Journeys: Finding Joy on Horseback reading

August 06, 2022

Joy S. MillerUpton, a Hocking County resident for five decades, will read about her experiences with Bigfoot from her book, “Journeys: Finding Joy on Horseback,” at Homegrown on Main, 65 W. Main St., Logan, on Saturday, August 6 at 1 p.m.

Joy’s book uses six horseback journeys she took in southeastern Ohio as a framework for her memoir. Many of her horseback travels were through prime Bigfoot-sighting areas, and camping in forests and fields gave her ample opportunity to “discover” Bigfoot.

But it was actually as the chief photographer with The Athens Messenger that she got to know the hairy creature intimately. For Joy’s book is about more than horseback rides—it is also about her life as a journalist and the fascinating array of assignments she covered. One of which was the mystery of many Bigfoot sightings in Vinton County in 1980.

While she was covering the stories for the newspaper, Joy got to know several local people who claimed to have experienced Bigfoot. They even talked her into spending two hair-raising nights in the woods with them in an effort to photograph the elusive creature.

The presentation will include a reading from her book about her coverage of the 1980 Bigfoot sightings as well as a story written for United Press International about the events. Joy will be happy to discuss her experiences.

Over a period of more than five decades Joy’s career has included freelance writing, photography, newspaper journalism and marketing. Besides The Athens Messenger, she has had hundreds of articles and photos published, including for The Saturday Evening Post, Horse & Rider, The Columbus Dispatch, Associated Press, United Press International, The Advocate (Newark, Ohio), and The Logan Daily News, as well as in many marketing venues.

Signed copies of Joy’s book will be available for $16. Her book is also available through Amazon. She can be reached at joy.millerupton37@gmail.com. Her website is joymillerupton.com and her blog is at joymillerupton.blogspot.com.