Trail Cams, Audio, and... a Documentary!

After a beautiful springtime trip to retrieve my trail cam and audio recorder today, I got home, kicked off my boots, and—cue excited gasp—discovered that “Sasquatch Preserved: The North American Bigfoot Center” had just been released! It’s the latest film from Eli Watson and the incredible crew at Small Town Monsters, and I’m absolutely thrilled to have been part of it.

Getting to participate in this documentary and help highlight the behind-the-scenes work at the North American Bigfoot Center (NABC) was such an honor. I even got to talk a bit about a project that’s very close to my heart: digitizing and preserving the wealth of information in the NABC archive.

Flashback to early 2023—I reached out to the Center to ask about volunteering, maybe helping out as a docent or wherever they needed an extra hand. To my surprise and delight, Cliff Barackman responded personally and was totally open to the idea. After chatting with the team, they invited me to help build out the digital archive of artifacts, field notes, and research collected over the years.

From there, I dove right in. Over the next year and a half, I logged more than 700 entries, uncovering obscure publications, quirky field notes, and fascinating materials from Sasquatch researchers you’ve probably never heard of (but totally should). It was nerdy, squatchy heaven—and along the way, I made some fantastic friends and soaked up a ton of knowledge.

Lately, my MBTI consulting business has kept me happily busy, so I haven’t been at the Center as much. But the great news is that more volunteers have joined the effort, and the archiving momentum is going strong!

If you ever find yourself near Mt. Hood, make a beeline for the North American Bigfoot Center. It’s full of wonder, mystery, and a healthy dose of scientific curiosity. And hey—maybe I’ll see you there!