McCall

Whether a surviving prehistoric reptile, a giant fish, or a trick of the light, Tahoe Tessie has become a beloved part of the region's culture, a symbol of the deep, cold mysteries hidden just beneath the surface of America's most famous alpine lake.

Now, in the deep glacial waters of Payette Lake, near the resort town of McCall, Idaho, swims a legendary creature known as Sharlie.

Like her more famous counterparts in Scotland and Lake Tahoe, Sharlie is described as a massive serpentine beast, a classic lake monster that has captured the local imagination for over a century.

Tales of a fearsome entity in the lake originated with the region's Native American tribes, who warned of an evil spirit in the water.

Over the years, numerous photos and videos of ambiguous shapes and wakes have surfaced, continuing to fuel the legend.

Unlike more menacing cryptids, however, Sharlie has been adopted as a beloved, if mysterious, local mascot.

Her image appearing on signs and in businesses around McCall.

The leading theory among skeptics and many locals points to a very real and prehistoric looking fish, the white sturgeon.

This is the first time I believe that I actually heard my flare audience came back on.

I was up in McCall, Idaho, you're familiar with.

I was at a friend's cabin by myself because anytime I had an MS flare, I had to go on prednisone in a high doses.

And I was a major raging bitch because of it.

Yeah.

This includes places like Cascade, Donnelly, McCall, the Payette River Corridor.

And I mean, it is absolutely stunning country defined by mountains, timber and reservoirs.

But it is not a dense urban center by any stretch.