GRANDFATHER TREE is the name of a gift shop located on Route 101, about twelve miles south of Garberville, CA. "Grandfather Tree" is also the name of a huge redwood tree located next to the parking lot in front of this gift shop. The Eel River is nearby, about 500 feet to the east of Grandfather Tree. From Leggett (way to the south) up to Fernbridge (way to the north), the Eel River is close to Route 101, and typically, the river and Route 101 run parallel to each other.
WHAT I BOUGHT. If you think that Founders Grove in Humboldt State Park, the Big Trees Loop Trail near Bull Creek in Humboldt State Park, and the drive-though tree at Myers Flat are all magical places, then you will likely find the inside of Grandfather Tree gift shop to be a magical place. I was so amazed by the high quality and variety of the gifts that I said to the clerk, "My problem here is not to figure out what to buy, but instead it is to figure out what not to buy." The gifts that I bought included a snow globe with a bear inside, a plastic sticker reading, "WARNING BIGFOOT IN THIS AREA," and a colorful round cloth patch. I taped the plastic sticker inside the rear window of my Honda. The snow globe is filled with water and, when turned upside down, the snow on the ground gets dispersed and it swirls around the bear and then falls back to the ground. Mounted near the outside edge of the globe are five redwood trees (each 3 inches tall). The treetrunks are painted brown and, above that, the detailed foliage is painted green. The globe and the trees are mounted on a pedestal. The pedestal is molded in the shape of a tree stump. The bear is not scary. The bear's mouth is closed. The colorful cloth patch has a detailed illustration of Bigfoot, and the printing, "BIGFOOT LIVES." The color on this beautiful patch is not from paint. Instead, the color comes from the colors of the individual threads used to make the patch - - - tan thread for the ground, brown thread for Bigfoot, black thread showing outlines of tufts of Bigfoot's hair, red thread for the images of 3 redwood trees, and green thread for the foliage on ten redwood trees in the background.
PHOTOGRAPHS. Attached are some of my photographs, and most of these show animals carved out of wood. These animals are displayed next to the parking lot in front of the gift shop. My photos are: (1) Banana slug, showing the slug's dorsal reagion. A nearby bear wears blue jeans and a yellow tie, (2) Close-up view of the banana slug's head, (3) Bear holding an ice cream cone, (4) View of a colorful caterpillar, with the banana slug in the distance, (5) Billboard next to Route 101 reading: GRANDFATHER TREE Gift Shop, Carvings, Souvenirs, Burls, (6) Plaque mounted in front of Grandfather tree, reading: AGE 1,800 years, HEIGHT 265 feet, DIAMETER 24 feet, (7) Close-up view of front of gift shop, showing a carved wooden elephant, (8) Wooden carving of two seals, with gift shop in the background, (9) Carving of a bear, where the bear is walking on wood that was carved to look like stones. read more