Trees of Mystery Park, Paul Bunyan Statue, Klamath, California
From Wikipedia:
Bunyan's birth was strange, as are the births of many mythic heroes, as it took 5 storks to carry the infant (ordinarily, one stork could carry several babies and drop them off at their parents' home). When he was old enough to clap and laugh, the vibration broke every window in the house. When he was 7 months old he sawed the legs off of his parents bed in the middle of the night. Paul and Babe dug the Grand Canyon by dragging his axe behind him, and created Mount Hood by piling rocks on top of their campfire to put it out.
He is a classic American "big man" who was popular in 19th century America. Further, the Bunyan myths sprang from lumber camp tales, sometimes bawdy ones, to put it mildly. In one such tale, extreme cold forced bears to look for food; one wandered into a lumber camp. It chased the lumberjacks up a tree on which they had a ladder. To keep the bear from climbing after them (despite the fact that bears do not need ladders to climb trees), they kicked down the ladder. This saved them from the bear, but trapped them in the tree. To escape, the lumberjacks urinated in unison and created a frozen pole, which they slid down. Such tall tales, though later watered down, were attributed to a single character, Bunyan, and became the stories known today.
This particular photo was taken in the Trees of Mystery State Park, in Klamath, California.
Trees of Mystery is a roadside attraction in Klamath, California. It is alongside US Highway 101 in the Redwood National and State Parks. The property contains a number of unique tree formations, hence its name. It includes a 15 meter tall statue of Paul Bunyan and a 10 meter Babe the Blue Ox. In 2001 an aerial tramway was installed called the Sky Trail. It takes visitors to an observation deck where they can enjoy a view of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding forest.
