Losing His Mind

This wasn't on my thankful list, but it does get an honorable mention for making me, my mom, and my sisters crack up on the way to Eureka. Poor Babe.



KLAMATH — Snow couldn't stop Babe the Blue Ox, but apparently, Paul Bunyan's fabled bovine companion is no match for Del Norte's rains.

According to folklore, Bunyan found a freezing Babe in a snowdrift when he was just a young ox, which is where the creature's color comes from. But though Bunyan was able to nurse Babe back to health, he could do nothing to save his sidekick's 35-foot tall replica at the Trees of Mystery attraction, located just north of Klamath.

Tuesday evening, Babe's head fell off, landing snout first on the concrete below, crumbling much of the stucco on his nose and breaking a tip off of one of his horns. According to Trees of Mystery Manager Jeff LaForest, the reason the head snapped off is because water was seeping through an opening to the interior of the statue, compromising the wood inside.

"His head was held on with wooden beams and, obviously, they got rotten enough that they broke," LaForest said with a chuckle. "We did not expect it."

On Wednesday, the hole where Babe's head used to be was covered with blue tarps and a green wreath, perplexing many of the tourists who were taking pictures of the statues.

"It's kind of sad isn't it," LaForest said while surveying the damage to Babe, which, with Paul Bunyan, is an iconic figure in Del Norte County due to its giant size, its location off U.S. Hwy. 101 and its (ahem) anatomical enhancements.

"It actually looks worse than it really is," La Forest said of the damage. He plans to fix the damage himself, using chicken wire and a hard, stucco-like plaster to mend Babe's head.

And he said he will attach steel beams inside to ensure it doesn't fall again. The plan is to have the statue completed by the first week of January.

But that does not mean Babe will be headless until then. Trees of Mystery employee John Wilson will attach a newer, fluffier noggin to the statue in time for the Trees of Mystery's annual Christmas light show that starts tonight.

"Babe's head will be back on," Wilson said, "to make it complete."

Wilson plans on placing the head of a stuffed Babe on the statue as a placeholder in time for the light show. Unfortunately, it will only be a little larger than his fist. But as Wilson said, it's important to have everything ready for the visitors to enjoy over the holiday season.

"We have to get it all cleaned up" in time for the lighting of the Christmas lights, Wilson said. "The show has got to go on."