Paul Bunyan, I presume

Who is this giant looming in the landscape? He's Paul Bunyan, of course! (For my non-U.S. readers: Paul Bunyan is an American folk hero -- you can read more about him HERE.) We found him at Bud's Salvage in tiny Aline, Oklahoma during our road trip last month. These 20 foot tall fiberglass figures were produced in the 1960s and '70s as advertising gimmicks and they're generally known as "Muffler Men"; variations include Paul Bunyan, "the noble savage" and "the happy halfwit". Whenever Pat and I go on a road trip, we consult www.roadsideamerica.com and see if there are any Muffler Men to be found on our route. Generally, if it's not too far out of our way, we'll adjust our trip accordingly. This is one of the best ones we've seen!

We arrived at Bud's Salvage only 10 minutes before their closing time. They kindly allowed us to run around back and take pictures of their Paul Bunyan. It was quite a hike, actually, and I was wearing some very adorable and yet very useless shoes, and the temperature was 108 boiling hot degrees. The sun was beating down on us mercilessly. It felt like we were on some kind of crazy endurance test, but it was worth it to get up close and personal to Mr. Bunyan and snap a few pictures of him! Afterward we ran back to the car, and the proprietor was patiently waiting at the gate for us. Thank you, sir!I must say, I think I sweated more in that 10 minutes than I have in my whole life all put together. Hats off to those of you who live in Oklahoma and can endure that kind of heat and humidity! I am, apparently, a wimp.