Tom Slick searched for Giant Salamanders in the Trinity Alps of California.

I see that John Kirk has posted the article about the recent rumblings concerning a “giant black reptile” (gator? lizard? salamander?) being seen in British Columbia.

The location of the recent sightings is familiar to Cryptomundo readers, mostly because Pitt Lake was where a huge example of Sasquatch (below) was seen years ago.

But also the new “reptilian” thing from BC was spied coincidentally in a ravine at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., and reminds me of the stories of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamanders (amphibians, but some people think they look like reptiles).

Hey, after all it is just a coincidence that they both have the “Trinity” name overlapping these Giant Salamander stories, don’t you think? There’s nothing sinister or spiritual about the name “Trinity,” I suppose, right? There’s no need to bring in the reports of cryptid baboon-like animals along the Trinity River in Texas, is there? This kind of stream-of-consciousness leads nowhere, correct? Before you know it people will say I’m talking about the Grassy Knoll, the Triple Overpass, and the nearby Trinity River close to Dealey Plaza.

“I shall be accused of having assembled lies, yarns, hoaxes, and superstitions…I offer the data,” said Charles Fort. You all can do with this what you will.

For more information on the notion that names given to certain areas hide the deeper history of cryptozoology and other wonders at specific locations, see Chapter 22, “The Name Game,” and Chapter 3, “Devil Names and Fortean Places,” in Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation’s Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures.

Of course, the number one historic figure in search of Giant Salamanders was Texas oil and beef millionaire Tom Slick. My biography documents his quests for the Abominable Snowmen, Loch Ness Monsters, Sumatran rhinos, Bigfoot, and Orang Pendek, and – yes – the Trinity Alps’ Giant Salamanders. See my book, Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology (Fresno: Linden Press, 2002). One of his favorite quests was for those Giant Salamanders in California because he brought along his sons.

Ah, the name game…it’s June 1965 and a giant four-toed Sasquatch is seen near Pitt Lake, British Columbia. Fast forward 42 years later and now we’re talking about giant black alligators or giant salamanders from there. Drawing from The Field Guide of Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates.

“Trinity,” once, twice, three times. And the “Pitt,” too, humm? I won’t even discuss “Bluff” Creek today….but that doesn’t stop you from talking about any of it.