I Caught The Bug: My First Bigfoot Expedition

I have been interested in Bigfoot since I was about 8 years old. A teacher sent me home with a book about mysterious animals to read. The book was about the Kraken, Bigfoot, Nessie, Chupacabra, and many more. From that time on, I would read or watch anything about these mysterious creatures, especially Bigfoot. In all honesty, I never thought I would get the opportunity to look for Bigfoot. I thought they were all in the Pacific Northwest. I didn't think there was any way they were in South Carolina.

On June 1st, 2013, the team decided to have a sort of training exercise to get everyone used to being in the woods and learn how to look for oddities. This was just an exercise in case we needed to look for cryptids or investigate haunted forests. We also decided to take this time to do a live broadcast that was a discussion with the team.

We found a good bit of interesting evidence and even had some experiences that couldn't be explained. After this night, our research took off and gained the attention of the local news stations. Some of these stories were even picked up by international media outlets.

This is my journal entry after that night- I have caught the bug and jump at every opportunity to look for Bigfoot.

Bigfoot Hunt: June 1, 2013 To be honest, I did not expect to have any experiences, especially since I was assigned command central for the night. At the most, I thought we may hear some sounds that we were unsure of and hear from the team if the habitat was likely to be the home of a Bigfoot. However, the evening started out with a bang- literally. Inspector Cryptid, Marty, and a couple of other members went for a preliminary walk in the woods and that left Lisa and I alone at command central. 

At first, we hear a rock hit the building behind the home on the property. A few minutes later, we hear a rock hit the building behind the neighbor's house. A few minutes after that, a rock hits a bag of charcoal behind where we are seated. At this point, we decide that it is not coincidence and decide to go check out the woods. 

We radio the field team and tell them what we experience, grab the camera, and head towards the woods. We get to right before the woods start and stop to listen. Within a couple minutes, we hear a distinct "woop." When we heard the woop, we realized the woods were completely quiet. A bird started singing, but stopped in mid song- I have never heard anything like it. We radio the team to see if they had made the woop. They had not. After we finished talking with the team, we heard a very distinct wood knock from pretty close to where we were. This was not a branch breaking. We decided not to radio the team again- they would never believe us. 

We then headed back to command central so we would not scare anything off. After the team returned, we learned that they had heard woops as well. They had also found some trees that had been pushed over and footprints at the base. We were going to cast them the next day, as it was already about 2am. However, storms came in that night and washed evidence away. 

Family Day with Carolina Cryptid Crew

A few weeks ago, the team and our families headed up to the mountains for a much needed expedition and family day. We decided to make it a family day because we were just going during the day and we were going to just get a feel for the place, as most of the team was pretty unfamiliar with the location. The thing about this location (that I will not disclose at this time) is that there has been a lot of Bigfoot activity in the past. In fact, I have heard that Matt Moneymaker actually had activity here, including hearing "Samurai Chatter." A member of our team even had activity here.

This particular location is a very secluded primitive campground with a small river running through it. It is a popular spot for trout fishing and very close to the Chattooga rafting launch locations. In fact, it is only a few miles away from each of the major rafting companies in the area. This is actually in the area where the film Deliverance was filmed, so you can imagine how wooded and secluded it is.

One of our team members smoked a wild boar and it was so good. The team ate, socialized, laughed, and had a look around. There was some activity, but the spot was pretty populated with fishermen and picnickers that day, with it being such a pretty Saturday, even if it was a big chilly.

One of the kids that came along for family day was throwing rocks into the river and from the other side of the river, a rock would be thrown and hit the water at almost the same spot. Odd, right. While there, we also felt like we were being watched from across the river, found a few breaks high up in the trees, and even saw a few tree structures. One of the team members later reported seeing a tree with the root ball up in the air.

I did record a video while there, which I will upload to my new YouTube channel at some point.

We are going to head back up at some point, and even conduct an over night expedition. We'll be sure to keep you updated with our future adventures at this well known Bigfoot hot spot.

A Geek Meets Fall and History Of The Jack-O-Lantern

I was looking for this post earlier and couldn't find it. I finally found it on my old NighLon blog, so I decided to repost it here. I hope you enjoy! Are you already dreaming of Halloween, although it's only March?

I ♥ FALL

I really do… I mean I really, really do

Look here… this proves it!

This is me and the hubby carving pumpkins.

This was a first for me!

I grew up painting pumpkins, because my mom is a hippie! [I ♥ you mom]

My design will come later… Its a surprise,

but first, a little history of the Jack-O-Lantern!

Even though the Jack O’Lantern was brought to America with the Irish, The  legend actually did not begin with a pumpkin. Here’s the legend: Stingy Jack was quite the miserable, old drunk who enjoyed playing trick on everyone; even the Devil, himself! Once, Jack decided to trick the Devil. He convinced him to climbing an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up, Stingy Jack placed crosses around the truck of the tree, so that he could not get down. Stingy Jack made the Devil swear to not take his soul when he died. After this exchange was made, Stingy Jack moved the crosses so the devil could descend.

Many years went by, and Stingy Jack finally died. He went to the Pearly Gates, but was disappointed to learn that he could not get in. Saint Peter told him that because he lead such a miserable and worthless life, he was not allowed into Heaven. He traveled to hell but was once again disappointed. Devil kept his promise, and would not let him in.  He would be forced to wander forever in the darkness between Heaven and Hell. Jack became scared.  He asked the Devil how he was supposed to leave when there was not light. The Devil gave Stingy Jack a ember from the fiery pits of hell to light his way. Because turnips were one of Stingy Jack’s favorite food, he hollowed out a turnip and placed the ember within. From that day on, Stingy Jack roamed the Earth lighting his way with his “Jack O’Lantern.”

The Irish would hollow out Turnips, Rutabagas, Gourds, Potatoes, and Beets. The placed a light inside to ward off evil spirits on All Hallow’s Eve. This also kept Stingy Jack Away. These were the original Jack O’Lanterns. When large waves of Irish came to America in the 1800s, the immigrants soon discovered Pumpkins. The immigrants began using Pumpkins because they are bigger and easier to carve out!

Grab your pumpkin carving stencils here

This is your surprise!

A free set of 19 stencils

directions:

1.  For easy clean up, place protective covering on the area you will be working.
2. Cut a lid large enough to reach your hand in so that you can clean out all the pumpkin brains. Angle the knife toward the center so that you have created a ledge for the lid to rest on.
3. Using a scoop clean out all the seeds and stringy pumpkin brain. On the side where you will be carving, scrape the pumpkin until it is about an inch thick.
4. Print the pattern, and tape it to the pumpkin.
5. Using a pin or a poking tool, poke holes along the design lines. Once you make sure the whole design has been transferred, remove the pattern. (hold on to it for reference.)
6. Using a saw, gently, cut out the pattern (the black areas). Work from the center of the design out, and from the smallest to largest holes.
7. If the stencil you decide to use has grey areas: use a chisel, or other carving tool, to “shave” the peel of the pumpkin. Shave off 1/2 inch of the pumpkin’s skin. This will allow the light to shine through.
8. Clean up your design and place a candle inside

9. ENJOY and HAVE FUN

Let me know how it turns out!

Finding Bigfoot in South Carolina

On Tuesday, January 13th, some of the Carolina Cryptid Crew and CSPRI Inc members will be heading to Aiken, South Carolina for a huge opportunity. We have been invited to come to the Finding Bigfoot Town Hall meeting to share our experiences. This is truly an honor. Some of the Carolina Cryptid Crew members have been speaking with the Finding Bigfoot research team for quite some time and are excited to pass on their experiences face to face.

We wish them luck and safe travels as they go to represent the team.

I am so excited to be included in this adventure. Be sure you are following me on Instagram and Twitterfor fun as it happens.

Here are some news links for more information.

Our Gazette
Anderson Independent
Scene On 7

Welcome To My Paranormal World

For a few years now, my personal blog, The Palmetto Queen has been home to all  blog posts, although it didn't start out that way. It is supposed to be for organizing, parenting, and homeschool. However, my paranormal and tech posts have taken over.

Now, my tech posts will be here. I will gradually move those over here and new ones will be posted on both for a while. Please bear with me while I get this in order.

GoPro Housing: I'm Dreaming of A Techy Christmas

Disclaimer: I received a product to review. All opinions are my own.

My new obsession is my GoPro Hero 3 (more on that later), but there are some drawbacks to it. The biggest of which is the shiny waterproof case. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but for paranormal investigators, bigfoot hunters, hunters, and anyone who films in the dark it is quite a big deal. See, there are other cameras rolling and the shine can cause issues when taking pictures, and may even cause it to look like there is something else in the photo. Being a paranormal investigator, I try to minimize shine when I can, although I have mistakenly wore shoes with reflectors on them. (believe me, I only did this once). Shiny objects can cause the same type of problem. As an example, let's check out this Instagram photo that shows what reflectors do.

Shoes not to wear on investigations. #paralina #huntthenight #paranormallife

A photo posted by cari (@cari_on) on Mar 3, 2014 at 12:37pm PDT

Do you see that little bit of shine? Imagine in a completely dark room and a powerful flash or IR lights going? That is why the stock housings have a drawback for paranormal investigators.

There is a really cool solution though. While you can get neoprene covers and stickers for the housings, they are just not the quality that is desired for a camera like GoPro Hero cameras.

How gorgeous is that? Guess what? I used a flash. Can you tell how amazing this housing is? The paint and quality of the job is amazing. Even better than the product is the story of how it came to be.

Here is the story:

I am a Veteran of OEF 11/12 and have a business where I custom paint the housings for the very popular GoPro series of Camera’s, specifically the Hero 3/3+/4. I started making these in Afghanistan as I wore a Hero on my ACH Combat Helmet during most of the operations that we went on. When I was overseas, several other soldiers that also had GoPro Hero camera’s saw the quality work that I had done on my GoPro housing and asked me to camouflage theirs as well.

Cheers and be safe!

-Rob

Rob currently makes about 15 different camos and sells them exclusively through Stuntcams.  I always love hearing what veterans are up to and being able to support them. While I know that these are very beneficial to many of us, I imagine they have saved lives when used in military settings. Good job Rob!

Gifts for Paranormal Investigators: I'm Dreaming of A Techy Christmas #giveaway

My very tech oriented family has teamed up to bring you a gift guide of our top gift items. These are tech centered and unique. 

RageCams Custom Camera

If you are looking for a very special gift for the paranormal investigator in your life, you should visit my newest sponsor. Ragecams adapts cameras to fit your needs. This particular one can record in complete dark. Maybe I'll catch some footage to answer questions they have services for everyone. You will see a lot from this company. I'm currently editing some video to share from this awesome camera. 

More coming soon

Visit Ragecams

GoPro Housing

These hand painted housings perfect for anyone with a gopro. They are waterproof, but without the shine. They come in matte black, camo, and desert camo.
They started out because the soldiers needed housings that didn't shine. Well, consumers have a need for these as well. I don't have to worry about my housing causing a glare in photos, which may cause an obstruction that could be mistaken for the paranormal.

More coming soon.

Buy here

+LifeGuard Mini 1

This has quickly become my favorite gadget. I don't leave home without it. It's simple to charge and I no longer have to worry about my phone dying. I can also use it to charge batteries (I have a usb battery charger), the tablets, cameras, and anything else that uses a USB charger, including Tbomb's leapband. Naturally, it is a must have on investigations. 

More coming soon. 

Purchase here. 

 

Sportstek Headlamp

This headlamp is by far the best you will see. It is 4 in 1. It can be used as a lamp, headlamp, bicycle lamp, or even on a belt. It is perfect for investigations to keep hands free. I'm not sure what I did before it! 

See my review here. 

August Headphones

These are my favorite headphones. I use them for everything. Listening for EVPs, editing audio, recording, editing video, listening to podcasts, and even drowning out other noise so that I can concentrate. The Mr wants to use them, but I won't let him- he has headphones. These have become one of my top pieces of equipment. They can connect via 3.5 cord or bluetooth. They charge via usb. 

More coming soon

Purchase here

Giveaway

August International has offered two pair of these bluetooth headphones to lucky readers of The Palmetto Queen. Just comment below and let me know what your favorite August product is. A winner will be chosen December 17th at random (don't forget to leave your email)