The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) Research Trip

 

Date of trip: Sept. 18, 2007.

Purpose of trip: Revisit area along the Alabama River were numerous sightings have taken place in the past.

Details of the trip: I started out at 6:30am. I had already loaded the boat with just about everything we would need for the trip. This time I made sure I had my camera. After loading up the last minute items I hooked to the boat and started out for the Gainestown landing on the Alabama River. I went by and picked up a fellow researcher on the way and we made a stop at a little country store for some snacks for our dinner, and we were on our way.

We got to the landing and launched the boat with no problems. We decided to go down the river first and check out a big sandbar where a small creek runs into the river. We had been walking the wood line and the edge of the creek for several minutes when I found a set of tracks coming up out of the creek and heading for the bushes at the edge of the woodline. After following the trail I soon discovered that someone had made a run to the bushes on a hurried nature call. The evidence was plain to see and the toilet paper was even more evidence. This evidence was left in place and we returned to the boat a little disapointed. Apparently the person had walked up the small creek from the river in the water and left no other tracks until he came out of the small creek. These tracks were of a barefoot person and this is why we were interested in them.

We headed back up the river ..past the landing area and we scanned the sandbar with binoculars looking for any signs of tracks. This first bar is more of a gravelbar and the only sand is up around the jetty area at the head (north end) of the bar. I managed to get the boat over the very shallow entrance behind the first jetty and slowly headed for the back side along the woodline and sand edges. As soon as I turned the motor off, we both heard a loud clear single whistle and about 4 to 5 seconds later we heard another, just like the first. We could tell that the second whistle sounded just a little farther away and had moved from the area it had come from at first. Whatever made the whisle was moving rapidly or the second whistle was a responce from another spot.

We listened for several minutes and heard nothing else. We then started looking over the edge of the woodline in the sady areas finding no tracks. We then started making our way back out from behind the jetty and back out in the main river.

We had then decided to run up river all the way and then work our way back south. After a long run up the river we decided to look for an old boat that we had heard was visiable when the river was real low. It is about as low as I had ever seen it and we did find it.

Here is a link to the photos of the old steamboat (whats left of it, after all these years) and several others of some of the many tracks we found: Photos of the research trip.

After stopping at several sandbars and stopping and speaking with several fishmen we made our way back to the landing and loaded the boat and returned home tired, but both of us really enjoyed the outing. I returned home at around 4:00pm and then had the job of putting everthing away and working on the photos. Everyone who can, should get out and enjoy the great outdoors while we still can.

Sadly one of the things that we did discover was that one of the areas has been cut and another was being cut. This one of the areas that several fishermen had told me they had heard something really big walking around up in the woods and breaking limbs and some have even heard knocking along with the other sounds.

We plan to make this trip again in the next few months and maybe even check out the area down the river even farther.

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Research Report by: Mike (watch1)