Inside Colorado's Sasquatch Outpost: Museum Origins and Bigfoot Encounters

If you've ever wondered what it's like to run a museum dedicated to Sasquatch research in a small Colorado mountain town, there's a fascinating interview that recently popped up on YouTube that's worth checking out. It features James, the curator of the Sasquatch Outpost in Bailey, Colorado, sitting down with George Noory on Coast to Coast AM to talk about everything from his personal encounters to the strange phenomena happening right inside his own store. James shared how his fascination with Sasquatch began as a kid in 1967 when the Patterson-Gimlin footage hit television screens, and then really took off in 1972 when he saw "The Legend of Boggy Creek" in theaters. That film, which documented the Fouke Monster in Arkansas, never actually used the words Bigfoot or Sasquatch, but it sparked something in him that never went away. He actually prefers the term Sasquatch over Bigfoot, pointing out that Bigfoot was a name coined by a journalist back in 1958, while Sasquatch comes from Native American languages and reflects thousands of years of cultural knowledge about these beings. The story of how the Sasquatch Outpost came to be is pretty remarkable. James and his wife moved to Colorado in 2009 and bought an old grocery store in Bailey that had been closed for four or five years. It took about nine months to get it ready to open, and during that time, two interesting things happened. First, a local businesswoman who managed a lodge in the area told him about her own sighting. Then, the Animal Planet show Finding Bigfoot came to Bailey to film a Colorado episode, and about a hundred people showed up to a meeting, with eight or nine standing up to share their own encounters. That's when James realized there was genuine interest in the community, and he decided to build a Sasquatch-focused space right into the store. Eventually, they phased out the groceries entirely because people just wanted to talk about Sasquatch. One of the most intriguing parts of the interview involves the paranormal activity happening inside the outpost itself. James described how merchandise would end up on the floor in the morning with no explanation, no wind, nothing that could have caused it. Over the years, he's continued to experience strange phenomena in the building, which was originally constructed in the late 1800s. He made it clear that whatever is happening there isn't malevolent, and they've learned to appreciate it as part of working in a historic building. Bailey itself is a small town of about 10,000 to 11,000 people, sitting roughly 45 minutes from Denver. Interestingly, the town is split into "high bay" and "low bay" by a three-and-a-half-mile hill, which means some residents actually have to drive past the outpost to get to Denver without ever realizing what's in their own backyard. When it comes to James's own encounters, he's had quite a few over the past 12 or 13 years. He's never experienced anything overtly aggressive, though he has had rocks thrown in his direction. What's fascinating is that the rocks always miss, sometimes narrowly, but they always miss. He pointed out that these beings have impeccable aim and can throw incredibly hard, but they never actually hit the people they're targeting. It really does seem like they're just trying to get your attention rather than cause harm. James is absolutely convinced that Sasquatch exists, with zero doubts. He believes they're both physical and interdimensional, meaning they can be physical when they want or need to be, but they can also become invisible or shift into another dimension. He shared a remarkable personal story about fishing at Wellington Lake, not far from Bailey. Early one morning, with no one else awake at the campsite, he looked up and saw an enormous creature standing about 150 yards above him, looking down. In that critical moment, a fish grabbed his fly, he turned to look at the water, and when he immediately looked back, the creature had vanished. It wasn't walking away, it simply disappeared. He mentioned having several research colleagues who have also watched Sasquatch vanish right in front of their eyes, and he finds it hard to believe anyone would make up something like that when just claiming to see a Sasquatch would already be unbelievable enough. For anyone who thinks Sasquatch are only found in the Pacific Northwest, James had some news. They've been reported in every single state in the US, with just as many sightings on the East Coast and in the Deep South as anywhere else. Colorado alone has a huge number of sightings. While there are certainly concentrations in certain regions, no state is untouched. The interview also touched on the theory that Sasquatch might be a descendant of Gigantopithecus, the giant ape that once roamed parts of Asia. James acknowledged that many people still hold this view, though he clearly leans toward a more complex explanation that includes interdimensional capabilities. This is one of those conversations that really captures why Sasquatch research continues to captivate so many people. The combination of physical evidence like tracks, sightings, and sounds, along with reports of beings that can seemingly vanish into thin air, makes this subject endlessly fascinating. The full interview is definitely worth watching for anyone interested in hearing directly from someone who has dedicated over a decade to studying these mysterious beings and has had numerous personal experiences to share.