A few miles north of the Drive Thru Chandlier Tree is another tourist attraction literally nestled among Redwood Trees of North California — a place called Confusion Hill (in Piercy, California). What drew us there was a structure that made it to the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not list as the tallest free-standing totem pole in the world.
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| World’s tallest free-standing totem pole |
According to a board I found near this totem pole, this piece of art was carved out of a dead redwood tree. It is said to have taken a man three months to carve out this 44-foot tall wooden structure with the help of a chain saw. It also goes on to say, (quote) There are many taller totem poles but they were cut down and carved, then set back upright. So this is the world’s tallest, free-standing redwood chainsaw carving (unquote).
Apparently the pole with just the carvings of the bears is 40 feet tall and along with the ‘World Famous Confusion Hill’ sign it adds up to 44 feet. There seemed to be no mention of who carved this pole but another board that marks Confusion Hill as a ‘California State Point of Historical Interest’ says that the pole came into being in 1994.
Confusion Hill also has a few other things for visitors to check out like a Gravity House and a Train Ride through Redwood Forests, both of which we did not do that day. As we have already taken the Redwood Train in Felton (Roaring Camp Railroads) and also visited Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, these didn’t sound too inviting. Moreover it was almost evening and we wanted to have a look at One-log House before we turned south again.
Confusion Hill is around 10 miles north of Drive Thru Tree Park, Legget.
The address – 75001, Highway 101, Piercy, CA, according to the official site. But Google maps says 75001, Legget, CA. Some navigation systems may not show these addresses. Just drive up 101 North and a few miles from Legget, you’ll spot the sign board. Also look for the tall wooden structure. The destination will be on the right.
Official Site Here
Note: California is home to another Totem Pole (not free -standing) which is considered to be one of the tallest in the world. This one is said to be 160 ft tall. I haven’t been there yet, so I leave you with this link – http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13808
If you haven’t visited my previous post, you might want to do so and see the tree with a tunnel that an SUV can go through. Here – A date with Drive Thru Tree.
That is a perfect post about the totem pole. You have photographed it well.
Thanks USP. I had to photshop that first picture a little bit. There were too many shadows (of all those tall redwood trees) falling on the totem pole making it really dark. I thought I messed it up by brightening it. 🙂
This sure was interesting, Divya:)
🙂
Haha Nice.. I like the Bear costumes the most. Should be fun walking around in those 🙂
Really cute, right? (especially the ones with the suspenders). The pole is this attractive because of those outfits. 🙂
Loved those bears and their attires. This is an interesting pole. Great work by the person who created it. Nice post Divya!!
http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/10/gokarna-ten-things-to-dosee.html
I wish I knew who created it. That person does deserve some credit for his outstanding craftsmanship.
The bears look adorable, right? The grizzly bear is the state animal of CA. It's on the California flag too (you can see a part of it on that flag on the right (top).
Dint know about the bear being the state animal of CA. Obviously the creator needs credit and recognition. They could have atleast written his name near the pole.
I swear, he does. 🙂
Lovely picture DN 🙂
Thanks for sharing this information, though I missed the chance to go on PCH. So, I couldn't pay a visit to this place. Maybe next time 🙂
Regards,
Jay
http://road-to-sanitarium.blogspot.in/
Thanks Jay. This place is around 10 miles away from the place where Highway one starts. I know you're upset about not being able to take the coastal highway. You can do it next time. And you should. You'll love it.
If you come by this post again, check this out, ok – https://dnambiar.com2012/09/Californiastateroute1-highway1-shorelinehighway.html
now that is something beautiful.. oh god my list of places to visit is becoming bigger and bigger and biggerrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Bikram's
It's only going to get bigger and better, Bikram. I hope I'm making you want to visit California.
Nice one Dn..
Thanks Ranita.:)
Very interesting:)
Fun totem pole, right?
Thanks Amit.
…the pole, the pictures and the whole post in fact:):)
:).
So glad you liked it.
Funky… I like how it's all bears and not like a usual Totem pole
When I first heard of this pole, I expected a pole with some strange faces but it turned out to be a fun-looking pole. I was also under the impression that totem poles had something to do with worship. I just learned that there never was anything religious about it. They say totem poles talk of history and ancestry and things like that.
This pole in Confusion hill however just seemed to scream California and Redwoods. 🙂
Amazing work! Sad that the name of the artist is not known.
Exactly! 🙂
Great info! Thanks for showing.
Thank You for coming by, Indrani.
very interesting… we in India need to learn so many things on how to market tourist talking points…
I guess we do. There really is no dearth for attractions, really. But then again, these days there is a lot of promotion happening, right?
Confusion Hill, surely there has to be a story behind that too? Love the grizzlys on the pole, DN.
You're right. I understand that it's got these 'seemingly' gravity-defying things to show. You've probably been to Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, right? This place is also said to be something like that. 🙂
The bears are damn cute! 🙂
Very interesting place.
🙂
The craftsmanship on the pole is amazing.
Such a nature friendly place 😀
It's in the middle of some redwood trees that California is famous for.
It is quite an achievement-carving at the height of 40 ft.It is very colorful & different too.Thanks Divya.
Quite a an achievement really. And it is very attractive too. It is different from the traditional totem poles we've seen pictures of, right?
Thank You. 🙂
interesting….totem poles are anyways interesting..and a free standing one is definitely interesting!!
http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/
I guess the reason it is free-standing and still going strong is the fact that it was never cut. They say the carving was done on the still-standing tree.
Indeed a nice post! I am also from the SEO background and love to enjoy reading fresh posts on this subject. I would like to thank you for writing this post and now I am your regular reader as I have subscribed your blog in my RSS reader.
Very interesting! Great picture too. 🙂
Nice to see you here, Modern Gypsy.
Thank you for the visit. 🙂
Interesting!
🙂
Interesting & informative tit bit. The bears on the totem pole: black bear or grizzly?
I guess their just some fun bears. But going by the muzzles, the ones at the bottom look like grizzlies and the ones on top more like the black bear. 🙂
An interesting monument!! Just imagine the patience – 3 months of carving!
http://www.anucreations.blogspot.in
http://www.facebook.com/VolatileSpirits
Cute, na? I'm thinking working at that height might have been a challenge, even if there was scaffolding.
No doubt that was a lot of work in 3 months.
Interesting Picture, This Totem Pole is reminding me of my Electronics Book
Electronics book, Khushbu? 😀 Why is that?
This is so very awesome! A pretty unconventional monument! so cool!
Cool indeed. It's the artistry that I'm awed by. 🙂
btw, it would be awesome if you could have an RSS to email option on your blog… I prefer keeping track of my favorite bloggers that way!
Sure Poonam. Your wish is my command. 🙂
Wonderful, the concept of a totem pole was something new for me. The creativity of the artist is truly commendable. Many thanks for sharing it here 🙂
My pleasure Arti. And I have been enjoying your Japan-posts. 🙂
This looks like a fantastic place D 🙂
The plan was actually to see Chandelier Tree (the tree with the tunnel) but since this totem pole was not too far away from there, we thought we'd check it out. And then we also went to see something else close to this Totem pole place and that is even more fascinating. Shall write about it soon.
I hope you are doing well.
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