Seems like A&E is really streaching for something:

TV star Saget learns about Bigfoot on Peninsula; stays at George Washington Inn during taping

By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News

AGNEW -- A Sasquatch scholar, a bald eagle and a television star gathered here on Sunday for a quick visit to one elegant house at 939 Finn Hall Road.

The background: Bob Saget, formerly of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Full House," is cooking up a new show for the A&E cable network.

"Bob Saget's Strange Days" delves into weird, wild stuff: biker gangs, partying Amish teenagers, mail-order brides, a survivalist cult -- and, of course, Bigfoot.

So out Saget came to the North Olympic Peninsula to peek at the West End woods and interview John Bindernagel, author of two books about the hairy creature supposedly living in the deep forest.

And since Saget wanted a nice spot to meet Bindernagel -- who came down from Courtenay, British Columbia -- he and his entourage found the George Washington Inn, a replica of the first U.S. president's estate in Mount Vernon, Va.

"He needed a location that looked a bit formal," said Janet Abbott, who with her husband, Dan, owns and operates the inn.

Videotaped at inn

Saget and a team of about 14 camera operators and producers spent about an hour at the George Washington on Sunday, videotaping a segment for "Strange Days," Abbott said.

There's nothing strange or spooky about the inn, to her mind. It's the great room that attracted Saget and company, with its stately atmosphere.

Then it just so happened that a resident bald eagle landed in a nearby tree and stayed long enough for Saget to have a good look at the symbol of America.

"We have eagles out here all the time," Abbott said.

They fit well, considering the George Washington Inn is the far-northwest counterpart to the founding father's house.

Built from 2006 to 2008, the bed-and-breakfast is faithful to the exact dimensions and exterior colors of Mount Vernon; it faces the Strait of Juan de Fuca as Washington's home overlooks the Potomac River.

A friend in Seattle tipped off Saget's producers about the George Washington Inn, Abbott said, and they phoned about five days before driving onto the Peninsula last Friday.

Sunday was Saget's last day here, and he was in a rush to catch a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, added Abbott, so she got busy printing out a map for him.

"We heard a lot of nice comments," while the crew walked around the inn, she added, "and somebody said, 'We'll be back.'"

Late summer or early fall

The Sasquatch episode of "Bob Saget's Strange Days" will air in late summer or early fall, the producers told Abbott.

Meantime, Bindernagel -- the self-described "token scientist" in the show -- said he'll have another Bigfoot book out by June.

A followup to his North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch, this second volume is titled The Discovery of the Sasquatch.

It will be available from Beachcomber Books, which is in the process of constructing a Web site at http://www.Beach comberBooks.com.

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.

Last modified: April 14. 2010 11:50PM