For as long as I can remember, John has loved to watch shows about Sasquatch, just as much as I enjoy watching shows about aliens. I make fun of him and he makes fun of me. We’ve even seen the Squatchmobile out on the road, but it’s not a regular thing, and we’ve had plenty of laughs over it.

This spring we went to our morel mushroom grounds. The road is grown in so much that we don’t take the truck. We park, walk, and search the quarter mile stretch looking for morels. It’s usually quiet since we are out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve grown accustom to the silence, and I’ve never been afraid if John is out of my sight.

This day was overcast, but warm with barely a wind. As I walked down the road, I wasn’t making any sound, but just quietly looking. John had gone into the woods back by the truck and was out of sight.

Off on my right I heard something walking in the grass and water. It sounded boggy-wet, muddy-slop stepping. It was definitely a larger animal. Very slowly and deliberately, I could hear steps.

As I stood in the road, I waved to John to get his attention. I didn’t speak but motioned by pointing at my ear, making my fingers to the walking, and pointing in the direction of the sound, that I heard  something walking in the woods….He quickly scooted down the road for a listen. We didn’t hear anything, then as we went to leave, there was a “ponk” of the tree limb breaking confirming that I did, in fact, hear something. The sound reminds me of a large pine tree limb breaking and giving that hollow sound.

Thinking it was a probably moose, John gave out a cow call. There was a “ponk”, “ponk”. Nothing more. John and I looked at one another. He gave another call.  Again, another “ponk”, “ponk”, “ponk”. Not only was this weird, but it was perfectly timed as if someone was hitting a tree. Our eyes looking at each other we could read each other’s thoughts, like “what to heck is it?!”

He called again, and again it responded exactly the same way, timed exactly the same, “ponk”, “ponk”, “ponk”.

Okay, now I’m thinking someone’s out there messing with us; however, there wasn’t another soul around. There are no camps nearby. Nothing. No cars. Just us and whatever was out there.

By the third round of perfectly sequenced “ponk”, “ponk”, “ponk” sounds, we decided to leave, yet baffled beyond baffled. It’s not often we can’t figure out what something in the woods is, but this was unexplained.

“Sasquatch”, said John, as we got in the truck.

The following week we went back and ventured into the woods further. No signs of any moose or bear…

Perhaps it was Sassy…as we sat by the campfire and gazed into the stars, I wondered if my shooting stars might be alien crafts screaming across the skies…John just laughed at me.

I may have to get one of these stickers for my car! In the meantime, I get to hear “Watch out for Sassy” every time we drive past our morel spot.

I guess you never know what you’re going to encounter in the woods. That’s why it’s called an Adventure.