A four-year story of ongoing encounters between the author, Sali Sheppard-Wolford and a group of Bigfoot that played in her yard and thunderously walked by her house in the dead of night. The detailed, long-term observations provide a seldom-recorded look at Bigfoot and their interactions with humans.

In addition to the Bigfoot encounters, Sheppard-Wolford describes her spirit journeys with the Indian guide, Dream Walker, and investigations of other strange phenomena near Orting, including an old UFO crash where the old newspapers reporting the crash have mysteriously disappeared, spirit lights that appeared on the ridge above the river, a phantom train, and more.

Awards for Valley of the Skookum:

From Loren Coleman’s The Top Cryptozoology Books of 2006

by Loren Coleman, Cryptozoologist
Author, Cryptozoology A to Z, Bigfoot!, and Tom Slick

It is time for the annual top picks for the best cryptozoology books of 2006, with attention to each book’s individual achievements noted in recognition of its unique niche within the cryptozoological literature this year.

(4) The Best Biographical Cryptozoology Book of 2006

Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters with Bigfoot by Sali Sheppard-Wolford.

How would you like to have your mother write a book to explain why you are obsessed with an interest in Bigfoot? Bigfoot researcher and television personality Autumn Williams is lucky enough to have a mother who has done exactly this. The result is a fascinating and insightful book. In an era in which some rather sketchy “close contact” books have been produced with shortcomings like bad editing, this is a wonderful, well-done, nicely-presented addition to that literature from Pine Winds Press.

Other reviews for Valley of the Skookum:

Review by Craig Heinselman, editor CRYPTO, Peterborough, NH