In part 1, there was mention of an incident where a tent was squashed down on the occupants which lead to the formation of MogollonMonster.com in 2008. Here is the actual story of the event as told by Susan Farnsworth, one of the occupants of the tent.
“We decided to check out a well and spring for tracks. We worked the area looking for any sign of the Mogollon Monster. We saw nothing around the spring or well. Of course, and elephant could have walked through that area and not be noticed because of all the pine needles on the ground from the very dense growth.
We decided to find a campsite in a small clearing. We were not sure of the fire restrictions, so we decided not to start a fire. Especially, since we were very near the Forest Service lookout tower. It was getting late and we didn’t want to look for wood in the dark.
I got busy with dinner on the propane stove, while DR set up the dome tent and air matrices. It was a large 6 man tent with the flexible rods running up over the top to create the dome. The rain fly was installed over the top which finished the dome.
After the meal and cleanup of dinner, we decided to turn in early. I decided to blow off the usually ritual of placing my motion detectors, game camera, and voice activated tape recorder on the edge of camp. In fact, I left them locked in the truck along with my hand-held camera. I was tired and figured it was safe because we had combed the area pretty well during the day. Nothing was out there.
About 2:30am I awoke to a very foul stench. It smelled like decomposing fish. It was very strong and was turning my stomach. I was laying on my back facing up when I opened my eyes. Instantly, I noticed the tent side was about two inches from my nose. I was terrified. Something was actually pushing my side of the tent down on top of me. I slid my hand out of the bedroll and located my pistol while quietly calling DR to wake up.
Suddenly, the tent flipped back up into the dome position. Of course, I screamed my lungs out, and rolled to the center of the tent.
To Be Continued…
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