Dogs reacting in Duval County, Florida

I grew up on the Westside of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. I lived near ______ Creek near Normandy Blvd. My house was the only house on a dirt road approximately 3/10 of a mile from the nearest hard road. As I was walking home, early one evening, I heard heavy sounding foot steps on dried leaves in the woods along the dirt road. I stopped, it stopped. I walked, it walked. This happened several times before I hauled ass out of there. A few years later, my brother, a friend and I, were about to do a little fishing in ______ creek. We took our fishing rods and coolers to the creek and I made a trip back to the car for the tackle boxes. That's when I started hearing those heavy foot steps on the dried leaves, again. At first, I paid it no attention, then when the walking stopped, I looked at where the sound come from and saw this very tall hairy creature looking at me from about75 yards away. I still see him, pushing a tree away from his face with his left hand, and when I hollared for my brother and friend to come "look at this thing," it ran into the woods. I later told my mother about this. She asked me if I remembered the couple who had parked in the woods (about 1965)that had problem and come to the house. She told me they saw the same thing. My father told me he saw something like that at the end of our property, at the old cattle gap, watching him work in his garden. When he looked up, it ran away.