Perhaps it’s the dripping, primeval forests, the abundance of wildlife or the healthy allotment of dark and stormy nights, but there’s something here that inspires a great yarn.
Of a sunny afternoon, local shop-owner Richard Ortez can be found at Whale Park regaling children with the story of a baby whale who loved local children so dearly he couldn’t bear to return to the sea; instead, he was turned into wood and installed as a permanent sculpture at the park. Ortez promises that any child who circles the whale while humming a secret tune will be regaled with a few magical secrets of the sea.
Can you still hear the music? In “Frederick and the Flute Maker,” author and resident Tricia Gates Brown celebrates the magic of Haystack Rock with the story of a flute maker and a band of tiny, musical people who live on the rock. Their mission? To remind our fast and forgetful race to open its ears to the magic of nature before it’s too late.
Other local lore looms much larger – too many names to go through here. Test your grown-up sense of wonder by setting off in search of a few around town.