Customer Reviews

Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down, finishing it in two days!! It was quite well written, and done in a very simple, straightforward style that didn't attempt to hide or confuse the subject.

If this is truly representative of the kind of long-term contacts rural people have with Bigfoot and similar creatures, it represents a nearyly ignored aspect of research into this area of cryptozoology. More books like this are absolutely necessary to the discipline, as this is where the REAL action is going on.

Valley Of The Skookum is simply, pure magic. Those looking for merely descriptions of Bigfoot encounters should consider themselves advised that this book is so much more than just that. It is an immaculately penned tale about a very special group of people, many years ago during an amazing time, and in a special place, where mysterious, wonderful events were happening around them. It is the story of their attempts to come to grips with and make sense of the fascinating things taking place.

It is also a tale of a very small community of people, living at the precipice of America's wilderness, who became friends, bonded together by the fantastic, and at times frightening things going on. Yes, stories of Bigfoot sightings are in this book, such as the author's close encounter with two Sasquatch while with her then 3 year old daughter Autumn as they were out gathering firewood. There are stories of sightings by her friends & neighbors, amazing accounts of the creatures passing by at night so close to their home that the very ground shook from the weight of their footsteps!

Most impressive is how the author wonderfully and carefully handles the intriguing metaphysical and paranormal elements of the story, things often ridiculed and immediately dismissed in the Bigfoot research community (an extremely delicate balance, and not an easy task at all when you consider that her daughter is one of the most well known and respected Bigfoot researchers in the country)!

These events, from the mystic-like encounters with the being known as Dream Walker, to strange lights appearing before them, to the history related about these creatures through Native American customs, are handled with grace, poise and dignity by Sali as she deftly maneuvers through what would be a minefield to any other person associated with Bigfoot research. Take note of the fact that she never once states that the metaphysical, paranormal events she experienced are connected with Bigfoot in any way, she merely states that the events happened, and that they coincided with the continued appearance of the Sasquatch. She leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide if there is a connection.

The story shows how a group of neighbors in a remote area who hardly knew each other came together, and supported each other when "each other" was all they had to rely on. It's a tale of how they persevered against and defended each other from the unwanted advances by overzealous Bigfoot researchers and others who came to try to break the group up. It is the story of the essence of friendship. That is why Valley of the Skookum is much, much more than just a Bigfoot book.

Even if you don't believe in Bigfoot or think this tale must be a work of fiction, read this book, because regardless of how you feel in that way, it is purely a wonderful story. Just read it with an open mind and accept it for the magical tale that it is. Sali has left it up to you to decide how you feel about it, which is more than can be said for many authors about their works. Such a book has not covered such themes and moved me so since I read "Bigfoot" by B. Ann Slate and Alan Berry (1976 Bantam). I highly recommend Valley Of The Skookum.

Fascinating and hard to put down. Two terms I would use to describe this excellent book, which is written in first-person narrative. Wolford, mother of Sasquatch researcher Autumn Williams, writes of four years of strange encounters that she and members of her family and close friends experienced near Orting, Washington in the mid to late-1970's. Not just Sasquatch, but strange lights and nightly dreams of walking with a Native American into the past and present. The Sasquatch are called "Skookum" here, and sometimes they are said to vanish (!) into thin air. Wolford, I do not believe, is saying that Skookum are shape-shifters or connected with UFO's or the strange lights seen by the family or friends, but each phenomena occurred in that area. I do recommend this book highly, and read it with an open mind, even if it seems a bit fantastical.

Sali Sheppard-Wolford gives us a book on her four years of experiences in the Valley of the Skookum, as she dubs it, outside Orting, WA. This isn't necessarily a book about bigfoot/sasquatch/skookum but a personal journey in four years of her life. I bought it as a bigfoot book based on an interest that was perked by her daughter Autumn Williams, of whom I have much respect for. I liked this book but then I also didn't like it. It's a bit overwhelming and too much has purportedly happened to her during these four years, like she's a paranormal magnet. During this time she talks about: bigfoot/skookum, extradimensional beings (skookum and blue herons), ghost trains, psychics (ranging from mind manipulation, esp, telepathy, psychometry), phantom lights, past life regression (including reincarnation, spirit world dreams, spirit guides), future premonitions, UFOs, men in black conspiracies, possible 'vortexes', being spiritually linked to people she's never met, and maybe one or two others I didn't note. Almost anything paranormal was linked to her in this time frame and locale, I'm not sure if she's a magnet or just a little whacked (please forgive me).

I don't know what to make of the purported link between bigfoot/skookum/sasquatch and the phantom lights. B. Anne Slate covers this in her book in connection with the 'Sierra Sasquatch Sounds' and for those who have looked further into the 1927 Ape Canyon incident, Fred P/Beck (different sources say Peck or Beck) also discusses phantom lights following the occurance in his self published book. Otherwise, everything else is almost over the edge in the occurances. More of what I picked up on in these events, is her possibly semi-subconscious negative relationship with her husband John.

Jumping back to the good points, I like the writing style on its own and Sali expresses herself well in the first 3/4 of the book in regards to her relationship with Youdi and Emily and even Esther. I was very interested in how she and her neighbors dealt with 'Bwana James'. The whole situation changes when Tami arrives and she obviously has a deep emotional conflict in regards to Tami in her spiritual life and her social life with John and Youdi.

Overall, certainly worth having in you collection. For me, I think a fictionalized book on the events would be fantastic; as it stands, it's overwhelming in the paranormal in events that I don't think have any relation to each other (which in Sali's defense she states on the back cover saying she doesn't know how much of this is related to bigfoot).

Sali Sheppard-Wolford - thank you, sorry I am skeptical of your events.
Autumn Williams - great job in your research.

Since I am interested in this phenomenon, I consider this book to be an excellent addition to my collection of Bigfoot related information. The writing style is easy reading and sometimes made me feel as if I were really there with the characters in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone else who also has an interest in this fascinating subject.

I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. The author takes the reader back to the delightful days of the 1970s to a time in her life when some very unusual events presented themselves before her and her family and friends. One will see how different people reacted to these events in question, each person acting according to his or her own belief system and personality. Perhaps the reader may desire an explanation as to what it all means i.e. the how, why, and wherefore behind these unusual events. An explanation won't be had by the very nature of the phenomena itself...unexplained phenomena is just that...unexplained. However, I don't think that the reader will be disappointed in that regard since this is obviously something beyond the author's control. Instead, I think that the reader will enjoy as much as I did the opportunity to have a glimpse into another person's private life and how they dealt with such unusual events...events that undoubtedly still resonate to this day with those who had lived through it. As with anything in Life, the reader can choose to believe or not to believe. If the reader chooses to believe, then perhaps the reader's worldview or as the Germans would say using their much more precise word for it i.e. their "weltanschauung" may indeed have to change. PTD

Bigfoot, Aliens, Strange Lights, and Spirituality. These items may seem opposed at first light to an interested reader. I want a book on Bigfoot, on UFO's or on spirituality, not one that touches on aspects of them all. Bigfoot is flesh-and-blood, spirituality is in the head, UFO's have no place in Bigfoot research. All these may float through the head.

But, Bigfoot is not the core of this book, nor are UFO's or other phenomenon. The core of the book is a four year, if not life-time, look at ones self from the inside and out. This is not an exploratory book on what is out there in terms of mysteries; this is an exploratory book as to what is inside us. What we see, what we think and how life is connected.

Sali Sheppard-Wolford writes in the first person, she outlines her experiences in the Carbon River Valley of Washington during a period of time starting in 1977. Her experiences with "Skookum", her experiences with spirit guides, her experiences with Native Americans, but her interaction with her family and the environment ever so much at the forefront.

We all go through periods in our lives where events unfurl that make us question our sanity and our faith. Not in the religious sense, but the internal mechanism that makes us human, makes us who we are. Sali exposes this inner mechanism, she exposes the trials an tribulations, and she exposes her soul and what her life was like, and how it changed her viewpoint and those around her as well over the course of but a few years.

As a piece of literature, the book works. It works as a narrative autobiography, a chronology of events presented in a manner that draws the reader in. You are not lectured to, you are not spoken down to; you are simply witnessing life in a descriptive narrative. If you were to pick this up as a piece of non-fiction aimed at Bigfoot research, as the subtitle makes note of, Four Years of Encounters with Bigfoot, then you would be disappointed. Disappointed strictly in the sense of expectation. Bigfoot books tend to chronicle evidentiary collection, methodologies of research, supposition in support of a hypothesis, or simply a collection of accounts. Within the Valley of the Skookum, the "Bigfoot" is dealt with on a more spiritual level, as a being of power and respect, of mystery and intrigue. Personal expositions are often criticized within the Bigfoot community. They lack supportive evidence, they lack credence as multiple occurrences of a strange phenomenon strike the mind hard by many individuals. So do not read the book with the expectation of a Bigfoot discourse.

The reader can look at this book in and enjoy it for what it is. The story of a journey. It would be as well done if presented as fiction or non-fiction, the style of presentation makes you care for the characters and events. A true touch of an author in bringing this to the readers eye and mind.

Put aside your misconceptions about the book, and read it for the work itself. You may shake your head at areas where spirituality, UFO's, strange phenomena and Bigfoot appear, especially if they do not fit the traditional, or your own, viewpoints. But read the book for what it does chronicle, the life and changing viewpoints of a woman, her family and by connection the world around her. You may not use the book as a reference item, or read it more than once, but it will be a read worth doing as the journey is worth the trip.

An incredible book, encounters with Skookum, balls of light, UFO's, MIB, and more. I didn't want it to end. If you like forteana, if you love John Keel, this is the one for you. Don't miss it.

This is the one and only book that covers the genre in a memoir-style that spans about 4 years. I found the trials, discoveries and adventures of the author's mid to late 1970's life in Oregon a perfect capsule of time and experiences.

The book covers the author's Oregon experiences in a cabin homestead with her young family from move-in day to move-out. The way that Bigfoot is witnessed and regarded at this time is very accurate since she puts it in terms of understanding for that time period rather than introduce contemporary influences that would reduce the purity of the impression or this time capsule.

The heart of the story is how a young unsuspecting family and 2 other neighbor families respond to and react to a series of ongoing seasonal Bigfoot encounters. The women tend to be curious and the men tend to be terrified. My favorite detail was the nightly encounters and CB radio exchanges by the neighbors as they tracked the activity of one or groups of Sasquatch lurking around the premises.

Though I'm not partial to the orb/UFO scenarios, the author is not the first to draw these associations. Orbs and the sleuthing around them though still delivered an entertaining leg to this book. I recommend.

I had to purchase a second copy of this book, after traveling extensively in Asia. Very deep in every way with aspects to it's subject matter that have yet to be understood in our current times. After having my own encounters with similar peoples on two separate continents, I sought solace in this book which definitely assisted me in better understanding what happened in my own travels. The Author is a wonderful person as well to meet in person. The friendships developed by the people detailed in this writing is just as important and powerful a read. I invite my friends in the healing communities worldwide to read and further meditate on it's contents.

"Ankha bund karo, ur dil kholo." Close your eyes and open your heart- Zahor Bano Begum 1984