Mountain highway sign warns of Bigfoot

RIGHT: Someone has posted a sign along Highway 243 near Mountain Center in the San Jacinto Mountains that appears to alert motorists to watch out for Bigfoot, a fictional ape-like creature. Bob Pratte / The Press-Enterprise

10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, July 29, 2010

By BOB PRATTE
The Press-Enterpise

There is a sign calling for extra caution on Highway 243 in Mountain Center, close to where the route branches off from Highway 74 for the last four miles up to Idyllwild.

The sign warns of a danger that should be of greater concern than the hazards depicted on Caltrans' yellow-diamond signs, such as falling rocks, slippery turns and deer darting across mountain highways.

A clever person posted the yellow, diamond-shaped warning sign so that it looks like official highway cautionary alerts.

It displays a symbol of a Bigfoot, the monstrous Sasquatch creature that some people consider a legend but believers are certain exists. The ape-like creature is supposed to be as tall as 10 feet, weigh up to 500 pounds and walks around in forests.

The black Bigfoot on the yellow sign is made of more than paint. It is furry.

I appreciate the warning. I am certain the creature would do lots of damage to a vehicle when hit. A Bigfoot, I'm sure, would be liable to pulverize a car if angered by a 60 mph collision.

I have a pair of questions.

Who posted the sign?

And, has anyone seen a Bigfoot in the woods around Idyllwild?

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