The owner of a kennel near Lake Worth has also said that he lost a macaque monkey that summer and that perhaps the primate was responsible. Marrs, the reporter, told the newspaper in 1989 that police questioned several Castleberry students who were found with a faceless gorilla outfit and a mask. Goat Island is unique because of its accessibility only by boat and its natural marshland. Another Just So story in the making. It would have been like a history." We carry our canoe up to a lively crowd of people, a lot of handshaking and pictures. Both her descriptions and the photo show a large white something, though it doesn't seem to favor a goat at all. The Goat Man of the Lake. (817) 392-7148. Getting There: From Fort Stockton, travel 126 miles south on U.S. 385, through Marathon, until you reach Big Bend National Park headquarters. My friend Perry, who has joined me on river runs in Montana and on mountain bike rides near Denver and Durango, sucked in his breath, then spit out a mild confession: I thought you had to go to Colorado to see scenery like this.. And leaving the grocery storecarrying out armloads of Vitaminwater and bananaswe try to tell various people where weve been, but no one has heard of the wilderness, or even the large national forest in which it is located, half an hour up the road. We did not have to look hard. Then we go outside, into the rising heat, and get in our Suburban, and join the great hurried flow, heading back into the city, farther and farther away from where we have briefly been. Getting There:From Del Rio, travel 45 miles north on U.S. 277, then turn left on Dolan Creek Road and go 22 miles to the Devils River SNA headquarters. I don't think an animal would have acted that way." Tuttle said the Nature Center's staff is skeptical of the existence of a monster. The canyon is open daily, $5. Human beings have lived and taken shelter here since the end of the last ice age, some 13,000 years ago. Was there anyone around who could recommend a trail for us to take? Back in 1969, the residents of Ft. Worth, Texas experienced a wave of sightings of a 7 foot tall white Bigfoot type creature which came to be known as the 'Lake Worth Monster, aka the 'Goat-Man'. I felt the sudden need to keep an eye out for alligators, cottonmouths, and black bears. I keep stabbing the paddle at the water and pulling. One of the curious who went to Lake Worth that summer was Sallie Ann Clarke, an aspiring writer and private investigator who dropped everything to interview people for what would become her quick-draw and slightly tongue-in-cheek book, "The Lake Worth Monster of Greer Island," self-published in September '69. } Goat Island 4.5 349 reviews #5 of 49 things to do in Niagara Falls State Parks Points of Interest & Landmarks Scenic Walking Areas Open now 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Visit website Write a review About Suggested duration More than 3 hours Suggest edits to improve what we show. Clarke's husband maintains that the monster was definitely not pranksters. font-size: 1.25em; No bridges connect Goat Island to surrounding islands or the Bolivar Peninsula. Hydrated, Kirby is starting to feel better. December 11th 2007 Fort Worth Council Meeting to Dredge Lake Worth - Channel 11 News Reporting, December 11, 2007 Fort Worth Council Meeting to Dredge Lake Worth - Channel 8 News Reporting, August 2007 Barnett Shale Revenue Committee Meeting to Dredge Lake Worth - Channel 11 News Reporting, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Worth, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Worth_(Texas)&oldid=1106875878, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using infobox body of water without alt, Articles using infobox body of water without image bathymetry, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017, Articles with dead external links from November 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 August 2022, at 22:56. I train my headlight on the side of their boat: Doug pops his can of Copenhagen and fingers out a dip. Rob Denkhuas, manager of the Fort worht Nature Center, holds up a picture of the "Lake Worth Monster." Witnesses described the creature as half man, half goat, towering seven feet tall and. His eyes are glassy and hes sweating like crazy, even when he just sits on a log in the breeze. One of those exurbs of Houston. . He had to be joking. "It wouldn't have been semi-fiction. But now I dont know how much more space there is. "Looking back, I realize that when we drove by, it stood up," he was quoted as saying in the Star-Telegram. As I walked among the rusted husks of long-dead cars, crumbling adobe structures, and gated mine shafts, I couldnt help but think of the colossal wreck in Percy Bysshe Shelleys poem Ozymandias.. Lake Worth, TX (2.0 mi.) But he had no interest in naming more names or publicly taking credit or blame. Around the river, I found several trails that cut through prickly pear and willows in the shadow of the limestone cliffs, and I learned that its worth visiting higher ground too: the 20,000-acre Del Norte Unit, a rolling expanse just east of the river, offers twelve miles of trails for hiking and biking. Back at the plantation house, I found a scope that Patterson and his colleagues had set up for visitors to spy on a great horned owl that was nesting in the palms next to the building. "Somebody will say, 'I remember when that happened."'. Located on the Intracoastal Waterway, he island is a simple one-minute boat ride across the ICW to the Isle of Palms Marina, and a 20-minute boat ride to the Charleston Harbor or Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge. Open Menu. When he sees my look of concern, he smiles, straightens up, and pushes forward, as if embarrassed for my having witnessed his discomfort. So goes the legend of the Lake Worth Monster. An insect storm swarms into our light, and we see the electronic-blue gaze of alligators gliding along the banks. A skink patters through the dry leavesKirby crouches, tries to catch it, but its gone, though we dig through the duff looking for it. And maybe, just maybe, the Lake Worth Monster. Clarke's husband maintains that the monster was definitely not pranksters. Wilderness with a capital W, designated by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1984, at the behest of Congressman Charlie Wilson and others. For pricing, dates, and registration, visit king-ranch.com or contact the center (361-592-8055, [emailprotected]). Or none of it. Its rated 4.5 out of 5 and is one of the most popular local places to stay. When first impounded, Lake Worth provided boating and recreation that drew people from throughout the North Texas area. Ive reached some kind of primordial frame of mind where it is all just instinct, all here and now. Accommodations are available for residents who have accessibility requirements. The goatman had a parfait," the letter said. Submerged vegetation is sparse. Terry Deckard, a reporter, wrote an article. Why? A few miles south of Victoria, about 235 miles into the race, we hit a series of permanent logjams at about midnight. Out here, where there is no civilization, lie the clues to the very beginnings of civilization. The Goat Island is located in Galveston County, Texas, United States. I dont know it yet, but Kirby is at that point where, medically, reason and good decision-making begin to flicker like the headlamps of an old Ford as it shudders down a washboard backcountry road. Perhaps the monster moved on to less-populated environs, and maybe it's dead by now, his bones to be discovered decades later by a lucky anthropologist. Enjoy this 7.3-mile out-and-back trail near Wilmer, Texas. And a tire with a rim came flying 500 feet off that ridge., People in the shocked and scared crowd looked up and claimed to have seen a 7-foot hairy creature running along the edge of the ridge. After about seven and a half miles, we reached our campsite and, with daylight still to burn, dropped our packs and kept exploring. John Reichart told police that the creature leapt from a tree and landed on his car, and he showed them an 18-inch scar down the side of his car as proof. There are longer races out there, but none with quite the same hazardsheat, rapids, grueling portages, dangerous wildlifeor potential trauma: twisted joints, broken bones, rashes, fevers, vomiting, snakebites, gear malfunction, and, of course, obliteration of ones will. After almost a mile, turn right onto Southmost Road (FM 1419) and continue for 6 miles, then turn right on Sabal Palm Road, passing through the border wall. Marrs, the reporter, told the newspaper in 1989 that police questioned several Castleberry students who were found with a faceless gorilla outfit and a mask. Four other writersRick Bass, Matt Bondurant, S.C. Gwynne, and Kate Murphyeach endeavored to wander into the wild in some fashion as well. We dont bother to correct all the people who call out in our direction as we wait in the middle of a crowd of canoes and kayaks at the Aquarena Center, in San Marcos. But about half an hour into our walk, we cross a creek between two higher pieces of landmild swells, not unlike the bump in a bull snake that has swallowed a rodentand in this low area, this hardwood bottom, there is a game trail speckled with the hoofprints of two or three small deer. The idea that we hail from Port Lavaca elicits frequent cheerswhy, I am not exactly surebut by sunset my lower back is on fire, and Im cursing the restless spirit of Lester, who Ive become convinced haunts the front seat. "You never know," she said. That was a prank. The island was created when Lake Worth was impounded. ), As far as Fort is concerned, the search in Pinto Canyon will continue indefinitely. Cade asks Kirby how far he thinks weve walked. No. Somehow, it works. One witness said the monster gave off a pitiful cry, like something was hurting him.. I tread water, the whitecaps breaking in my face. They are still there. Some reports say it has horns sprouting from its head, giving the monster the moniker of Goatman. We enter the thick forest; we find a creek, an artery of living water. Copyright 2023 HTL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Home; Places; North America; United States; Texas; Lake Worth; Things To Do In Lake Worth "I'm not worried about the monster so much as all those people wandering around out there with guns," a police sergeant was quoted as saying in Marrs' second-day story. Its disconnected from the mainland, but not by a lot. We could be going anywhere, we could be going nowhere, and his senses are justifiably tingling. The police weren't laughing anymore. The island is small enough to fall under one zip code: 77650. Back then, the area near Greer Island wasnt gated off like it is now. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, the Lake Worth Monster lives on the shores of the West Fork of the Trinity River. Theres a mix of primitive upland, hunting, and fishing camps and three hundred miles of unpaved jeep roads that beckon serious two- and four-wheeled explorers. A newspaper article from 1919 indicates that the island received its name as a result of two gentlemen who rafted their goat herd to the island for sustenance during a drought (Ref: Exploring Lake Worth's Shore Line in a Motor Boat; Fort Worth Star-Telegram - August 24, 1919). You will need a fishing permit, available from Texas Parks and Wildlife. [3] History [ edit] Soon he was stringing barbed wire in the draws and side canyons where the Comanche had once hunted buffalo. I imagine the Comanche chief Quanah Parker, with his fierce, untamed Quahadi band in the years before the white men killed almost every buffalo on the South Plains. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Submerged vegetation is sparse. He said the tire went airborne only because it hit a bump after they rolled it. Eating is a distant concern. 2015. Our plan was to hike to McKittrick Ridge, where we would camp for the night at more than seven thousand feet, and then descend into McKittrick Canyon. The eighteen-mile chasm runs more than twice the length of Santa Elena, while its waters take you beyond the parks eastern limit, cutting through the Dead Horse Mountains as they pick up volume. In the Joe R. Lansdale mystery novel The Bottoms, young Harry Collins discovers a mutilated black woman's body hidden deep in the woods followed by more murders. There was a time, maybe only a generation or two ago, when that was how we thought of ourselves as Texans. The Republic of Texas granted his remaining family the land because of his sacrifice. Although it was considered city-owned land, it wasnt officially designated as a city park until November 1970. In her book "The Lake Worth Monster," author Sallie Ann Clarke recalls a personal close encounter. Ive reached some kind of primordial frame of mind where it is all just instinct, all. The Lake Worth Monster, aka Goat-Man, hasn't been seen regularly at the Fort Worth Nature Center since a very memorable summer 40 years ago when all of Texas seemed to buzz with the news that a hairy, scaly 7-foot man-goat-beast was terrorizing the good citizens of Tarrant County. 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