text: The storm whooshed in. Waves surged up covering the beaches. Rain and sleet slammed the Oregon Coast rainforest wilderness. Wind roared. Douglas Firs swayed and creaked. Heavy rain hammered the roof. Water drops hit the windows like bullets. My little blue cottage deep in the forest shook in the gales. It was a good day to stay home. But that is not how the day unfolded. What happened is absolutely true. This is all in my new book “Visiting with Sasquatch - And Other Surreal but True Stories from Mystic Beach on the Oregon Coast.” Here are the scenes and experiences of that day. After I typed up the story of what happened, I let my neighbor's 8th grader read it. I called it "The Rebuilt DeLorean Time Machine." She said, "Trippy! I love it!" Through the windows, in the dawn’s pink light on that day, I could see the trees moving in the storm, like silhouettes of mysterious creatures. Now the sounds of storm waves came as they exploded when they crashed nearby at Mystic Beach. Each morning I walked there with my gifted dog. I felt wonder every day that an average person like me had stumbled upon such a remarkable four-legged companion, endowed with special abilities. We disappeared into the tendrils of fog and mist, emerging bathed in supernatural energies. Wading through tidepools , we felt the fantastical realms and portals reaching out to us. I was trying to block out the storm sounds when Coos Bay Bear nudged me to wake up. Coos has psychic communication skills. He is ethereal and at the same time a physical being. Large, with black fur and flashing eyes, he is a hybrid dog-Black Bear-ethereal being. We felt cozy and warm now. It was still dark as dawn approached. In the hours after midnight, I had already taken him for a moonlit walk in the backyard. “What is the reason for this?” I said to him. “You were outside just a while ago.” Coos turned his dark, piercing eyes on me. I felt his mind tuning in for psychic communication, like a radio station. Next to us, we could see the little hologram of Breezy, the chihuahua who visited us from the Afterlife. She was curled up in the blankets the way she used to do it in physical form. Her spirit would be invisible to us if she did not activate her aura glow. We loved to see her hologram aura dancing around here. Then we knew she was dancing in the Ethereal World too. In the early dawn I wanted to stay warm under the blankets. The pair of dusky eyes that spoke “Coos Bay Bear language” appeared a few inches from my own greenish orbs. I sighed. “Okay, we’ll get up in a few moments Coos,” I said. On the reading table next to my bed sat the books. At night I got to sleep faster by reading from printed pages. I had the books on my electronic device too. But I tried to stay off the screens later in the evening, so I wouldn’t keep checking internet algorithms and stats late at night. My own skills were modest compared to my friend who has a Phd. in Computer Science. But I felt a sense of wonder and pleasure when I got the code for html5, css3, and wordpress website plugins to function. On top of the stack sat the 1,000 page plus book titled “The Oregon Coast Almanac of Paranormal Activities - by F. Herbert, Author of Dune” with it’s dog-eared pages from years of heavy use. Next to it waited “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Time Travel in the Galaxy.” It is the story of an earthling who was grabbed by her friend, who turned out to be an alien. They wound up as hitchhikers on the space-time traveling ship of extra-terrestrial enemy invaders. The early parts of the book warned that hostile aliens may try to torture prisoners. They force them to listen to bad poetry. It described the wails of pain and pleads for mercy by the suffering. I was glad to be forewarned. Hopefully, they were not referring to my own poetry, epic in length and brimming with advice. Another textbook rested on the table. It was “The Seekers Atlas to Worm Holes for Optimized Space-Time Travel - Get There Faster.” For my studies of a British expert was the book - “Dr. Who’s Illustrated Encyclopedia for Beginner Time Travelers - Avoid Chaos, Use Steampunk Machines and a British Phone Booth for Time Travel.” I know you Dr. Who enthusiasts will recognize these travel methods. American time travel books included the great "Quantum Leaper - Zig Zagging Through Time and Ziggy's Best Advice." The rest of the library paid tribute to Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells and other greats. A recent addition to my library included “Tourism in the Time and Space Eras - Improve Profit Margins in an Exciting Business Opportunity.” And finally, there was a copy of “The Physicists Formulas for Calculating Improbabilities that Happen Anyway in Time Travel - Accidental Landings in the Paleolithic, Dealing with Ice Age Landings, and How to Avoid Making Refunds to Time Traveling Tourists.” Last night, propped up on pillows, with the earthly form of my real dog “Coos Bay Bear” and the hologram of my spirit dog “Breezy,” snuggled next to me, I was reading “How to Rebuild a Doc Brown’s Classic DeLorean Time Machine Using Scrap Metal - Travel Back to the Future or Ahead to the Past.” For those who loved classic modes of time-space travel, Doc Brown’s style machine was the angular, gull winged car. The vehicle was created by an Italian designer and an American engineer from General Motors. Then Doc Brown customized it for time travel in his garage in Buellton, California. The professor’s sidekick, Marty McFly, helped make this popular in its day. Although it is a legacy method it’s still popular with afficionados. I favored more cutting edge modes of time-space travel. Although sometimes I used an antique blue lantern that cast a spell, too. But I loved the pictures of these old timey style vehicles blasting through time eras to the future and back. In the olden days of my grandma, they used machines for time travel instead of our modern day power of the mind. The charm of the old time travel vehicles persists. Today they were still built especially during recessions, by idealistic young scientists who gathered scraps of old metal, discarded nuts and bolts, and old automobiles to repurpose them. Creative time travel machines made from recycled materials are displayed in museums today. The illustrations in the books had full color images with parts labeled and numbered bullet points for the directions. Right now, after my dog woke me up, he nudged me and used his teeth to give me a small type of love pinch on my arm to get me moving. “OK, you have my attention. You’re bored. We need to do something,” I said out loud. “We need to go now,” I heard Coos Bay Bear’s thoughts come to me through his psychic communication. “What’s the hurry,” I messaged him. “You’ll see,” he said. “Someone needs our help. We need to take a time travel trip.” I knew Coos Bay Bear’s psychic abilities were able to hear messages from far away, even from space and distant historical eras. Today, I wanted a time-out to recharge my batteries, and wait out the storm, but I knew Coos and and I would need to answer this call first. Looking out the window at the distant sea, I could see spindrift flying into the air from the waves atop the swells on the ocean. The tropical storm from the South Pacific, and the King Tides of winter, were combined. It made the ocean rush up onto the shores. Waves tossed trunks of trees and logs bigger than telephone poles onto the beaches. I hoped today would not be similarly turbulent while we time traveled. Now Coos Bay Bear herded me along to make me hurry. I knew from our walks at Mystic Beach, where our earthly forms get lost in the magic of the mysterious marine fog, that Coos was more than a dog. He had both an earthly form and an ethereal one. The DNA for his earthly dog form said Coos was blend of Australian Shepard, Border Collie, and Labrador Retriever. So he was a herding, fetching, swimming, curious, playful, determined, observant dog of stamina and deep mental abilities. My own DNA must have said I was an open minded earthling, ready for the adventures that Coos Bay Bear brought to me. Beyond his canine form Coos was a hybrid of other creatures too. I had seen him transform into his Black Bear self and a radiant aura of an otherworldly spirit often glowed around him. One time on the way back along the Secret Path a cougar who did not know us appeared on the trail. Coos Bay Bear grew quickly into a 10 foot tall Black Bear standing on his hind legs. His intense eyes almost drilled a hole into the Cougar’s eyes. “Sorry, we haven’t met,” came a psychic message from Cougar. “Excuse me. I’ll be going on my way. See you another time.” The moment of tension was dissolved. We smiled at each other and nodded as we went our ways. Now as the translucent glows of dawn penetrated the curtains, Coos Bay Bear’s nose pushed against my arm. I reached out to stroke his soft, dark hair. His midnight eyes with starry lights were like laser beams going into mine with intention. “Okay, Coos, I’m ready,” I said. I was wearing my time travel outfit and Coos had his tactical dog vest on too. My long pale hair was held in a blue scrunchy. I took time to add a little make up, even though probably no one would see me. There is no wind in the time travel era-verse to blow your hat off, so I had my favorite beat up, gray poet’s fedora on with the colorful Peruvian, handwoven hatband. The description said it was made by a shaman in the Andes and this inspired me. A pale blue chambray shirt and faded blue jeans went with it. Long thin silvery earrings with a few beads hung almost to my shoulders. A necklace of tarnished silver beads with aqua and coral hung around my neck. I wouldn’t be running on land but I still wore my black and pink jogging shoes because they are comfortable. Dressing creatively felt uplifting. I was ready for the day now. Coos Bay Bear had his tan K-9 vest that contrasted with his black Labrador Retriever coat. A patch on it said, “OTT K-9 Companion.” It meant Official Time Travel K-9 Companion. The storm abated and as the sky cleared Coos and I walked down the Secret Path to the Mystic Beach. This was a good place to start. We sat on a log washed up by the sea and began to meditate. I could tell Coos was listening to psychic message hunches. I began to see a vision of space and a trip to look for a worm hole to speed up the time travel. Instead of a linear trip we could go in where space-time was folded and quickly get somewhere. We felt the time-space begin to spin. The surroundings became blurry like a French Impressionist painting by Renoir, with the lighting having a similar effect. Grasped in each other’s arms and paws, we entered space to float and look for a worm hole so we could travel faster. As we spun through time, I heard clanging noises. In the distance was an old fashioned time machine made of a rebuilt DeLorean vehicle, with dented fenders, rusty scrap metal, and two shapes of beings in it. Sparks were flying, squeaking noises echoed, and something was malfunctioning - they saw us and began to yell and wave. Their legacy style time machine was rust colored with extra implements welded to it. I could see an old-fashioned dashboard and some vinyl seats that looked like beach chairs found at a junkyard. It was a real museum piece. But it had a sort of steampunk, artistic, abstract flair. As they came closer I saw they were not from earth. Maybe aliens hijacked someone’s vehicle. Perhaps they too were looking for a good wormhole path to another time and place. Were they friend or foe? There is something we always need to carry on the time travel trips in case we need it - the antique blue lantern light with the etched glass - the one my father used to show us people from 100 years ago at our antique pine dining table. We can use an old fashioned spell from the blue lantern sometimes. It’s also handier than a flashlight when we need to see in the dark. I lit the blue lantern and held it up to see the DeLorean time machine and its passengers better, through the twilight of the time travel spirals Alarm raced through me at what I saw. Instinctively I reached out to Coos Bay Bear and clutched him tightly. A glance at his eyes told me he was employing his Australian Shepherd-Border Collie laser eyes technique at the squeaking, rusty, grimy looking time vehicle that was approaching us. A ray of light came from it. A magnetic pull seemed to be activated, drawing us closer to them, or them to us. “Why isn’t Coos doing something?” I thought. My heart pounded. My throat grew tight. My face felt like a frozen mask. Horror filled me as they came alongside of us. They reminded me of wet, green blobs of slime or mold. Were these the aliens that “Hitchhikers Guide to Time Travel in the Galaxy” warned me about? If they caught us would they torture us by reading bad poetry to us? Don’t judge, I said to myself. Remember “Hitchhiker’s Guide.” Pretend to use the “Point of View Gun” to see what they see through their eyes. I tried but could not access their psychic selves. They were trying to communicate, but I could not understand them. I could not hear or decipher their thoughts or their sounds. Their machine appeared to be falling apart. They must need new ways to travel. “What did they want?” A deep, low growl rumbled from Coos. I saw him transform into a full Black Bear size, standing almost 10 feet tall on his hind legs. He does not do this often and I love to see him do this. Coos activated his ethereal, paranormal self. He threw lightening into the air. It crackled. Then there were thunderous booms. With clangs, squeaks and groans of metal the newcomers machine wobbled and zoomed to a distance away from us. With the blue lantern glowing and Coos Bay Bear standing at full Black Bear height, growling, I tried again to hear the newcomers or see through their eyes. “Help,” came the message. “We can’t get out. Our time machine is broken and too weak.” “Is it a trick,” I thought? Coos spoke to me, “Beware of shapeshifting tricksters, Kristi Marie.” I stopped looking at them and focused on listening to the psychic communications. “We’re from the earth. We rebuilt this DeLorean time travel vehicle in our garage in Buellton, California. Something in it reacts with time-space and changes us into new forms.” Coos Bay Bear and I were experienced at transformations into other forms. We looked at each other. “What could be done?” we both thought. “Could we get them back home to the Buellton, California of their usual era?” “Okay,” I sent them a message. “Maybe we can help.” The magical antique blue lantern with the etched glass was still glowing. “Come closer to this blue light to feel the healing spell,” I said. “Concentrate. See your real selves and your home.” As I watched, the blobs turned into human style beings. One of them had a mop of unruly white hair and bulging eyes. He looked like the epitome of a crazy professor. The other was a young man with brown hair and an innocent, youthful face. Above them a vision appeared of their home. It was a modest stucco home with a red tile roof. Sunshine painted the scene with warmth. Golden rolling hills with live oak trees under a sunny, summertime blue sky were behind the house. “Thank you,” the white haired professor type sent a psychic message. “I’m Doc Brown. Take care.” He turned to the younger man and said, “See Marty, I told you everything would be okay.” “Glad we could help. Our pleasure. Take care now,” I sent back. We waved as their vehicle and forms began to fade and dissolve. “It’s working!” Coos and I thought at the same time. With a clanging, and squeaking like rusty hinges, the old rebuilt DeLorean time machine vehicle disappeared from our vision. Floating in time-space, I smiled at Coos. I was glad Coos Bay Bear had heard the fellow travelers call for help, when it echoed through time-space in the early dawn. Discovering Coos had the gift of hearing psychic messages with calls for help gave me new insight into my amazing companion. That’s my Coosy Coo.... the hero dog....Black Bear and mystical being hybrid. We cuddled up together, picturing home, and it seemed like only seconds before we saw the waves of Mystic Beach gleaming. The sky had cleared, the tide was low, and we waded out into the ocean under a sunny sky. Far out on the waves we saw sea lions rising and falling on the swells. “Thank you Coos, for waking me up before Dawn today,” I said to him. He looked at me and his mouth opened into a wide angle with his lips curving. Coos did his trick where he sticks his ears out to the side and spins them like helicopters. His eyes twinkled at me in the sunlight. We both began laughing.