A very tall figure in Levy County, Florida

I was 18 years old, living in Chiefland, Florida. I just graduated from high school (1981), class valedictorian, and had begun my freshman year at the University of Florida in Gainesville. It was around 7:30 am with a fair amount of light. Fall was just rolling in and the air was beginning to cool. It was a clear morning at the end of August and I was on my way to my first class, The drive from my parent’s home to school took me through heavily wooded, sparsely populated areas of north central Florida. I was on highway 27 between Bronson and Chiefland, coming around a big bend in the road. The trees had been clear cut from the edge of the road for about 100 yards on either side. As I followed the curve, a movement on my left caught my eye. Someone was walking out of the tree line and towards the road. I slowed and pulled over, finally stopping my car as I tried to frame what I was seeing in terms I could understand, The “person” walking from the woods was huge, well over 7 feet tall. I kept wondering what a tall, naked, hairy “man” was doing out in the woods at that time (or any time) of the day. I never had the thought “skunk ape” or “Bigfoot”…I truly wanted to find a rational explanation for the creature that crossed the road (in just a couple of steps) and continued, unhurried, towards the line of trees on the other side. As I sat in my car staring at the creature, it turned to look at me, moving the upper torso to do so. I felt like we regarded each other for quite some time and, as stunned as I was, I was not prepared for what happened next. The creature reached down and swung a “juvenile” up onto her hip and disappeared into the trees, clearing a small barbed wire fence in one step. I do not know how long I sat there, trying to sort it out. I know I was late for class, and I never told anyone, until recently. I have never been able to say that what I saw was a Sasquatch, Bigfoot or Skunk Ape (the most common term in my area). I just know I witnessed something remarkable. And I have never been able to shake it. Imagine my surprise when I saw a post on your site that was nearly identical to mine, in the same area, same circumstances, but years apart. I am a well-educated woman, a professional and like a logical explanation to seemingly unexplainable things. This is not a story I tell my friends or family. But it is one that plays itself repeatedly in my mind, And when I hear people scoff at the notion of a giant, hairy, bipedal animal roaming the rural parts of the country, I keep quiet and I feel a little sorry for them. To believe in only what you have seen yourself seems a poorer existence. I cannot name my experience on the road that day, but I am fortunate, in a way, to have witnessed something truly remarkable.