European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monster watching on the shores of Loch sort monster Kitsch of every imaginable size and shape is from shirts to new York times photo Pond the extensive exhibit covers All the facts and fallacies surrounding including a copy of Dinsdale film and detailed exhibits on the scientific efforts to track the the centers says about 15 to 20 sightings a year still come but most Are we had one couple last very sounded very he they said they saw a head and neck from about a half mile i asked if they could give me any and the woman the eyes looked i and walked How could she possibly have known that the eyes were greenish from a half mile away it Doest do us any Good to follow up on sightings like that who has never seen the monster says he became interested in the legend after seeing some photos of the monster by a local named Frank i didst find out until years later that they were All he when i started Reading up on it i realized there was a great need iqra and i thought i could do something to provide that for whether the monster exists or theres no doubt that its big Harmsworth says that part of the building that houses the which used to have a hotel in burned in we had to build that new hotel next door quickly or we woul Dve lost 38 tour bus he next door to the exhibit is the monster Hunters and nearby you can Stop for a monster ice Cream local stores have names like Nesses last you can buy monster shaped cookies in and monster boat cruises take you out on the although theres no guarantee youll get to see the souvenir shop at the exhibition Center has every kind of monster Kitsch and some that Are unimaginable wooden pull chocolate erasers and Coffee to name a All emblazoned with a likeness of the exhibition Center is open daily from to 8 and costs pounds about All that the question remains what is out there in Loch Ness the most popular theory is that its a family of aquatic possibly relatives of the Ples Rosaur a egg laying reptile of the Dinosaur the theory says that the creatures became trapped in the which was once an Arm of the when the land Rose after the end of the last ice age and Cut them the Loch would be Ideal for such its temperature is moderate All its 750 feet deep in Many 26 Miles a mile and Well stocked with fish that could be a food and True believers like to Point to the a fish thought to be extinct for More than 60 million years until a live one was caught a few decades Harmsworth views have changed a bit in the past few i used to think it was a Ples Rosaur Type he in still absolutely certain that there is something out but in no longer quite sure what it might monster watch dont forget the creature comforts a lot of people probably think the Loch Ness monster is just a Folk a Bunch of hooey perpetuated and amplified by tourist and yet you just cant travel around the Loch without sneaking frequent peeks at the Calm water every now and hoping to see a head and Long neck Rise i was no and when i had the Opportunity to stay at a Campground on the shores of Loch Ness for two i knew it was time for a bit of serious its not quite As simple As it you dont just go Down to the sit on a Rock and stare at the water until your eyes you have to be of you must pick a place with a unobstructed preferably right next to the Waters you have to consider your heres what i had a Nikon camera with High Speed motor drive and 300mm Bazooka with Cable on a High Power a Backpack to use As a Cushion on the Rocky and a Box of goodies and other foodstuffs to Munch on when the going got i was ready for my Cable release is in my left my binoculars in my right As i scan the water other people at the Camp have wandered giving me strange they dont the Placid Lake surface remains but i remain several Small pleasure boats cruise no doubt on the same quest As a Small group of screaming Young children assaults the Camp playground near my i suppose they could be considered Loch Ness but there not the Type in searching monster watching is a lonely i am silently imploring Nessie to hoping that somehow my telepathic efforts will be Strong enough to overpower her meager reptilian brain and bring her into the enough of its time to appropriately i Munch on Gingerbread cookies from a bakery in Inverness shaped to look like the monster of Loch still i lean Back on my pack and get begin to study Cloud one looks like it has a Long flippers and three the Early evening Sun is still and a gentle Breeze is rippling the Lake surface As the Small Waves Lap rhythmically on the its almost i decide to close my eyes and just for a few something is violently shaking is it the risen from the Depths its my risen from the inquiring As to what in the world in still doing on the Lake the Sun is fading behind the but the water looks As unruffled As i Check the asleep for More than two hours Nessie might have come right up on Shore and kissed my camera Lens before sliding Back into the murky ill never Chuck Vinch june stripes Magazine 9