Bigfoot Discovery Museum in California closing after 20 years
FELTON, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The Bigfoot Discovery Museum in the Santa Cruz Mountains will close after 20 years as its owner retires.
"It's going to be weird for me. Yeah. I'm so used to this, and I've been doing this for so, so long. To suddenly have it all go away, and everything is going to be strange," said Michael Ruggs, the museum's owner.
The iconic museum, located alongside Highway 9 in Felton, has embodied the quirkiness of Santa Cruz for 20 years, but as Ruggs retires, the museum will retire alongside him.
"Well, anywhere from 30 to 70 people come in the door and, they'll check everything out, and I show them our local sighting map, and they're usually amazed to see how many sightings there have been in this area. I was amazed, too, because when I opened it, I didn't expect that to happen," Ruggs shared.
Ruggs says he first saw Bigfoot when he was a kid.
"I looked upstream, and then when I look back towards the woods. 'Whoa, here's this big hairy guy standing there looking at me.' And we had eye contact for about the count of three. Then I heard my mother screaming. 'Mikey, where are you?' So I thought, 'Oh, jeez, I better get back,'" Ruggs detailed,
The museum boasted statues, collectables, plaster foot and handprints of the creature and a detailed exhibit on the Patterson-Gimlin film, and for visitors, it was all about the "What if?"
"Read all the details, take into account what is there, what could be, you know, and and keep your open. Keep your mind open when you're trying to go through it all. So just enjoy it," said Allison Luna, a museum visitor.
Ruggs says it's a bittersweet goodbye, both to the musuem and the community.
"I would say, thank you for your support. Thank you for coming in, bringing in friends and relatives.it has helped make this happen. And, this is a wonderful community here in Santa Cruz. I just love this place," Ruggs expressed.
