sasquatch

did you know that the word sasquatch comes from the language of the sto:lo nation that has lived in the fraser valley for hundreds of years? apparently an explorer in the late 1800s came through the fraser valley and visited the natives living on harrison lake, harrison river and the fraser river (sto:lo means "people of the river"). he heard their stories of the s-skitch' (my transliteration) a legendary forest creature who figured prominently in their myths. he then published an article in a well known adventure magazine of the time inviting adventurers to come and seek the legendary "sasquatch" and a rival appelation to the abominable snow man and bigfoot was born.
tribal elders contend that the reason the sasquatch was encountered so often in this area is that the fraser valley and harrison lake act as a migration passage from the oregon coast to the mountains of the interior.
armed with this knowledge, the chilliwack residents set out on a sasquatch siting expedition, bringing along (according to local commercial wisdom) plenty of beer as sasquatch bait.
although the expedition was treated as a joke by some and unattended by others we were successful. the sasquatch actually entered our very campsite to claim his (or her) prize.

we then followed him to the lake and watched in awe as he drank deeply of his ancestral waters.

incredible... truly incredible