"They way I interpret it, it's got more to do with tourism than belief," said Steve Siporin, a professor of English and history at Utah State University in nearby Logan. "It seems like an awful lot of vacation lakes have their own monster, a local symbol of pride. What self-respecting lake can there be without its own monster?"

The origins of the Bear Lake Monster go back to a series of articles written by Joseph C. Rich, a Mormon colonizer at Bear Lake. His articles in the Deseret Evening News claimed several upstanding citizens, but not Rich himself, had seen the creature. However, in 1888 he recanted the stories, saying he had made up the monster.

Like any good ad campaign, the creature may have been created to boost tourism. Rich owned the first general store in Bear Lake County, Idaho.

One person who hopes that the yarn is true is tourism director Judy Holbrook, who invites people to come look for the monster themselves.

"But you will need to stay at least a week," she says, coyly.

Besides, Holbrook notes, there are other things to enjoy when you're scouting for the Bear Lake Monster: famous raspberries, the natural resources of the lake, mountain scenery and clean fresh air.

Vic Tilt is quick to agree.

"The lake is nice," he said, "with or without a monster."