Off again and this time north on 575 to Cherry Log where the three year old Big Foot Museum is located just off Hwy 515–our first stop.
You enter through the front porch with eerie movie music playing–sort of like Indiana Jones music before he gets into big trouble or finds himself in a snake pit. You know there’s something to watch out for.
After a brief intro, you pass by the impressive wall of Big Foot researchers. There are a bunch of them and then you watch a short introductory “welcoming” film that asks if you’re a believer. Tells you to use an open mind to see for yourself these life changing experiences people have had viewing the Sasquatch, or the Oh Mah, or the Wild Man, or the Wooly Booger, or the White Thang, or the Boojam, or BIG FOOT seen on every continent, a survivor of the extinct species: Gigantopithicus.
There is no more compelling creature than the green-eyed, round shouldered, 6 to 10 foot, 300 to 1000 pound, long armed, large handed, black or silvery white or brown ape-man with the prominent brow and slits for a nose. All Sasquatches have this in common–big feet, an intolerable stench,a piercing cry, and of course are really big and scary.
We go to the theatre to watch the 17 minute main feature film/documentary. Above the screen you see this quote: “It’s the glory of God to conceal a thing but the honor of kings to search out a matter. Proverbs 25-2.”
We arrived before the next show started and were entertained with old fashioned movie ads telling us to visit the refreshment center where our thirst, taste, and hunger will be satisfied. Pepsi is the taste that beats the others cold–except to Atlantans, who are died in the wool Coca-Cola drinkers. We see flashes– the show starts in 3 minutes…2 minutes…1 minute. Before the show starts for real, we have one reminder , “See you in church Sunday.” Do we need to go to church to seal the deal that we are believers?
The movie is very well done and opens with a legend/pourquois story of how Big Foot came to be and why he hides. He befriended a young girl and told her “shadow stories” around the campfire. Her parents forbade her to see the beast again. He sought her out and took her away. He was lonely. Members of the community followed. The girl’s face was scratched by tree branches and she grew wet and cold as it started to rain. The Big Foot could see how scared and cold she was, so he took her back to her family. He was told to never come that way again. As a result he had to hide from humans and never again share his shadow stories. And that’s why humans rarely see a Big Foot.
We listen to stories of Big Foot sightings, mostly in Kentucky. We are sitting next to a lady whose brother in law is a Big Foot researcher and has seen one.–for real.
Then we’re off to the exhibits. We read about the gold miners, Fred and Hank, who shot at a creature they thought was a Big Foot, then escaped to the safety of a cabin. But of course it wasn’t safe. Several Big Foots appeared (they travel in families) and threw rocks and boulders down upon the cabin. Then they shook the cabin. Then they tried to get inside, one managing to grab an ax above the door. But the miners using all their strength forced the door on The Big Foot’s ax-holding arm and he was forced to drop it. “Be gone, you mountain devils,” shouted one of the miners. Then something told him to start singing and he did: “Leave us along. If you leave us alone, we’ll leave you alone and we’ll all go home in the morning.” Looping his song until it was morning and the Big Foots were gone (they are nocturnal creatures), but not the story. It lived on. There are more stories and exhibits and Big Foot searching equipment and hand and footprints, with dermal ridges that can not possibly be duplicated.
We sign the guest book. People have made comments like: “Looks like my uncle.” or “We believe,” or “One of the greatest attractions in the state.” We look at movie posters about Big Foot movies like THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK from a Big Foot sighting in Arkansas. It’s rated G. I hold my hand up next to a big foot hand print found somewhere in Georgia. You can see the result below. 
When we’re ready to go, I talk to the ticket seller, who turns out to be the daughter of the owner/creator, Dave Bakara, who has been fascinated with Big Foots all his life and started this beautifully done museum about three years ago with his wife. She was there and told me of their personal Big Foot sighting in Alva, FL. They were following a report from a guy whose backyard backed up to a swamp and had seen big creatures many times. He left out fish guts to keep them from harming his family and animals. David and his wife camped out in the backyard, leaving out smoked fish to attract the Big Foots and to keep them from getting aggressive. After midnight they heard sounds and saw several of them, shadowy creatures on two legs, eating the fish. They left after 10 minutes or so and had no flashlights or lanterns to guide them. They just disappeared.
My husband is not a believer. But I think there is something out there…And we both agreed a trip to this museum is a must.
Google Expedition: Bigfoot, 1934 Hwy 515, Blue Ridge, GA (but really closer to Cherry Log.) Open every day except Tuesday, 10-5 but hours may differ in the winter. There is an admission charge of $8.00 but seniors get a discount. Phone number: 706-946-2601.
Category: Georgia Place-Names
September 20, 2018: Road Trip #1: Off To Dahlonega & Where Is That Marker?
Off to Dahlonega, Georgia, site of the first gold rush in the United States. The name comes from the Cherokee word for gold or yellow money. They say the streets in Dahlonega are paved in gold. Are they?
I knew from the research for my second grade show, MS NOODLEHEAD HAS GEORGIA ON HER MIND, that Benjamin Parks of Dahlonega is credited for the discovery of gold in 1828. He had just had a birthday and went off deer hunting when his boot hit a rock. Upon closer inspection and after whacking it open, he found the yellowiest color which he knew was…GOLD. And voila! The rest is history. So we were off in search of the site where Benjamin Parks found the first gold nugget in a stream somewhere off Hwy 19 that leads from GA 400 into Dahlonega.
I had done my homework. I looked on the Dahlonega Visitor’s Center site and found out about a marker–one of those typical Georgia state historical markers–that marked the exact spot. It was supposed to look like this:
And was supposed to be located at the corner of Calhoun Gold Mine Road and Hwy 19. Thank goodness for GPS or we would have missed this dinky little dirt road entirely. In fact, we did miss it and had to backtrack. The visitor’s center website said the marker was pretty much hidden by some red, leafy bushes. No red leafy bushes to be found. Wrong time of year? No marker anywhere. All we saw was a marker for a wedding up the dirt road. So my dear hubby started taking pictures of the little dribble of a creek where the marker was supposed to be. At least we could put that in the book. And he took a photo of the Calhoun Gold Mine Road sign (see earlier in the text)
All of a sudden, Dean Chuvala appeared. He turned out to be a godsend. He lived on a property on the other side of the creek. He thought we were searching for something we lost–like a hubcap and came to offer his help. He turned out to be this treasure trove of information–perhaps our gold nugget?
First and foremost he authenticated the spot. Yes, that was where Benjamin Parks found the first gold nugget. As for the marker, the county had removed it some while back while some road work was being done. Apparently Calhoun Gold Mine Road washes out quite often onto Hwy 19 and they had been after the county for quite a while to pave this historic road that led up to the original Calhoun Mine. Dean even called some people he knew to see if anyone knew where that durn marker was now–in storage or elsewhere. No luck.
Then he told us his wife was a distant relative of Benjamin Parks and had even donated some of his things to the Dahlonega Gold Museum in downtown Dahlonega. And he and his wife hoped to one day have a B and B right there on this historic site. We were disappointed in the state of Georgia or the town of Dahlonega or whoever for not making a bigger deal of the place where Benjamin Parks stubbed his toe on a gold nugget!
Then Dean, who indeed was this treasure trove of information, told us that the mine was privately owned by a Mr. Ruskin, now deceased, who did not cotton to people going up his road and snooping around. The mine no longer existed but it had quite a history behind it. Apparently during a drunken stupor, his truck got stuck in a rut on one side of the now muddy, dirt road, and Dean helped pull him out. As a reward Mr. Ruskin offered to let Dean bring friends and family up the road to view the ruins. So Dean one day took advantage of the offer, only to come face to face with Mr. Ruskin’s shotgun. “Get off my property!” So that was the end of that. And the end of that for anyone, as the property was closed off since Mr. Ruskin’s death. The road is dusty and dirty (and must be a nightmare when it rains…or snows). But that day there was a wedding, not on the Ruskin property, but beside it where there is some sort of party venue. We didn’t feel like partying as we had more places to stop by and photos to take…all before dark.
We were greatly heartened that our first road trip/photo trip turned out to be quite an adventure, a mystery solved, and the meeting of Dean Chuvala, a true treasure himself.