Very, very bad news. . . Babe the Blue Ox has lost his head. The 10,000-pound mascot of Trees of Mystery along U.S. 101 north of Eureka, Calif., is currently headless, but with any luck for only another few weeks. Babe lost his head in late November. It just fell off. "We thought it was supported by steel," a Trees of Mystery employee told me. "But only two, two-by-six pieces of wood held it, and they'd rotted."
Nobody saw Babe's head fall off because it happened after business hours. Good thing, too, because a lot of people gawk up close at the famous ox and his lumberjack buddy Paul Bunyon. The giant duo has stood along the highway for 45 years, and earned Kodak a tidy profit in the years before digital cameras.If you want to shap a photo of Paul and Babe for your own, you should probably wait until early February to visit Trees of Mystery. Babe should have a new head by then.
Photos: Big photo: Headless Babe. Small photo: Babe before losing his head.
This brought back memories of a family road trip over 30 years ago. We were amazed as young kids to see Babe the Blue Ox and Paul Bunyon. It is great to see them still standing.
ReplyDeleteI remember a trip to see Paul and Babe when I was a youngster. Babe let out a bawl and scared the puddin'out of me as I was standing right in front of it. Wow - poor Babe. I have wonderful memories of that trip. Catlover
ReplyDeleteOh my gawd! I remember Babe and Paul from a visit in the 50's: I was upset that Dad wouldn't buy me a bow and arrow set at the gift shop and Paul "talked" Dad into doing it...the owner was in the second floor of the shop with a microphone hooked to a speaker near Paul and Babe. Boy was Dad mad!
ReplyDeleteChuck - We've passed Cape Blanco three times and are yet to have seen the lighthouse - always in a cloud stuck to the cape. Hope you were successful. (Maybe we shouldn't go in the winter...)
guess what? Babe's head is back! and it's better than ever!
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