StrangeRanger:

Back in September, LadyRanger and I went on our second vacation, ever! We spent a couple of nights on the Ohio River and attended the MOTHMAN FESTIVAL in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV.

The Mothman is the native cryptid, appearing to terrify the locals and to possibly herald the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967. The festival is the celebration of the weird, legendary and unknowable and the cryptid community gathers from across the country to meet, confer, hypothesize, and enjoy the beautiful Ohio River town.

LadyRanger and I had a blast! We spoke with folks from New Jersey and Wisconsin and saw license plates from Maine and Tennessee and other, far-flung, exotic places. We walked the path along the river, listened to the bands and bought a fair amount of mothman swag! Many t-shirts for us and a few friends, a hat and a couple of pins... (MOTHMAN FOR PRESIDENT!). I think the thing that impressed me the most was the sheer amount of creativity that the community brought to bear on the topic of cryptids. Pins, patches and t-shirts galore! 1950s style horror-movie posters! Hats and mothman themed deely-boppers! Mothman candy, cake pops and coffee. And mothman brought ALL HIS FRIENDS TO THE PARTY! Bigfoot, of course, but the Jersey Devil, the Hodag, the Braxton County Flatwoods Monster, aliens in general and the Sta-Puft Marshmellow Man all had roles to play. It was a lot of fun!

Now, the most important question to ask about this trip is, of course, How did Daisy take it? Daisy stayed home to guard over ChezRanger. She was tended to, fed and patted, by an old friend. Daisy weathered our absence well and was in perfect health upon our return. She was happy enough, I think, to see us back, but she was overjoyed by the souvenir we bought her. A catnip Mothman!

Handmade by Cryptid Comforts, which offers a full line of cat toys, larger plushies and other gear (including a catnip Pepperoni Roll!). Daisy seemed to take to Mothman as much as we did!