![]() "It was all white around him," Wilson says. That day, Rancheti did a sort of monster mesh. Rancheti has certainly stood out and drawn attention in Ranchita - except last Valentine's Day, when a surprise storm dumped 7 inches of snow. The final product is "a cross between Harry and the Hendersons and the Patterson Bigfoot," he says. He looked at various artists' renderings of the monster, versions of which have supposedly been spotted in the Himalayas, the Pacific Northwest and many other places.Īfter experimenting with different looks, he hired Las Vegas artist Mark Alfrey to create the face. His Yeti is based on exhaustive Internet research, he says. "There's a possibility that there are things we haven't discovered yet." "I believe there are still things out there that we're not totally sure about," he says. Rauh isn't a big proponent of paranormal phenomenon, but he leaves the door open. And then they buy stuff." Including Yeti pins, cups, magnets, postcards - and coming soon - T-shirts. "It's put Ranchita on the map," says Jocelyn Wilson, who runs the Ranchita Country Store. His Rancheti, which went up around Christmas, has been a monstrous success. He thought his creation would draw tourists to town. He designed and built the 300-pound, fiberglass Yeti statue in his workshop in town. Rauh's a real estate agent who decided to fill his down time - he's had plenty of it recently because of the housing slump - with a labor of love. Joe Rauh, who probably has first right of refusal, prefers the name "Rancheti." Some call him the Abominable Joe Man, or Little Joe. He's quite the head-turner, even if he can't turn his own head. Just outside the Ranchita Country Store and Ranchita Realty, an 11-foot-tall, white Yeti with pink hands and face stands watch over Montezuma Valley Road. ![]() ![]() Heck, the big fella stands still for pictures probably 25 times a week. Nowadays, though, there are confirmed sightings every day. Some of the sightings, reportedly occurred even before the local bar opened. Another is sure he saw the beast to the east along state Route 86 near Westmoreland on the way to Brawley.īigfoot, aka Sasquatch, Abominable Snowman or Yeti, may or may not be a longtime resident of the desert backcountry. Another says he spotted the monster-man between state Routes 2 and 22 to the west. ![]() One codger says he saw him years ago in the Grapevine Hills south of the tiny town. Most of the Ranchita old-timers' Bigfoot stories have yet to be verified. For a video about this and other Passport stories go to /more/passport2008 ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |