Bigfoot Society - Rick Reles from IKNOWSQUATCH (Classic)

Episode Date: October 11, 2023

Originally Recorded on 6/8/20Today's episode is with Rick Reles, a North Carolina based Bigfoot researcher.Rick is an active BFRO investigator and has attended 15 BFRO expeditions to date, and another 10 private ones. He contributes by organizing night hikes, scouting trips, and activity debriefs at these events.He has spoken at various conferences, expeditions, and on podcasts on the subject of Bigfoot, as well as providing incident information to the show Finding Bigfoot.Rick has written a Field Guide on Bigfoot Stick Structures, and has had Class A, B ,and C interactions with Bigfoot. He is organizing information for a book he is writing on the subject.We chat about his Bigfoot research in Backbone State of Northeastern Iowa, how he and his partner came up with the amazing IKnowSquatch brand and much, much more!You can find IKnowSquatch over on IG.https://www.instagram.com/iknowsquatch/You can pick up some amazing shirts, stickers and more over at their Etsy page!https://www.etsy.com/shop/iknowsquatch?ref=shop_suggWATCH THE IOWA EPISODE IN THE “SASQUATCH: A SEARCH FOR SABE” DOCUMENTARY SERIES BY TATE HIERONYMUS // FIND OUT ALL ABOUT MY FIRST BIGFOOT ENCOUNTERS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo8O4rvywzETo unlock more bonus content and much more, become a supporting member of Bigfoot Society by joining the Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/thebigfootsocietyBecome a Youtube Channel member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Qq45W6iaTU8FE9kelxT7Q/joinSupport Bigfoot Society one time by buying me a coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bigfootsociety To pick up a Bigfoot Society shirt, stickers and more, check out our merch by heading on over to https://www.etsy.com/shop/BigfootSocietySend me a voice message to potentially be used for the show by calling 515-809-0165 Here’s a fun prompt - “Hey, my name’s [your name] and you’re listening to the Bigfoot Society podcast!”If you’d like to send me fan mail, Bigfoot related products to check out or written out Bigfoot encounters then you reach me at the following address: Bigfoot Society 125 E 1st St. #233 Earlham, IA 50072Join our private Facebook group "Bigfoot Sasquatch Encounters" for a chance to connect with others who have had similar experiences. Follow the directions to ensure your entry is accepted.https://www.facebook.com/groups/5762233820540793/?ref=share_group_linkTune in to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Qq45W6iaTU8FE9kelxT7Q) for new episodes of Bigfoot Society, and visit our website (www.bigfootsocietypodcast.com) for all the links mentioned above and more.Don't miss out on the Bigfoot action! —— Affiliate links mean I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This helps support my channel at no additional cost to you.—— MY GEAR —— My Audio Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1q8XYMy Podcast Mic: https://amzn.to/3AlYwb9My Computer: https://amzn.to/40CCjQyMy Headphones: https://amzn.to/40A8gcrMy Webcam: https://amzn.to/3NqfddhThe best Bigfoot book: https://amzn.to/41x8IcN Lose the weight along with me on Noom. Get 20% off your subscription with link below. (Consult your doctor first) https://noom.com/r/GdkaWNddL?1251Join Whatnot and pick up some sweet video games and vintage shirts. Use my link below and we both get $10 credit after you place your first order. https://whatnot.com/invite/bigfootsocietyLearn more and up your creative game with Skillshare. Use my link and get a $50 gift card. https://share.skillshare.com/bigfootsocietyIf you want an amazing website like Bigfoot Society has that is extremely easy to set up and connects to your podcast in an incredible way then check out Podpage. https://www.podpage.com/?via=jeremiah (Use this affiliate link and you help out Bigfoot Society)

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Visit your nearby Lowe's on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. Welcome to the Bigfoot Society podcast, and I'm Jeremiah Byron. Every week I talk to individuals who have experienced Sasquatch in some way or another, so you won't want to miss an episode. Make sure you're subscribed on the platform that you're listening to and share this episode with a friend. It does not cost a thing, and it helps the show continue to grow. If you'd like to hear Bigfoot Society episodes early and ad-free,

you can do so by becoming a Patreon supporter or a YouTube channel member. Links to those are in the show notes. In Bigfoot Society, I've taken far too much of your time so far, so let's get on with the show. You're listening to an episode of Bigfoot Society recorded more than three years ago. Interviewing skills and audio quality have improved since then. Please don't judge the podcast on this one episode. All right.

Well, thanks for coming back to the Bigfoot Society podcast. Today we have the pleasure of having with us Rick Rallis, researcher from Western North Carolina. Rick, would you mind going ahead and just kind of telling the listeners a little bit about yourself? Yeah, sure. I'm a BFRO investigator. Have been for about five years. I've been on going on expeditions and research.

researching the Bigfoot phenomenon for 10 years or so. And I'm also a partner in I Know Squatch, and we're a very progressive merchandise-driven company that we sell T-shirts and hats and stickers, things like that. So we go to a lot of shows during the year. We also have an Etsy site and Instagram. We're on both. So for followers out there, we're interested in our merchandise

and what we do with the brand, And we're proud of the brand and we think we're progressive and forward oriented relative to the portrayal of Bigfoot. And we've trademarked it. We've protected the brand and the image. It's very important to us. And we've got to always bring out new material every year, new designs. And we do, you know, we do pretty well. It's a nice little business.

It's growing very well as interest and the Bigfoot phenomenon continues. and I also spent a lot of time investigating, you know, reports that we get witness reports. I do a lot of research on my own research areas I go into. I go on expeditions regularly and I've been doing that for about 10 years. And I speak at a lot of conferences also on the subject and do a lot of podcasts like I'm doing with you right now. Awesome. Awesome. So some things I've always wondered about the brand.

And so it sounds like you, a researcher, before the brand was come up with. Is that correct? Yeah, I mean, I've done my field research. I've been in the field a lot. Both Hans, my partner Hans and I, and we met actually at an expedition, I don't know, six, eight years ago. But we've, you know, been doing a lot of time at daytime scouting, marching around the woods at night, trying to figure this out before we got to.

to the point of launching a brand and getting an merchandise business. That's very cool. So I just kind of wondered that is, so you met this guy on an actual expedition, which is cool. This isn't just a guy that you like, you know, met on a, I need some random designer guy. Like this is an actual, the designer is also a bigfoot guy, which is pretty awesome. You can tell that from the designs, like they're solid. Yeah.

You guys are coming out with a line where it's like the different states. And the I know Squatch, a peaker guy, I'm sure he has a name. And then the different, like, the designs built into the flags, too. Man, that makes some good t-shirts. And I also am a big fan of the native petroglyph for Sasquatch. That's a really good one, too. Yep.

So hats off to you guys on that. Was that a BFRO expedition that you guys met on? or just like one that you guys had thrown together? No, I actually met Hans in the UP in Michigan. Oh, yeah. Back in maybe 2013, 14, somewhere around there on a BFRO expedition. So, you know, he and I have logged some time in the woods, believe me. We do also meet last November.

I was in Upper Wisconsin with him and some others on an expedition. I was private. So we do continue to do that regularly. You know, our research into, that certainly helped us understand Bigfoot. And the way we portrayed in our shirts and merchandise, you know, we call it, you know, you mentioned the peeper, the peeking around the tree. But that's witnesses report seeing that, particularly hunters. Totally.

Hunters will say, you know, I was there and I was waiting, you know, for the deer to come down the path and something peaked around a tree looking at me. And I can't tell you how many times we've had that reported. You know, I've seen that, you know, type of been around that when it's happened in the woods too. And they peaked around the tree, quantum on a thermal, that sort of thing. So that is typical. So they portray a lot of it on a lot of our merchandise. And you mentioned the, I'm glad thank you for mentioning the state stickers.

That's something we're doing this year. But many of the folks would see us at the shows or check out our Etsy site that are going to see we're doing state-by-state. portrayal of the people, you know, in the image of the state with the state flag. And it's for, it's nice to get some nice representation. So we're excited about them. It's a smart, smart design series, definitely. So that gives me a lot of like the history of how it came together, which is really cool. I wasn't expecting it to be based in expedition.

That's amazing. So thank you for sharing that. Hans was telling me that you have, he kind of gave me a few things. to make sure that I ask you. So I'll let you know, I'm based out of Central Iowa. I'm in the West Des Moines area. And he wanted me to make sure that I've asked,

that I ask you about the time that you were ushered out of the woods at Backbone State Park. Yeah, that's pretty wild up there in Northeast Iowa. Yeah, you get a lot of, you know, followers, viewers that are familiar from Iowa or know that area? A few. The viewership is spread out actually all over the world, which is really weird.

There's a ton of listeners from England, which, who knew? But, yeah, I got a few Iowa people, yeah, along with me. Yeah, I spent some time in England, too. I always kind of want to do some squatching over there. Yeah, yeah. Some areas in the Cheltenham and the mountains around the Cotswolds that look pretty good to me. So if you have anybody over there that's listening in, they want to go squatching in the part of the world. I would look around the Cotswolds.

But anyway. All right. Well, hey, there you go, England listeners. Something to check out. Yeah. And who knows? You know, there are. I met a guy at a show, a cryptid show, a couple years ago who had written a book about these types of beings in the U.S.

So, and I saw him speak to it. He was pretty credible. Nice. So any of your listeners over in the UK, you know, get out and about, you never know. Perfect. But back to backbone, yeah, I've been on a few different, believe it or not, expeditions in Iowa. And actually, any of your listeners this past Monday, they're running an animal planet, kind of a marathon on finding Bigfoot. Yeah.

Yeah, they were in Yellow River State Park. So if you know where that is, that's over towards the Mississippi. Exactly. Yep, yep. They were in there on the show. I've been in there on an expedition, Volga, the Volga River area. Okay. Been in there.

And Backbones State Park, yep, and in there. There's a, I'll get, well, I'll just say it, but there's another, it's typically we, a BFRO, we don't reveal where we've been. We have an NDA, those types of things. But we were, BFRO was not there, but I don't. I was into the Bixby State Park, also that area, which I think was shut down years ago. And when I was in there, it was, it had been flooded and they were still kind of underwater. But we had incredible activity in there, as small as that was.

So any of your listeners from Iowa will get out and about, you know, you would think I was a lot of cornfields and not a lot of woods. But when you get to places like, right. When you get to places like backbone, it's kind of like the rolling hills go down into a canyon where there's a river that runs through a creek and it's wooded and, you know, thousands of acres and it's a good habitat for these things. Totally. So backbone, we had a number of experiences there, but I'll give you one because it's a partner to reference to it with you, but he and I and another individual were off.

There's a main artery that runs through that park. and we were in the woods off of a, really a dirt, a gate to Tetrack, if you will, where we had sat and we posted ourselves early in the evening. We were there a couple hours stationary, making, you know, some occasional whoop type noises, you know, provocation, a couple of knocks listening. Not a lot of activity. Sure. Went and joined up with another group.

But came back to that area, I would say 12.30, 1 o'clock. And the other, the third of our party. had done a very loud how a look type noise after we arrived again and we we had an immediate response and I would I would say it was female because of the sound wow and it was probably 100 yards away directly in front of us no way it then proceeded to come towards as maybe have the distance and did it again and then just about have the distance again and did it and And somewhere between a whoop and a howl, a loud, very screaming type of sound and was coming at us. And you could tell where the voice, the vocal was coming from, it was high off the ground.

It was, you know, no lower 6, 7 feet. But it was coming right out of us. So scared us pretty good. We got out of there. Yeah. Back on to the main road, knowing we've been charged, if you will, by something that didn't want us to be there. Oh, yeah. And here's what's fascinating.

It tells you a lot about how smart these things are. But we had to follow the road that runs through the middle of that park and head south for close to a half mile. And it was angular. So not quite a right angle, but a rolling angle, which we took to get back to my vehicle, which was parked under a ridge backaways. Yeah. When we, as we were approaching it, the three of us were approaching my vehicle, it was a downhill grade. You know, two of us, actually the other two, Hans and the other guy were getting what we call zapped. I mean, I got a very uneasy feeling, fight or flight response.

Oh, really? A lot of anxiety. And we heard noises above us because there was a ridge running parallel to the road. And as we got to my vehicle, I was literally, they were there. So they had gone through the woods to where my vehicle was and got there ahead of us. And they literally tore a tree in half up above the ridge. Because they were unhappy where we were. in that area prior.

But the headers off at the pass is the best way to put it. That's crazy. Following us on our, as we walked the road, they knew where the vehicle had been parked. And this is all, you know, wooded in there. And they took it at a straight angle, a straight head of the past, got there ahead of us and it tore a tree down up above us on the ridge, on the rock line above. And all I kept saying is, you know, don't throw anything down on my vehicle. Yeah.

So, we're excited FJ cruisers on a pretty nice view. vehicle. We got in that and we got out of there. But, you know, you always look for evidence. Any experience you have, because you want to next day debunk it. Yeah, sure. I've learned research over the years. But we went back to that area the next day and saw the tree that was torn asunder up above. Wow. You could see the whole fibers were exposed up around six, seven feet near it had been torn. And I'm talking, you know, a decent-sized tree, so several inches across. And when you hear that at night, it's pretty loud. We went back to the area where

where we got screamed at and fanned out, there was about eight of us, and found some footprints. And I cast one of them, which was close to 14 inches long as still the cast. Oh, wow, cool. We determined it was female because that's a smaller cast. Typically, when you cast a male print, that part of the world are going to be 17 inches, 17 and a half kind of thing. And the towbox will be seven and a half or eight. This was smaller. So toebox is about six and a half, and the length of it was 13.

have. So I think female, which that was the impression we got the night before when we got screamed at was that it was a female yelling. So it made us done easy to say the least. That, man, that makes me, I had no idea something like that. It happened in my, my home state here. Like that's kind of gives me some hope for getting out there. And because I've been to that area before. And yeah, the woods in the northeast section of Iowa, crazy. Also the southern part the state too. It's not just all cornfields out here. Thank you for sharing that. Hans was saying you've seen some, had some other, I would say, Class A sightings. Is there maybe another one you wouldn't mind sharing with us? Yeah, I'd be glad to. Yes, I have been fortunate enough to see these

things. So, you know, I like the brand. I know squads, you know, a lot of times, you know, you can see shirts and things out there. I believe, I believe, you know, I'm a knower. I know these things exist. That's awesome. Well, and you can't know sitting on your couch. You've got to get out. Yeah, exactly. I was in an expedition two weeks ago, a week and a half ago in Tennessee for four days, and I'll be on another week and a half. You've got to get out and about. And, you know, it's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving you just keep learning things about this phenomenon. And I'm not here to say I have proof that it's this for that. We'll be back with more Bigfoot Society after these words from our sponsors.

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at me by it. I've recorded it. I know it's real. But one that sticks out to answer your question. In 2016, I was on an expedition. I got to be a faro expedition and northwestern part of Colorado. Okay. Without giving you the exact location, there's a lot of woods, a lot of mountains, a lot of wilderness and Colorado, a lot of activity. And I was with a group of five, we had scouted an area that was in a canyon, wooded canyon, a lot of pine forest, some open swamp land in the center, which is prime, anytime you give these things an opportunity to view from above, and you've got a water source, you've got food sources, that's a pretty good chance that you might get some activity.

Okay. And five of us were down a path back in the woods, so about a half a mile. Walking along the aisle, really down in this canyon, so we had ridges above us as we were going, particularly on one side, some swamp on the other. We got to a point where we're doing some things provocative, some lights. We had string lights and playing some music. And we had found tracks during the day in that area. And the area had been discovered by some locals that told us there was activity there. we were in there before dusk and it was, I want to say, August, so very, very long days.

But we heard noises behind a stick brakes, the bipedal foot movement. They were talking to each other. And a lot of times when you get in that situation, they'll surround you. It's almost military. It'll northeast, you know, northeast, south and west get around you kind of thing. If they can observe. and sometimes when you know you're being observed, you can, you know, have dialogue and talk with them

or if they're comfortable, you know, they'll do that with you so you can knock and get knocks back, that sort of thing. It was just getting, you know, it's just getting dark. You could see, we had a very full moment. You could see up and down the path because it wasn't completely enveloped by the woods. It wasn't a complete canopy over it. And now this is where it's going to sound weird,

but all five of us were looking down the path that direction we were heading. and above rock ledges and rock outcroppings on the left because we had seen a white, I'll just describe it an orb. We're watching a white flash of light moving above the rock outcroppings and above the, you know, along the canyon wall.

And we're watching it, you know, a minute or so. But doing this kind of research has told me to not just look ahead, look behind. And so I turned to the right, tapped it on. There was another woman with me. She's a sheriff from New Mexico and she, I tapped her shoulder and we looked back down the path and went back to measure next day. But 90 feet behind us, there was a six and a half foot tall, big foot standing in the middle of the path, watching us. Oh, wow. So, oh, my goodness, he was watching the whole time that

you're like looking at this orb. Yep. Oh, that's so freaky. So it stepped out onto the path to look at us. And I've heard this description before from witnesses, but I hadn't seen it. Sometimes it gets described when you catch one of these that they'll, you know, like they'll go from side to side, sort of like a shortstop or second baseman getting ready watching the battery. Okay. And that's exactly what it did. It was shifting from side to the side.

I think nervously could be so much. But I could clearly see the features. I mean, 90 feet is close. Like I said, it was bright, just getting dark. So, you know, we could see. Clearly see the facial features, flat face, dark, dark eyes. I can see the arms, the legs, no neck. Wow.

Out of proportion with the legs, so the thighs are very thick. The arms are very thick. As I said, no neck, very wide and broad featured, you know, rocking from side to side. Sure. With the color, it was black, I could see where the hair was. Most of it was dark. Face was a little, wasn't as dark. You could see facial features and a flatter nose and dark eyes,

no white to the eyes, a dark, very dark eyes. Oh, that's very interesting. Okay. Took three steps at an angle into the woods and we watched it. So I saw it for, you know, a few seconds and saw it depart. You know, it's a great experience. Because I've had, you know, a few of these class A's. Anytime you see one of these things, it's, you know, it makes an impression on you can't forget.

Oh, yeah. It's got to change your whole life. Right, it does. And it sticks with you for a while, too. Oh, yeah. You can talk about or think about for a few days. The adrenaline rush is fantastic. I bet.

Yeah. Not necessarily why I'm in it. I'm kind of in it for trying to understand what these things are. Exactly. That was a very good, that was a very good experience because I had someone that saw it with me. And two other of these experiences I had class, I had people that saw the phenomenon with me. So that's good. Wow.

You always want to be skeptical. But when you have someone else that sees something with you or goes through the experience with you, that's pretty verifying. Yeah, that is awesome. I've never heard an account where it's like you've got the orb in front of you and you look back and he's, just like hanging out watching it. Like that's, that's kind of like, okay, are they like, here, throw this orb out and distract the humans

so we can get a better look like you don't know, right? That's pretty wild. Yeah, I think there's some truth too, Jeremiah, because I've had this discussion with others too. You know, the whole Bigfoot thing, you know, research has fallen to well, it's an ape and that scientific side of it and let's just stay with the physical.

And then there's the whole side to say, well, it's a lot of woo and it's another dimension. You know what? I think I'm in the camp that it's all evidence and we should look at it. We should look at it the same. We always try to debunk,

but an awful lot of this evidence on both sides seems to corroborate, line up, and repeat itself. And so, you know, I saw Tom Powell at a conference a couple years ago and he was saying, we've got a lot of evidence but, you know, maybe not anything that constitutes proof scientifically. And I'm still in the evidence

gathering mode. Yeah. That's awesome. That is so cool. Western North Carolina. What kind of stuff is going on down there? Well, you know, fortunate we've got some really, very good areas for four experiences. The Piscan National Forests is here, the Smoky Mountains. Oh, yeah. North Georgia is one of the most forested states in the Union.

And Northern Georgia is very active, very, you know, real good place to go. So I've been on a number of expeditions there in the last few years. We've had some great activity. I've been with a group that had a class A siting there. So, very promising areas. Any place there's a lot of, as I said earlier, and, you know, in your show here. But any time we've got an area with, you know, wilderness and these things are omnivores, so they're opportunistic eaters.

and they have available food sources, they have water, they'll walk the waterways or they'll travel the waterways. You've got a pretty good chance. And you're not going to go out and have enough, although I carry a lot of tech too, whether it's fleers or night vision or different things like that. You know,

you're not going to out tech these things or out or surprise them and sneak up on them and, you know, catch a picture of them or something, you know. Everybody always says, where's a picture? Like, yeah, your phone ready, you know, when one of these things just pops out in front of it. It isn't that way. You've got to put yourself in a situation where you're vulnerable,

where people typically aren't. You know, these things are very inactive in the night hours, morning hours. And, you know, if you're out there and you're comfortable and you're acting like a hiker and not like a hunter and you're having fun, you can be in a good chance to maybe have an encounter. You know, it doesn't mean you'd see one, but if you hear one or you hear them, you know, approach you, your bipedal footsteps or knock or what for some of the other things.

Yeah, that's what you want. And you're better off putting yourself in a position to experience that than going out there and trying to provoke these things in an irritating way because it's unnatural. And, you know, they don't want to be bothered either. You wouldn't like somebody showing up in your living from Jeremiah Bang. No, not at all. No. And not an orb either.

But, yeah, I mean, that little part you just said there definitely lines up with some of the more amazing stories. I've heard where it's like, well, I mean, there's a story about the young lady in the late 90s where she was doing the 100 mile hike by herself in the Pacific Northwest. And then it's like just her off the trail and boom, there they are, you know? And yeah, and at night and the full moon and all that, yeah, it all lines up, you know, like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you get out, any of your listeners, you know, I'd encourage them, number one, read. You know, there's a lot of crazy stuff on social media.

It doesn't mean it's all true. But read some books on the subject, you know, watch some video. Not all the crazy things like, you know, monster in the woods kind of. But, you know, the show was great for driving interest. The show did a wonderful job on getting around to all the states and opening up there, especially the part where you have witnesses in the show is talking about their experience. You know, the more research you can do, you know, reading and that sort of thing prepares you from when you're out there.

And then when you're out there, you know, be an observer, be respectful when you're out and around these things, especially if they happen in one of them or a few of them, there's never one. And, you know, try to have some fun with it. That's your best chance. But you can't do it in your living room, as I said earlier. You've got to get out and get the woods. Because, you know, failed Bigfoot expedition is still a great time in the woods is what they always say. That's true, yeah.

Yeah. Yep. So let's say if we do have some listeners that are brand new to, you know, they want to learn about Bigfoot, all that sort of stuff. What are maybe some books that you would recommend that they start out doing their research with if I could put you on the spot with that? Yeah, no, that's okay. And it's not putting me on this, but actually I've got something like a pull out and look because I do a talk on some of the best books to review it. Oh, okay. That's awesome.

So I'll try to hand it a little of it off the cuff. But I would recommend anything that, you know, on the scientific side of things, Lauren Coleman's book, I think of Apes in America, I think it's called. That's good. Anything Dr. Meldrum has done. Yes. I'm the host state. He's a great guy. I emcee to the upper Michigan.

I've done a couple of times. Upper Michigan Bigfoot Town Hall, convention, whatever it was like, conference last year. And he was at that. I see him at some different shows and things. And he's great because he's always going to, first of all, he respects evidence in a physical way. And he really is going to look at it in the anatomical standpoint.

and from the material evidence standpoint, scientifically. So, you know, I would encourage somebody to read, you know, his book or his books that are out there. Robert Morgan, you know, he's got a couple of books on the subject. One I think it's called the, it's a small book, like handbook, Bigfoot Field Journal. Okay. I think it's a wonderful book because it prepares you for,

when you're in the woods, how to set yourself up to have a possible encounter, just what we're just talking about now. Oh, interesting. Locally that you go to, you know, how to interact with them, how to put yourself in a position, possible position for an encounter. He does a wonderful job, and it's from the Native American standpoint. Oh, I like it.

Yeah. Okay. Great. He's a great guy. I've seen him speak a couple of times, and he's very, very much on respect these things. They're forest people. We treat them with respect. And it's a historical narrative in the Native American culture.

And I'll tell you, wow, the longer I've been around. around this is more I believe it and respect. I think there's something to that. Wow. I'll definitely have to check that one out. That's a new one for me. That sounds very interesting, though. Yeah, he's got a couple of it.

The field journal is really good. Tom Powell's books are great. I'm a big fan of Tom's met him too. And great, fascinating guy to talk with. He's a teacher in Oregon. He was a BFRO investigator too before he wrote. But he's written books like the locals is a wonderful book. And my personal favorite is the edge of science.

So, you know, he talks about paranormal and things that are on the edge of science. And, you know, starts a big foot, winds up talking about things like crop circles and connects it all very well. That sounds like a good time, too. Cool. That's a wonderful book to get into. And then there's one that Nick Redfern, I think it is, put out one called the, what, encyclopedia a couple years ago. And it's got short, it's got everything in there from Harry and the Henderson's to, you know, Patty.

Okay, cool. They've got little pieces in each of them and just tells you what they are. So that's a good, that's a must if somebody out there is a researcher and is it interested in getting into the subject. It wants something that they can, you know, reference every now and then. And he's got references in there in other parts of the world too. Oh, wow. So that's a nice book.

Animal Planet put out a book when the show was out, which, you know, it's a little bit more like a workbook. Right. But I like it because it, you know, it tells you a little bit about gathering evidence and their, you know, big foots are habitat where, you know, where they would be. So that's kind of a good book, too. But there's, you know, there's lots out there. But, you know, you can read 50 easily, you know, over next year or two. you'd be better off. Just going out.

Yeah. Yes. So you need the combination of both. Do the homework. Yeah, sure. Yep. That's good. That's a good point.

Rick, I want to be respectful of your time because we did sign up for 30 minute. But maybe a few more minutes just to kind of maybe wrap things up, if you don't mind. I don't mind. I did not expect a very,

awesome discussion on Bigfoot literature. I feel like that could be a large episode in itself. But regarding, let's say if someone's never heard of I know Squatch and they're like, well, that stuff sounds kind of cool that they were talking about earlier, I might want to check that out. What are the best ways that they can check out, I know Squatch or maybe follow along with different things you're involved with? Yeah, so our number one, I would say our Etsy site is good because we're always updating our merchandise offering.

So, you know, check that out. That's good. Instagram. We post different things on a regular basis and, you know, different things that we see or followers send us some things too. We put out there. I posted or put a lot of things on that from a recent expedition a couple of weeks ago, which is actually one of the images that we posted on that. This is a teaser for people. but if they go on and I look was a red light lit stick structure that was taken in the woods way back in a forested area in the middle of the night.

And some of our followers found by looking through the images of stick structure enlarging it, they found a, a, what looks like a being or something peering through a stick structure. What? Really? That's in your feed right now? Yeah, yeah. So they ought to check that out. Yeah, I'm going to check that out right after this.

Yeah, it's an image. So I was there. I had another, you know, companion with me on the expedition. And we found we were in an area leading. We had reason to be, you know, in this area. But we had some activity. We're up on a rise. And in this one spot.

So a couple stick structures right on the edge of a viewing area at top of a path. And one of them was compelling because it was an accident. It had kind of a floating mess. number in it that was a stick that had been broken off and was just you know levitating in the middle which is typical of the you know that type of stick structure i speak on this as a topic of conferences too but so i wanted a picture of it and we're getting a picture of it and you know took a couple i put my red headlight on it to get the image and then we posted it uh you know next day or a couple days later on uh on um instagram and some of your saw that you picked up on our followers

The left side of that, you have something in the background that is peering through the stick structures. Oh, that sounds wild. I'm going to check it out. So again, that's at I know Squatch, right, on Instagram? Yep. Cool. Yep. Very good, very good.

And then we're going to be at a number of shows this year, too. So I'll be there. So anybody who listens want to catch up Gatlinburg and the end of July. We're at that, a Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Festival. That's a wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. Awesome.

We're going to be at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference. The Marion, North Carolina, that's a big, that's a big outdoor event. I think we're going to Oklahoma, so we'll probably be at that, and I'll be it this year. And I think we just signed up for a crypticcon in Kentucky, too. Hey, all right. Cool. Yeah, that's on the bucket. Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. So five different shows this year. I'll be selling merchandise and some of these things, like I said, I speak at some of them, et cetera. But I love to hear from anybody if they get to one of those shows, want to come on up and, you know, relate to some experiences. I'm glad to talk. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Yeah. And Rick, I have a feeling that in the future, I'd love to do a follow-up episode with you. Eventually, once I get this Zoom account upgraded to past 40 minutes, we'll be rocking some longer episodes. So, but for now, this is good. So I appreciate your time tonight. It's been fun chatting with you. And thanks for letting me know how crazy with Bigfoot my home state of Iowa is. Yeah, they're out there.

Jeremiah, get out there in some of those places. I'm going. I'm going. You have a good chance just walking around the woods late at night and you never know. All right. Thanks, Rick. All right, thanks, Jeremiah. Thanks for supporting I know Squatch.

We appreciate it. You got it. That was a great interview with Rick Rellis from I Know Squads. Watch again. If you don't know the I know Squatch guys, as Rick did say in the interview, but you got to go check them out. They'd make some great designed shirts, stickers. Just check out at I know Squatch on Instagram on their website too. Good guys. Again, shout out to Hans for making some great designs. And thank you to Rick for coming on the podcast. Here at Bigfoot Society, our goal is to provide a platform for those

that have encountered Bigfoot to share their encounter in a safe and respected environment. But we need to hear your story. If you've experienced something that you just can't explain, please send me an email at bigfoot society at gmail.com. Then we can start the conversation. I know a lot of you have not shared your encounter at all. It's been 20 years. And it's time that you get this off your chest.

And then you can get some well-deserved rest because I know you haven't been sleeping. I understand what you're going through, and I appreciate every one of you listening. All right, quick quiz for the hiring managers out there. What's worse? Being understaffed or being poorly staffed? Well, that's a trick question, because both are recipes for chaos. Either way, just say to yourself, this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. You'll get matched with candidates that meet the skills, certifications, and everything else you're looking for. Or go a different way and get no traction.

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and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed's sponsored jobs. Today, every dollar counts. Make yours go further with AARP. For just $15 for your first year with automatic renewal, an AARP membership delivers benefits and savings you can use right away. You can also access trusted resources and tools to help you stay healthy. Protect your money and plan ahead. And with a second free membership for someone in your household, you'll receive AARP benefits. benefits for two. Go to AARP.org slash IHeart to join today. They say everything happens for a reason, but I suspect everything happens for a recesses. Like this commercial break, did you need 15 seconds away for music or 15 seconds to eat a Reese's? Perhaps it's true. Everything happens for a Reese's.

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