Bigfoot Day Coming to Owensboro’s Joe Ford Nature Park

An event coming our way toward the end of October is pushing my buttons, but in a good way. Anytime you combine nature centers or trails with North America's most popular cryptid, and you do it in the fall, you have romanced me.

Joe Ford Nature Center and Park

There used to be a common phrase among Owensboroans, and you didn't even have to know each other. When anyone in the city, or Daviess County, for that matter, came across a weird insect they couldn't recognize, they'd say, "Better call Joe Ford." And that's because he could identify it. My first encounter with a snake was at the Owensboro Museum when I was a child. Joe was our tour guide, and he was letting us handle snakes if we wanted to. I don't care for snakes, but with Joe present, I had no issues.

At his Nature Park behind GRADD on Highway 60 West, guests can walk trails and learn everything he could tell us if he were still with us. The Joe Ford Nature Park was dedicated in 1999. Joe passed away in 2014.

Bigfoot Day

If he were somehow able to still be here, I bet he'd be front and center for a Bigfoot meet & greet that's part of Bigfoot Day on October 25th at the Nature Park. Drop by anytime that Saturday between 10 AM and 2 PM, and hear the words of researchers Don Adkins and Don Neal, who have been studying the big fella for decades. Fred Chism of Artwear Express will also be on hand to discuss Appalachian sightings and the upcoming Blue Bridge Squatch Festival.

Plus, there will be food and snacks available for visitors, and, of course, the trail will be open. It sounds like the perfect Saturday thing to do just ahead of Halloween.

And yes, I kind of blew past it, but Bigfoot will pop in for photo ops. And autographs, maybe? I'd love to know how he handles the pen.

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