Belen, New Mexico, September 1999
Manzano Mountain Range

Hi Bobbie, my name is Daniel Jaramillo. I live in Belen, New Mexico. I have a story to tell you. Today I was riding my four-wheeler with my friend. We were on one of my favorite trails when my friend saw something big and black. She said she saw it twice and that she thought it was just her imagination. Well, we left that trail and went on yet another one of my favorite trails.

We were turning around to head back when I saw what she had seen. We stopped first to get a better look to see if I wasn't imagining it. Then I was got very scared because it looked like it saw us. I put the throttle on my four-wheeler all the way to get out of the woods. When I looked to the right of us I noticed that it was running along side us about some distance, maybe 70 feet away. I was terrified and since then I haven't gone out on my four-wheeler. The creature was big, hairy and husky like a football player. The terrain was rocky and yet very green loose rocks everywhere. The creature also had a look that scared both me and my friend. It looked like it knew what we were going to do. This happened in the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico around 5:45 pm MT. This report was near the Manzano Mountain Range, which is situated in the wooded foothills of the Manzano (the Spanish word for apple) Mountains State Park. The Manzano Mt. Range encompasses 36,970 acres on the Mountainair Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest and is located in Belen's backyard. (Belen sits to the east of I-25 south of Albuquerque, NM.) Accessible trails lie on both sides of the mountain and picnic areas abound. Wilderness elevations range from 6,000 feet in the foothills to 10,098 feet on Manzano Peak. The district office is in Mountainair where advice on trails and recreation is offered. It is a popular place for fishing, bird watching, photography, hiking, and cross-country skiing.

Daniel Jaramillo. DnlTgg@xxx.com

Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 02:44:25 © Bobbie Short