There’s Something Happening Here. What it is Ain’t Exactly Clear….But its BIG!

By Story Teller Steve Tabor

The South Coast Botanic Garden (Garden) kicks off the new year with a scavenger hunt that encourages visitors young and old to follow clues and search the Garden for evidence of the elusive Sasquatch, the mythical creature inhabiting the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Interested visitors can pick up their no cost interactive “Sasquatch Hunt Nature Journal” at the Garden’s admission booth and follow its list of clues to discover the various Sasquatch “treasures” found throughout the Garden. In addition, the interactive journal contains a variety naturalist activities designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to document their findings in a similar manner employed by naturalist and explorers.

According to the Garden’s Chief Executive Officer, Adrienne Nakashima, “The Sasquatch Hunt is a whimsical way for visitors to experience the Garden. It encourages curiosity and discovery by becoming a fun way to engage visitors of all ages as they traverse their way through our Garden. The ‘Hunt’ encourages visitors to detour from the Tram Road to explore other areas in the Garden that are often less visited.”

Adding another layer to the whimsical nature of the event, during the Presidents’ Day weekend, the Garden is planning to have a Sasquatch character roaming about the Garden. Visitors will have an opportunity to create their own “caught in the wild” photographs of the mythical creature and possibly capture a family photo with the creature.

For those visitors more romantically inclined, the Garden is planning a special Sasquatch Valentine Hunt from February 12th – 14th. According to Nakashima, “Our Sasquatch map will lead visitors to amorous themed collections in the Garden and we will have our popular ‘LOVE’ letters set up for the perfect photo opportunity.”

According to the Garden’s Chief Development Officer, Danielle Brown, “These Scavenger Hunt activities are very popular with Garden visitors and several others are scheduled throughout the year including Scavenger Hunts featuring other mythical characters such as leprechauns in March and ‘Gnome Sweet Gnome’ in August. Also a Spring Egg Hunt is scheduled for April.”

Brown states, “The Scavenger Hunts are a wonderful way for visitors to create memories and shared experiences while enjoying a stroll through the Garden and seeing all it has to offer!”

The Sasquatch Scavenger Hunt runs through February 28, 2022. The Garden is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and there is no extra fee for Scavenger Hunt related activities. For more information about planning your visit to the Garden, go to the Garden’s website:

https://southcoastbotanicgarden.org

Footnotes:

Folklore and mythology contain several stories from all over the world. On the Asian continent there are stories of creatures known as Almas, Yeren, and Yeti. A creature known as Yowie has been spotted in parts of Australia. There are reports of wild human creatures wandering the forests of Europe. Across the U.S. there are reports of these wild hairy creatures residing in the forests, swamps, and other wildland areas.

In California, on what is now known as the Tule River Reservation exists a series of petroglyphs created by the Yokuts, that dates back at least five hundred years depicting these wild human creatures.

The name Sasquatch is credited to Chief Mischelle of the Nlaka’pamux in British Columbia, Canada. In 1898, Mischelle was describing his encounters to a Canadian Folklorist, Charles Hill-Tout. During their conversations Mischelle referred to the wild man creature in Salishan terms as “se’sxa” or “sasquatch”.

The moniker Bigfoot is attributed to Jerry Crew, a bulldozer operator for a logging company, and his fellow loggers, working in the Six Rivers National Forest in Humboldt County, California. In 1958, Crew discovered a large set of footprints, approximately sixteen inches long, in the muddy forest floor. Crew and the other loggers initially thought it was a prank, but they continued to find these footprints around their location. Eventually a local reporter published his interviews with Crew and other loggers about their unusual sightings. Prior to and during the interview, the men referred to the creature leaving these large tracks as “Bigfoot”. The story of loggers and photographs of Crew holding a plaster cast made of a footprint soon caught the attention of major U.S. newspapers which spread the legend of “Bigfoot” nationwide.

Steve Tabor Bio

This South Bay native’s photographic journey began after receiving his first 35 mm film camera upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. Steve began with photographing coastal landscapes and marine life. As a classroom teacher he used photography to share the world and his experiences with his students. Steve has expanded his photographic talents to include portraits and group photography, special event photography as well as live performance and athletics. Steve serves as a volunteer ranger for the Catalina Island Conservancy and uses this opportunity to document the flora and fauna of the island’s interior as well as photograph special events and activities.

Watch for Steve Tabor Images on the worldwide web.

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