty walking the creek in Northern California... Mike is an accomplished artist. Of course I had him sign the art.

Mike is a great guy, I would encourage anyone that ever goes to California to make it a point to stop in and visit with him. I am glad I did.

Randy Harrington

Update on the Patterson Big Reel One Documentary

2012-12-06T20:47:00.002-08:00

Justin Smeja, Mike Rugg, Ralph Jack, and Ro Sahebi at Discovery Day V

The upcoming Documentary will include the presentations of Mike, Bill Munns (The Munns Report), and Dr. Meldrum (The Relict Hominoid Inquiry) at October's Discovery Day V, as well as the full 40 minutes of Roger and Al's recently unearthed "Big Reel One" which was shown publicly for the first time since the early 1970's at that day's presentation.

And below watch filmmaker Ro Sahebi's interview with Dr. Jeff Meldrum at the Discovery Day V BBQ, where he shares his thoughts on the current DNA projects, in addition to many other topics.

And if you venture even further below you will find some more pictures and video from the Bigfoot Discovery Day V post conference bonfire singalong!

Dr. Meldrum, courtesy of Ro Sahebi of The Bigfoot Report
and the Report's YouTube Channel.

Post Discovery Day V Bonfire (Christina, Nadia, Kipp, Justin and Peter)

Mike Talks about his Childhood Sighting

2012-11-24T12:03:00.001-08:00

Friend of the Bigfoot Discovery Project and the Bigfoot communities own premier filmmaker Ro Sahebi takes the time to talk with Mike Rugg about his childhood sighting of the "Big Hairy Man", his time at Stanford University, and his decision to become a Bigfoot Researcher full time!

Enjoy the beautiful scenery of Felton California as we travel along with Ro on another one of his magical journeys! Thanks for being so kind as to share with us all here Ro!

You can watch more films by Ro at his blog site The Bigfoot Report, and don't miss his "Extinct" Podcast every Sunday afternoon where all things Bigfoot and are discussed.

Watch here:

Ro Sahebi

Ro in action at Bigfoot Discovery Day V

Patterson Big Reel One Documentary

2012-11-13T15:06:00.003-08:00

Patterson Big Reel One

The Bigfoot Discovery Museum has hit the road! That's right Mike Rugg and Ralph Jack just left on their road trip with the producer filming their forthcoming Documentary (working title above)! Their first stop is Willow Creek California, just about any hour from Bluff Creek, the site of the famous Patterson and Gimlin Film of "Patty" the female Sasquatch walking along a sand bar in 1967. (Patterson Gimlin Film History)

While in Willow Creek they will be conducting interviews with local's who knew Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin at the time of their filming, as well as local Bigfoot Historians, and members of the Bluff Creek Film Site Project. Perhaps they will even come upon one of Patty's friends or relatives and make history all over again!

From Northern California they will be heading up through Oregon to Yakima Washington where they will be interviewing Bob Gimlin and Patricia Patterson, Roger Patterson's widow, both of whom will also appear in the Documentary. They also hope to interview on camera, or at least talk to, Al DeAtley Jr., Roger's brother-in-Law and Bigfoot Enterprises Business Partner, who for three years funded Roger's dream of discovering and proving the existence of Bigfoot.

The "Big Reel One" film footage, pictured above, was bequeathed to Mike Rugg and the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in the spring of this year by the family of the person Roger had given it to before his death. This is the film that Roger and Al DeAtley used to introduce the "Patty" footage we are familiar with today, as they toured the country in the late sixties and early 70's to raise money to further their research and fund their business plans. This film would be shown at local theaters and event halls to generate interest and donations, then the footage of Patty walking along Bluff Creek would be shown. This all took place during the same period of time in which the "Minnesota Ice Man" was on tour, and once that was inferred to be a hoax and disappeared from the public eye, attendance to the Patterson and Gimlin Film Footage unfortunately also went into a steep decline, and Roger and Al called off the continued showings scheduled around the country.

This Reel itself had not been shown publicly since the very early 1970's, when the touring ended, until October 20th 2012 at the Bigfoot Discovery Days V in Felton California. Patricia Patterson gave her blessing to its showing that day, as a fund raiser for the Museum, and has again generously given permission for all 40 minutes of it's contents to be included in the upcoming Patterson Big Reel One Documentary, along with the Patterson Gimlin Film itself! In return she will receive a small percentage of the proceeds and the film reel, pictured above, will be handed over to her by Mike Rugg upon his arrival in Yakima in the next few days, so it can be included amongst the Patterson Family Legacy of all that Roger left behind. The Bigfoot Discovery Museum will retain their DVD copy to be used for further historical and educational purposes.

Also appearing in the upcoming Documentary will be the speakers and presentations of Bigfoot Discovery Days V, including Mike Rugg himself, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, and Bill Munns discussing and showing footage of his research and recreations proving unequivocally that the claims of Bob Heironimus and his "suit" could not in fact have been responsible for the figure filmed by Roger and Bob in 1967. You can watch Bill Munns Presentation from Discovery Days III here: Bill Munns Discovery Days III

Mike hopes that this upcoming Documentary will put to rest once and for all the many and varied false claims set forth by those seeking to discredit the work and memory of Roger and Bob, by simply seeking fame for themselves with ludicrous stories and misinformation. Anyone who has any information they think would be helpful towards the making of this Documentary is encouraged to contact us here at this Blog, where it can be relayed to Mike on the road. And if you would like to donate or become a member of the Bigfoot Discovery Project/Museum to help Mike keep things going until the release of this Documentary you can do so here: Donate

The Museum itself will be closed through Friday, but stay tuned for updates and news from the road!

Nadia Moore
Communications Coordinator
Bigfoot Discovery Project

Something from the Museum Vault!

2012-11-09T15:46:00.003-08:00

Just released by Mike Rugg and Bigfoot Discovery Project member Ralph Jack, the investigation by Ralph and Mike of a local 1999 Bigfoot sighting, one mile from Downtown Santa Cruz. Check back in as more information from Mike and Ralph will be coming soon! Thanks to member Mike Shaw for editing and posting!

Enjoy!

Witness Recounts Sighting from 1999:

Ralph Jack

Mike Shaw

Bigfoot Discovery Days Past

2012-11-03T00:24:00.002-07:00

Straight from the Museum Vaults (OK our YouTube Channel, but there are some great things in the Museum Vaults that we hope to unearth soon) hear Mike Rugg share a local witness sighting from Discovery Day I. Then from Discovery Day III listen to Bill Munns entire presentation in 5 parts. And as a Finale enjoy the musical offerings of Kepi Ghoulie and friends at the Bigfoot Art and Music Days I and II.

Enjoy!

Mike Rugg at Discovery Day I

Bill Munns at Discovery Day III

Bill Munns Part II

Bill Munns Part III

Bill Munns Part IV

Bill Munns Finale

Bigfoot Art and Music Day I

Bigfoot Art and Music Day II

Stay tuned for a post from Bigfoot Discovery Day IV Santa Cruz Sasquatch!

Nadia

Bigfoot Discovery Day V

2012-10-26T23:01:00.003-07:00

Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Patterson

Gimlin Film at Bigfoot Discovery Day V

If you missed Bigfoot Discovery Day V last Saturday October 20th in Felton California please enjoy the event pictures and video of the Round Table Discussion with Mike Rugg, Kathy Strain (Anthropologist and author of Giants, Cannibals & Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture), Dr. Jeff Meldrum (The Relict Hominoid Inquiry | Idaho State University), Bill Munns (Film and Costume Expert), Daniel Perez (The Bigfoot Times), and Bart Cutino (Sierras Evidence Initiative).

A DVD of the evenings presentations including the newly unearthed Roger Patterson "Big Reel One", which was recently bequeathed to the Museum and had not been shown publicly for 40 years, will be available for purchase soon!

This 40 minute film was used by Roger and his brother-in-law Al DeAtley to introduce the Bigfoot film containing "Patty" as they toured the country in the late 1960's and early '70's to raise funds by selling memberships to their North American Research Organization. An organization that Dr. Meldrum shared his childhood memory of joining when he introduced the film last Saturday night. This film has pictures of Roger casting footprints, Roger and Bob and other expedition members riding horseback in Washington State, footage of Bob Gimlin dressed in a wig to portray an Indian Tracker for Roger's documentary that he was filming before he got the footage of Patty, interviews with early witnesses from the Pacific Northwest, talks by Al DeAtley and John Napier of the Smithsonian Institution, and lot of other cool stuff!

Mike Rugg talked about Greg Long's book The making of Bigfoot in which he claims that the Patterson Gimlin Film Footage was faked using Bob Heirmonimus in a suit, amongst other assertions, and why his conclusions were wrong.

Bart Cutino also presented his new Thermal Video footage taken at the Sierra Evidence Site last August. This was the first public disclosure of his footage and the experiences there and you can read more about it at his website The Sierras Evidence Initiative!

And look for my write up of the work Bill Munns presented debunking once and for all the claim of Bob Heironimus that he was Patty inside a "suit". He has recreated the suit exactly according to Bob's description and shown indisputably that it could not be responsible for the footage. He has also been working with female models in body paint in order to closely examine all the possible criteria and morphology of Patty's breasts. Stay tuned for pictures of the breast reenactments in my next blog post!

Nadia Moore

Bigfoot Discovery Days V Round Table Discussion courtesy of Museum Member Michael Shaw:

Picture Gallery

Mike Rugg, Ralph Jack, Kipp Morrill, Dr. Meldrum, Nadia Moore, Mike Shaw.

Friday night Pre-Conference dinner.

Ralph Jack, Mike's right hand man.

Kipp Morrill was first up at the BBQ manned by Mike Rugg's daughter Jessica Yarr

Terry Smyth & Dr. Meldrum

Daniel Perez & Todd Hale

Ro Sahebi and Justin Smeja Arrive.

Shawn Evidence, Todd Hale, Bill Munns, Daniel Perez

Dr. Meldrum drove all the way!

Kipp Morrill & Todd Hale

Daniel Perez, Bart Cutino, Shawn Evidence, Justin Smeja, Ro Sahebi, Nadia Moore

Mike Rugg debunks the debunker Greg Long.

Roger Patterson's Big Reel One!

Dr. Meldrum introduces the "Big Reel One"!

Al DeAtley, Roger Patterson's brother-in-law, opening the 40 minute "Big Reel One" not seen publicly since about 1970!

Roger Patterson and his 8 foot rendition.

Bart Cutino concluding his presentation.

Bill Munns reveals his new Patterson Gimlin film Analysis.

Intermission

Kathy Strain and Bart Cutino

Steve Concannon, Ralph Jack, Mike Rugg

Todd Hale & Justin Smeja

Dr. Meldrum, Kathy Strain, Tom Yamarone

Todd Hale, Daniel Perez, Dr. Meldrum

The ever patient Dr. Meldrum signs casts

Bart Cutino, Mike Rugg, Nadia Moore, Kipp Morrill, Jim Thomas

Dr. Meldrum, Tom Yamarone, Bart Cution, Terry Smyth, Bob Strain, Daniel Perez, Kathy Strain, Bill Munns.

And A Great Big Bigfoot Discovery Museum Thank You!

The following people donated their time, money and knowledge to make this day the big success that it was:

Presenters:

Mike Rugg

Dr. Jeff Meldrum

Bill Munns

Bart Cutino

Round Table Participants:

Mike Rugg

Kathy Strain

Dr. Meldrum

Bill Munns

Daniel Perez

Bart Cutino

Donors:

Sharon Lee

Lenny Green

Photos:

Nadia Moore
Tom Yamarone
Todd Hale
Bart Cutino
Danny Valderrama

Museum Members:

Ralph Jack

Lance McVay

Greg Rose

Mike Shaw

Dman

Kathy Strain

Bob Strain

Mellow Russell

Nadia Moore

Steve Concannon

Jim Duffy