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THE COLORADO KID Camping alone as I usually do, I was trying to think of something to do. I was gazing down this shallow valley at a kind of dark forest on the other side. I was thinking this would be perfect for Bigfoot. Deer ,Elk, Cows, (open range land), a little river at the bottom, shelter, seclusion, perfect. I was camping by the road at the top of the hill. There was a flat trail that led from me, to the end of a knoll, between the shallow valley on the left, and one 10 times the size on the right. Across the road from me was a 20 foot embankment. The woods on the other side of that embankment, led to areas 5-15 miles away, where I had seen several 8 ft Bigfoot on 3 different occasions. Since the valleys went down, and the top of the knoll was flat, the end of the knoll was 50 feet above the valley. Both sides of the knoll were vertical from the valley’s floor, with just a slight angle. I decided to walk down to that forest on the left. It was a little steeper than it looked, but I wasn’t thinking of that at the time. When I arrived at that Forest, it was everything I had hoped it would be, deep, dark and thick with old growth timber. At first, I was looking for signs of anything but cows, deer, and bear. But there wasn’t any. After about 20 minutes of walking around, I picked up a scent that I'm very familiar with, Bigfoot! “Great”, I thought, now I just want to see if what works in Oregon, works in Colorado. I continued down to that small stream, making sure not to look around like I was looking for anything. Once there, I sat on the bank, cracked a beer, and just soaked my feet in that nice cool water. One of the things David had taught me years ago, was to sing to them, (they like that). Let em get a good look at me was my intention. Now, you would think at my age, (66 at the time), I would have learned to gauge the pitch of the hill better. Because now I had to walk back up that steep sucker. In my younger days, I could have run up that hill, but not anymore. I decided the right side was not quite as steep, so I took it. Yea, you'd think I’d have learned that I wasn’t that extreme hiker anymore. Old age really sucks! I had to stop 5 times just to catch my breath, and avoid a mild heart attack. I took this opportunity to finish my beer, and let whatever was watching me, see that I'm old, slow, and no threat. After walking up this steep 1/8 mile hill, I sat in my camp chair and just caught my breath. Now, if I had done everything right, I should get results. So I cracked another beer, (I do like my beer when camping), and just sat there looking down at that Forest. What else did I have to do? I was actually expecting a sound. In the past, I'll usually get a pop, or yell. This is their way of testing my intentions. If I go back? I'm looking for them. If I don't? then I'm safe to come out and say hi to. I sure didn’t have to wait long. And what I got was definitely a first for me! Much better than I ever got before. But it wasn’t the sounds I was waiting for. It was young one walking straight up the hill towards me! I thought at first that it must be a rancher checking on his cows. He was staying in the shadow of the knoll, so he looked like he had a bunch of clothes on, and overalls. That was until he got to that short path, that came up to the last ten feet of the knoll. I could see then, that it was all hair! He was about 30 yards away from me at this time. When he ducked into the bushes, I knew where he was going. It was a 15 ft high path that lead to the top of the knoll. From there he had a flat trail that lead right to where I was sitting. He had good tree and brush cover for the next 30 ft but then it was open to me. Then I heard what I was waiting for, the POP, (wood knock as some call it). I guarantee he had been watching me for quite some time. He knew I was alone, old, and out of shape, (easy target for the kid’s). That's why he didn't try to hide from me, I was no threat. He was trying to bait me into chasing him with that POP. (I've had them do that before, on numerous occasions). Some call the POP a tree knock for some reason. But it sounds nothing like that. It sounds exactly like hitting a home run with a wooden bat, and they do it with their tongue. So I call it a “tongue POP” Since it was getting dark, I expected him to wait for the dark before proceeding. I re-positioned my chair so that I was looking straight down that trail. Now he had only three options, go past me, jump down the side of the knoll, or back the way he came. Through the brush, I could see him kneeling down 20 feet away. He was getting ready to make a run for it. I started talking to him to see what he would do. “Whatcha gonna do now little guy?” I didn’t have to wait long for his response. All of a sudden there was a loud crash in the bushes to my left. I looked to the left thinking it was him coming through. Then I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around just in time to see him flying past me on my right, about 10 feet away. He was across the road and up that 20 ft embankment on the other side within seconds. When he got to the top, he turned and looked at me. Then with his arms opened wide, he POPPED again. I just looked at him and laughed. "You got me" I yelled. He turned and walked away. What I discovered the next day, was that sneaky little kid threw a cow patty into the bushes to distract me. I'm thinking he must have done this before, because he was so good at it. He distracted me to the left, while he flew pass me on the right. I don't know that I would have thought that one up. I was impressed for sure. I wasn’t expecting to be outwitted by a Bigfoot kid. He was only abt 5'6, maybe. Since he knew where the one and only trail was, to get to the top of the knoll, he had to live nearby. I had planned a very elaborate camera trap for him, and his parents this year. Unfortunately, I was too late. I arrived at the location to find the whole area had been clearcutted. Bigfoot’s home had been completely destroyed! Obviously my first concern was where would they go? Winter at 10,500 ft is harsh. With up to 15 ft of accumulated snow, they now had to find a new home to ride it out. Fortunately, the areas I had seen the adults in previous years was untouched, so I know the kid will be alright.