THERE aRE THREE BIGFOOTSTaTUES anDTWO BIGFOOTMURaLS

—includingan epic rendering more than a hundredfeetlong that threatens to engulf thelocal hardware store — a block in both directions from theentranceto theBigfootScenicByway,running north from Willow Creek.The owner of Bigfoot Books describes this epicenter ofSasquatcheryas “extremeNorthern California,” and, in allsortsofways, he’snotwrong.

Bigfootis everywhereinthis little town, yetit is difficultto find anyonein Willow Creekwho has everseen thebiggaloot.Almost everymerchant downtown has aBigfoot concessionofsome kind, andatthe Bigfootmuseum gift shop, thebig ape’sterrifying tootsies havebeensqueezed and shrunk to fit on ashot glass. Here’slookingat you,Biggie, wherever you are!

Icame toWillow Creek because it istothe worldof hairyhominid man-apes whatLosAlamoswas to the atomicbomb:asmall,sin-

MAPBY DAVEJOHNSON

gle-industry town thatmanagedto make the earth tremble. Following purportedBigfootsightings in 1958and 1967 — the latter accompanied by a grainyfilmin whichafemale phantasm is seen striding throughaclearing atBluff Creek—Willow Creek’sChamber of Commerceembraced thegiant creature as it mightahomegrown Super Bowl hero or an astronaut.

Oraltraditions of threeNative American tribes inthe area had long toldof woodlandcreatures that roseuptoheightsof10 feet and weighed 500pounds.By the timetheannual BigfootDays Festivalbeganin 1960 —featuring a paradethroughdowntown that shuts down state Highway299for more than an hour — it seemedhalfthe population of WillowCreekwas clompingaround carrying plaster castsofthe creature’sfeet.

“There’salot of peoplehere who have either seen itorthink they’veseenit,”says Steven Streufert, proprietorofBigfoot Books, putting the split between true believers and “thosewho just think it’saChamber of Commerce scam” at50-50. Rolling a cigarette atthe back of astore dense with dog-eared books and emptytins of cat food, Streufertpronounces himself“probably the guy who knowsthe most aboutBigfoot.” But, likealmosteveryoneelse in town, Streufertprefers to diphis toes into thecreature’soutsized footprints rather than dive in head first. “Itakekind ofameta approachto it,” hesays.“I study the phenomenon of the belief, rather thanbelieving it myself.”

Myown approach had been more southerly than meta,driving from the South BaytoHumboldt County withmyfamilyinsearch of somethingdistinctly different from Silicon Valley.We set out for Willow Creekon aThursday, hoping tobeatthe Bigfootcrowds, and after nearlyfive hoursof freeway driving,Whiskeytown Lakeand BrandyCreekprovided thetrip’sfirst intoxicatingviews. Fromthere,weclimbed into the Trinity Alps, whichhave become famous in almostequal measure as Bigfoot and BigWeedCountry. Theregion’stwobiggest cash crops — marijuana andamythic