Greetings family, friends and neighbors! Today's postcard based story is about a Northern California roadside attraction inspired by a Mother Goose rhyme, and with a Disney connection........Bill 

Roadside Distractions 

THE REDWOOD SHOE 

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. 

She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do. 

She gave them some broth without any bread; 

And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. 

-Mother Goose 

The natural sights and roadside attractions stretching along 

Northern California’s scenic Redwood Highway 101 and Avenue of 

the Giants have been attracting motoring tourists for more than a 

hundred years. Drive through trees, old trees, tall trees, tree’s 

made into homes and gas stations, mystery trees, and even tree 

nemesis Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox continue to lure new 

generations. A unique vintage roadside attraction inspired by the 

rather dark Mother Goose rhyme has been enchanting children 

since 1947. The giant size redwood bark shoe, originally 

constructed as a parade float for a local celebration, was installed 

at Reynold’s Redwoods Resort and tourist camp in Piercy, 

California as a children’s playhouse. 

George and Willie Hudson acquired the unusual Redwood Shoe 

House from the Reynold’s in 1949 as the first attraction for 

Confusion Hill, their own roadside business. A “Gravity House” 

was added a year later where the rules of nature were 

mysteriously reversed causing water to run uphill and making it 

difficult to stand up straight. The Hudson’s added a miniature train 

ride in 1955 that winds through the redwoods and up the side of a 

mountain, informative lumbering exhibits, cafe and well stocked 

shop where guests can purchase Jackalope merchandise, an 

elusive creature reportedly native to Confusion Hill. 

The sixty year old classic roadside attraction became the 

inspiration for Gravity Falls in 2012, an award winning animated 

television series created by Alex Hirsch for the Disney Channel 

and Disney XD. The Confusion Hill inspired spoof takes place in 

the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon where the main 

characters run a “Mystery Shack” tourist trap while investigating 

local paranormal mysteries…..and where there are plenty of big 

trees and one very large shoe. 

-Bill 6/24