Im jamie colby, just northeast of bellingham, washington, near the canadian border. Beautiful isnt it . The woman im about to meet is the heir of a controversial relic that, according to family lore, connects her and her ancestors to jesse james and his notorious gang from the 1860s and 70s. My name is sandy mills, and i inherited a very old picture from my grandmother, isabelle. She said it was the infamous outlaw, jesse james. I believed it, but it didnt seem like anybody else really did. Sandy. Hi. Im jamie. So nice to meet you, and i cant wait to hear your story. Sandy explains that her roots go back to missouri, where her grandmother, isabelle, shared with her the family legend that their forebears occasionally aided jesse james. The outlaw jesse james. Yes, maam. She would tell me the stories as i was growing up, how they would give them horses and food and shelter, just protect them. To prove it, grandma isabelle shows sandy this picture, known as a tintype. Its an early form of photography, using a chemical emulsion to transfer a direct positive image to a small metal plate. So each tin is unique, a camera original. When do you first learn about it . I was about 5 years old, and she would take out the tin and she would show it to me. Whos in the picture exactly . Its jesse james and bob ford. He was the one that took his life. It seems very unusual for the two of them to be in a picture together. It is, and its the only one. So, my family had it. Is sandys strange inheritance the real thing . If so, this image might be worth a bundle. One of the most valuable photos ever is this tintype of western outlaw billy the kid. It sells for 2. 3 million, to billionaire bill koch in 2011. Jesse james is no less a legend. Like our heir, sandy, he hails from rural western missouri. Jesse james was born in september 1847. Missouri historian christopher gordon. His father was a baptist preacher, a hemp farmer, and he was a slaveholder. Jesse and his older brother, frank, grow up as tensions are escalating across the u. S. Over slavery. With neighboring kansas, a territory deciding whether to be free or slave, exploding in violence. The rhetoric is heating up how lawabiding missourians should be able to maintain the lifestyle that they want to lead. When civil war breaks out in 1861, missouri remains in the union but is bitterly divided. Frank james joins a band of confederate guerilla fighters. At 14, jesse is too young to join, but hes spoiling for a fight. Did the family pick sides in the war . Oh, absolutely. Freda cruse hardison is an author, whose latest book uses Genealogical Research to track thousands of local stories, going back to frank and jesse james. They were never anything but southerners. Legend has it that, when jesses 16 years old, the james farm is attacked by union soldiers, looking for his rebel brother, frank. From that point on, jesse james seems bent on revenge. He takes up with these guerrilla fighters and basically terrorized the western part of the state. When the south surrenders in 1865 and slavery is outlawed, the james boys return home. Their farm had been decimated. They couldnt get a job. Seething with resentment, the brothers figure they can still attack the yankees by stealing from them. James and his gang of exconfederates plot a Bold Bank Robbery in broad daylight, the first of its kind on american soil. On february 13, 1866, they enter clay county savings. Everyone on the ground now get down they seize 60,000 bucks. That would be 800 grand today. As theyre fleeing, one of the gang guns down a witness in cold blood. There are more bank and train robberies, just as violent. Today, wed call him a terrorist. Thats a northern term. They killed a lot of people. Today, he would have been a good soldier, if he was on the right side, a terrorist if he wasnt. So we should feel sorry for him . No. He was good at what he did. It was still a way of life for them, a holdover from the civil war. Journalists romanticize the outlaws, who move from one hideout to another, with help from the locals. It was at the home of southerners they stayed, and they would leave money for dinner or horses or whatever. Hundreds of people had little tidbit stories. Sympathetic southerners, like sandy mills family. He cared about people. He helped out families as much as possible. It was just different back then. It wasnt the type of robin hood, i give away the money. I rob from the rich and give to the poor. But i rob from the union and i sustain the southerner. That was kind of a thin veneer over his real intention. Jesse james enjoyed the thrill of being a bandit. A bandit whose gang is responsible for more than 20 bank and train robberies and the murders of at least 17 people who stand in their way. Missouri became known as the outlaw state. It was really a publicrelations disaster. By 1881, the governor of missouri has seen enough. He approaches the heads of the railroad. They come together and offer up a reward. Its 10,000. By now, 34yearold jesse james is getting a little old for a life of crime. He takes on a false identity and moves his family to st. Joseph, missouri, to start a new life. Many of his friends were dead. But jesse wants another heist before he retires. He just needs a few new renegades. Enter 22yearold bob ford, whos thrilled to join forces with a legendary outlaw. But the newly formed kinship is about to turn sour. If bob ford couldnt be jesse james, the nextbest thing would be to kill him. Which could make this tiny tintype a valuable artifact of one of the most notorious murders in history. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. Introducing stocks by the slice from fidelity. Now you can trade stocks and etfs for any amount you choose instead of buying by the share. All with no commissions. Stocks by the slice from fidelity. Get your slice today. Stocks by the slice from fidelity. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. So, which legendary gunslinger later worked in hollywood . Its wyatt earp. He became a Technical Advisor on silent cowboy films and befriended a young john wayne. As sandy mills grows up, her grandmother, isabelle, promises that, when she dies, shell leave sandy her tintype photo. Grandma tells her its a oneofkind image of legendary outlaw jesse james and his killer, bob ford, whom she calls the coward. The picture, she adds, is hugely valuable. She wanted me to have a good life, so she said, this is jesse james and the coward, and this is now yours. Go do something with it. So, when isabelle passes away in 2006, at age 85, the tintype becomes sandys strange inheritance. But while there are tales of the family harboring the james gang, no one knows why they came to possess the picture, only that it dates back to sandys greatgreatgreatgrandmother, pauline roundtree. Its just passed on through all the ladies, and then my grandma gave it to me. Sandys now a single mom, living in washington state, with a young son to raise. I wanted to sell it because i could make a nice start for me and my son, you know, have a home and everything. So it could be a lifechanger. Is that what youre thinking . Yeah. And heres why on april 3, 1882, jesse james is unaware that his new recruit, bob ford, has turned him in, hoping to collect a hefty 10,000 reward. Hes with the ford brothers here, at his home in st. Joseph, missouri, planning another bank robbery. This is the actual room. Right here . Right here. Jesse had noticed that the crossstitch was crooked. God bless our home. So he stood on the chair, and that was when bob ford took the opportunity to shoot him in the back of the head. You see this spot over here . Imagine jesse falling backwards out of the chair, onto the floor. I can see theres an indentation. It was originally a bloody spot on the floor, and souvenir hunters picked the bloody splinters away, to leave an indentation in the floor. Unbelievable. Hundreds of people scurry to the house to see the body. They took his chairs. They took clapboards off the side of the house. Once they knew it was jesse james, they were immediately ripping apart the house. Bob ford, who hoped to gain fame and a 10,000 fortune, receives a fraction of the bounty, then flees missouri in fear for his life. He wanted to be jesse. He wanted his life, and so he eventually took his life. He didnt get too much out of it. A lot of disrespect. Now sandy hopes a collector will pay big bucks for the historic image of james and his killer. She makes dozens of calls, but theres a glaring problem. People wanted to see proof. They wanted to see authentication. They wanted to see forensics. There are plenty of family stories that soandso got handed this down, but theres no paperwork or genealogy. Robb burley, owner of burley auction gallery in new braunfels, texas. Old west relics there are so few real ones out there, so the ones that you can document, theres a builtin value. Theres more people collecting them every year. Sandy keeps looking for anyone who can help her attract the interest of those collectors. Its early 2015 when she comes across a news story about lois gibson, who authenticated yet another photo of billy the kid. She did billy the kid, and so that was another, okay, shes done one already. Turns out, lois is a renowned forensic artist, working for the Houston Police department. She holds the Guinness World record for most criminals accurately i. D. d. So sandy emails a scan of her jesse jamesbob ford tintype to lois. Lois, you hear from sandy, and you think what . I was just going to look at it and tell her, no, its not jesse james and get rid of her. Then she takes a closer look at the picture. She starts by comparing the tintype to this undisputed wedding photo of james. The area below the nose and the top of the lip is the philtrum. Notice he dents in a certain way. Strong dent. Strong dent. And then the top of this lip shape his is like roof peaks, little pointy roof peaks. Thats the same. Lois agrees to perform a full forensic analysis. She compares the tintype to the official jesse james death photo. And then i got the final picture, the picture of him in his coffin. This was very important. In a computer program, you make them the same size, make one transparent, and lay it atop the other one. The resemblance between sandys tintype and the deceased jesse james is remarkable. For lois, its the clincher. I realized, oh, my god. It is jesse james. If you went to court and had to testify about it . Ill be willing to testify in a court of law. Its either jesse james or it isnt, and it just darn well is. Lois also says the other guy darn well is bob ford, based on other known photos of him. Auctioneer robb burley knows a photo of jesse james and his killer would be an exceptionally compelling collectible. You dont see Lee Harvey Oswald and jack kennedy together. Thats how creepy that would be. But dealers like robb will want more proof. If that is james and ford, somebody should be able to trace the history of the tintype back to its origin and convincingly explain why sandys ancestor ended up with it. Help may be on the way. I saw it on the news. I was very intrigued immediately. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. Find your keys. Find your getupandgo. Find pants that arent sweats. Find your friends. Find your sense of wander. Find the world is new, again. At chevy wed like to take you there. Now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15 of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. Thats over fiftyseven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. Its time to find new roads, again. So, in which movie does Clint Eastwood play a missouri farmer who joins a band of confederate raiders . Its the outlaw josey wales. Eastwoods character is loosely based on jesse james. Sandy mills has taken the first step in proving the vintage tintype she inherited is the only known photo of outlaw jesse james and his killer, bob ford, thanks to an authentication by a forensic artist in texas. It was amazing. She was absolutely certain. Sandy sends her findings to auctioneer robb burley in new braunfels, texas. Robbs impressed. But there are still questions of where the tintype came from and how sandys family ended up with it. The value often is dependent upon how good the provenance is. Provenance thats auctioneer talk for evidence that an artifact is exactly what you say it is. Seems sandy hasnt convinced him yet. But, thanks to lois gibsons analysis, the tintype is now getting some buzz in the press. Thats how freda cruse hardison, that local historian we met earlier, catches wind of the story. What was your first reaction . I was very intrigued immediately. The thing that popped out to me was the name of pauline roundtree, which was sandys threetimes greatgrandmother. Freda turns to her genealogy database. It maps the connections of nearly 15,000 people to the jesse james family. She types in the name pauline roundtree. I already had her, knew who she was and what the relationship was. What was it . She was married to robert stevenson, who was a cousin of annie ralston, frank james wife. Frank was jesses brother. So it makes complete sense that sandys ancestor would have a picture of her infamous inlaw. Did sandy know any of this . She knew none of it. It was her threetimes greatgrandmothers first husband, not the line she was from. So she had just totally missed what the relationship was. She did all the proof going down and wrote about the familytree lines, which was really cool. Freda even pinpoints the most likely photographer in st. Joseph, missouri, rudy uhlman. So, howd you figure out hes the photographer . It doesnt have his name on it. It doesnt even have a date. Hes the only photographer of any standing in saint joe at that time, and he ended up taking the death photo. Freda believes bob ford and jesse james posed for the tintype at uhlmans studio just weeks before his death, while the ford brothers were holed up at the outlaws home in st. Joseph. Auctioneer robb burley is now convinced the items ready to sell. Your dream team you got lois, a historian, and you have an auctioneer. That must have been a relief. Yeah. Yes, it was. The question is how much could it fetch . Weve heard everything from 50,000 to a halfmillion dollars. We really have no idea where its going to land. 15,000. Now 20,000. 20,000. Thinking about 20,000. Now 25,000. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. We love our new home. Theres so much space. We have a guestroom now. But, we have aunts. Youre slouching again, ted. Expired, expired. Expired. Thanks, aunt bonnie. Its a lot of house. I hope you can keep it clean. At least geico makes bundling our home and Car Insurance easy. Which helps us save a lot of money oh, teddy. Did you get my friend request . Uh, ill have to check. doorbell ringing aunt jonis here for bundling made easy, go to geico. Com. Hello . Now back to strange inheritance. In january 2017, this vintage tintype of american outlaw jesse james, along with his killer, bob ford, hits the Auction Block at burley auction gallery in new braunfels, texas. We really had no clue where it was gonna go. In addition to sandys tintype, robb burleys auctioning a large collection of texas ranger guns and badges. Over 100 people have shown up, along with plenty of phone bidders. Today, youll have everybody from the buyer thats here looking for a beer stein to the ones that are looking for an antique colt, from the 100 buyer to the 1 million buyer. Which one will bid on sandys strange inheritance . Or will it be someone in between . [ auctioneer calling ] just after noon, its time for the jesse james picture to test the marketplace. Lot number 150 is a photograph attributed to jesse james and bob ford. We got a call from sandy mills, from up in washington state. Told us about how her family had handed it down through generations from her grandmother. So, here you go. Were gonna start it cheap enough that everybody can bid, everybody can play. Where do yall want to start . It starts at 5,000 not so promising. I got 5,000. Now 10,000. 5,000 here. Now 10,000. 10,000. 10,000. 10,000. Now 15,000. 15,000. At 15k, all but three bidders drop out. Now 20,000. 15,000 here. Now 20,000. 20,000. Thinking about 20,000. 20,000. Now 25,000. Now its 25k. How long before someone blinks . Now 30,000. Im at 25,000. 30,000. Now 35,000. Now 40,000. Im at 35,000. Now 40,000. Sell it your way sold for 35,000. Not exactly the payday robb once thought possible, but thats the auction business. The proof is always in the bidding. I wish it would have brought 1 million. You know, it didnt, but im happy with what it brought. The buyer, texas collector terry verburgt, is really happy. He thinks he got a steal. I think i got an extremely good deal, rare deal, and i dont think it will ever be sold that cheap again. As for the heir in this strange inheritance story, she can live with the result, even if 35k isnt the lifechanger she had hoped for. I actually wanted to maybe buy a bedandbreakfast and do gardens and just raise my son the most, best way that i can come up with, and this would be it. No regrets on selling it . I have no regrets. Its sold and we did good and its out there now. I want it to be in history books. Controversy just seems to be the rule for all things related to jesse james. Fittingly, after the notorious outlaws death in 1882, there was speculation he had faked his own murder. The rumor circulated until 1995, when scientists dug up the grave and performed a dna test that proved the body was, indeed, jesse james. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. A freaky forest that scrapes the sky. Thats a redwood . Its several redwood trees. Mysterious, incredible. Believe it or not. You might see Something Like this in lord of the rings or game of thrones. This is natural . Of course. Mother nature can only do this. But when life and limbs at risk. Omeone could have gotten hurt. Verybody in it. Can they work without a net . That gives you the direction of where its gonna fall. Hopefully. The stress that you go through, the mayhem, the sleepless nights we have to do it. Thats part of the fun. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby on the Pacific Coast highway in Northern California, just south of the oregon border. Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance has deep roots and came with a towering dilemma. My name is John Thompson. I inherited a place of unique natural beauty. Next thing i knew, it threatened to come crashing down on me. Im jamie. Welcome to the trees of mystery. John leads me past a giant statue of paul bunyan and into a stunning rainforest, which looks like something out of a tall tale. Its filled with skyhigh coast redwoods, spruces and firs some 20 feet wide and 300 feet tall. Nearly as tall as the statue of liberty. Like a skyscraper. Redwoods like these are among the oldest living things on earth. As much as 3,000 years old. It takes my breath away. But take a closer look. Theres something bizarre about these ancient giants. On the base of this one is a mangled mess the size of a bus. Whats going on here . The spruce trees are growing over a log that fell 1,000 years s ago. Us in the tangled tree. Whatever it is, its weird. And if we stand here too long, they will grow on us, too, so we need to keep moving. [ laughs ] further down is another contorted oddity the elephant tree, and then the upsidedown tree, which grows horizontally before shooting up to the sky. Everywhere you look, theres something amazing to see on this trail. His freakish root structure of the fallen giant, a redwood that toppled over more than a millennium ago. They are mysterious. Lets find more. Okay. John says the seed of this familyowned attraction was planted during world war ii when his father, ray thompson, is serving with the snoopers, a special squadron of secret, radarequipped b24 bombers. He hopped all over the south pacific. They were extremely effective at night attacks on japaneseipping. At the end of the war, ray returns home to his wife and young son in san francisco. When he came back, he wanted to get away from everything. Did he have a bad experience that left him shellshocked . I really believe so. It certainly affected him when he came back. Ray sees a newspaper ad offering that muchdesired change of scenery a remote forest called trees of mystery is for sale way up north in the redwoods near klamath. Ray visits and hikes down a trail called the kingdom of trees. Hes mesmerized by the unusual growth, like this one that looks like a giant candelabra. Thats a redwood . Its several redwood trees. This is this arrival mechanism in this tree, and it fell down, and then its limbs turned into trees. Wait. So, youre saying that t of a tree comes down, it reinvents itself as a tree . Yes. Isnt that amazing . It is amazing. These trees are very hard to kill. Its really spectacular. Then theres this anomaly three giant redwoods reaching up to the sky in perfect symmetry, called the trinity tree. And this is where you get to hug the tree, and take a look up this tree because it goes all the way to heaven. Hi, tree. They do. O be hugged. Further down is the cathedral tree, made up of nine towering redwoods. Maybe 800 years ago, a very large tree stood in the middle here. And it fell down, and the burls around the stump sprouted and grew into trees, forming a natural cathedral. This is natural . Urse. Mother nature can only do this. She can also do this the towering inferno, a redwood struck by lightning and consumed from the inside by fire. Rays most awed by the aptly named family tree. The 400yearold sitka spruce is actually multiple living trees in one. Somehow, some way, several branches have sprouted into whole trees. A huge, beautiful structure, almost unique in the world. Its certainly the largest in the world. Ray and his wife, ma, think the freaky forest would make a great roadside attraction, so they buy the property and move to the middleofnowhere Northern California to run the odd business. But it wont be easy getting money to grow on these trees. Someone could have gotten hurt. Oh, totally. Heres a strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. I am totally blind. And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. Find a stock basedtech. On your interests or whats trending. Get realtime insights in your customized view of the market. Its smarter Trading Technology for smarter trading decisions. Fidelity. So, coast redwoods belong to the species sempervirens, which is latin for what . Its c always living. Redwoods are known for their incredible ability to adapt and survive, sometimes in bizarre fashion. In 1946, ray and Mary Lee Thompson open a natural roadside attraction filled with corkscrew tree roots and branchy abnormalities called trees of mystery along highway 101 in Northern California. Even ripleys believe it or not is awed by the parks bizarre redwoods, like the stunning and freakish fallen giant and upside down trees. It has a very mystical, spiritual feeling, and you might see Something Like this in lord of the rings or game of thrones. It just transports you to another world. At the time, millions of road trippers cruise up and down the Pacific Coast highway each year. The trick getting them to pull over. So, the couple goes all out with a big purchase, says their son, john a 12foot paul bunyan statue. But he only lasted one season. Oh. What happened . cause he was made out of papermache and he melted. They build a second bunyan, this time 24 feet tall and made from wood and cement. Kids are going to start screaming from the back seat if they see a giant paul bunyan along the highway, so this was a great kid magnet. They figure a bigger bunyan will get even more kids to scream, so in the early 60s, ray and mary lee double up. Paul number three is 49 feet tall with 10foot high boots and a 52foot waist. He even waves, winks, and makes welcome to trees of mystery. How you doing, paul . Well, im doing great. How could you not on a day like today . Couple also create a trail of tall tales attraction, featuring 80 wood sculptures from milledredwood timbers. John grows up right here on site during this golden era of the park. When i was about 8 years old, brush around the trail and pick up the flashbulbs people threw out after taking pictures. But its not all happy memories. In the mid60s, johns parents divorce. His dad, ray, leaves the family and the park forever, seeking out a new escape. Where did dad go . He went sailing. [ laughs ] so, mom stayed here, and dad wasnt here. Yeah. Mom bought dad out. I think mom had a lot more satisfaction from the place than dad did. A few years later, john leaves home himself, moving to seattle and becoming a successful engineer. But times are changing at trees of mystery. Between a new interstate routing traffic inland and an oil crisis, the roadside attraction is fighting to survive. Traffic becomes, like, half of what it used to be. Mom was hemorrhaging money like crazy. So john uproots his life and moves back home to help mom with the Family Business. What is it about this place that would make you, being so successful with your own life in seattle, want to come back . [ chuckles ] well, a little insanity helps. [ laughs ] i bet. Its because i love the place. In time, john becomes general manager, running the park on a daytoday basis. He has two daughters from two marriages. His youngest, hannah, spends her Early Childhood living in the onsite family home just like her dad. What do you remember most about growing up here . Playing in the woods was a big part of my childhood. Limb t. We would throw rocks. I would make a vinerope swing out of the ivy that grows around here. It sounds like it was a wonderful childhood. It was. Over the years, john and his mother attempt to reinvigorate trees of mystery. They add a restaurant and native american museum, then take out a big loan for the construction of a 1million sky trail gondola. You really modernized the whole experience. Its about the tre unique perspective that we get of them up here, you cant really see them any other way without being a bird. The gamble pays off. Big attraction . Big attraction. People absolutely love it, doubled our business. Attendance climbs to 400,000 visitors a year, but in 2015, some bad breaks. First, theres trouble with the family tree, that 200foottall, centuriesold sitka spruce with numerous trees sprouting from its branches. In the middle of the night, a loud crack precedes and even louder crash. One of those giant tree limbs broke off, hit pauls arm, and broke it off at the shoulder. That big branch from the 150ton tree comes crashing down from 40 feet. Old paul got off easy, no bull. Someone couldve gotten hurt. Oh, totally. If it ever fell on p and it was full of people, it would kill everybody in it. Ew m, johns mother, mary lee, passes away at age 94. John inherits trees of mystery, knowing a colossal safety problem is now hanging over his head alone. Did you feel prepared to run the place . Oh, gosh. Heres another quiz question. The answer when we return. As a caricature artist, i appreciate what makes each person unique. Thats why i like liberty mutual. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Almost done. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Find your getupandgo. Find pants that arent sweats. Find your friends. Find your sense of wander. Find the world is new, again. At chevy wed like to take you there. Now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15 of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. Thats over fiftyseven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. Its time to find new roads, again. Where you can find games, news and highlights. All in one place, right on your tv. The xfinity sports zone. Use your voice to search every stat and score. Follow the teams you love. And, even get notifications with breaking news alerts and more. With the xfinity sports zone everybody wins. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Say xfinity sports zone into your voice remote today. So according to folklore, which was created by paul bunyan . Its b, the great lakes. Legend has it that when paul couldnt find a suitable watering hole for his blue ox, babe, he dug five of his own. John thompson inherits trees of mystery, a roadside attraction along the pacific in Northern California. It comes with a gigantic problem. A couple months before, a massive branch broke off the parks hallmark attraction, a 450yearold sitka spruce called the family tree, and crashed down 40 feet, ripping off the right arm of the huge paul bunyan statue. It couldve taken out the entire gift shop and lord knows how many customers with it, but thats not the worst news. An inspection of the tree reveals a rotted, dying trunk. What caused it, and what can be done about it . Were you worried that it could spread . Sease. Its very typical for spruce trees to do that at a certain point in their age. So, what do you do . I fretted about it for some time. Since nobody knows when the next limb will drop, its time john really doesnt have. While he explores if he can somehow shore up the iconic behemoth, workers patch up the giant lumberjacks rotator cuff. It took us about 6 months and 100,000 to repair it. Now the harsh realities of running the Family Business himself are really weighing heavy on our heir. We work very, very hard, sometimes 100 hours a week. You get vacations here . No, we dont. I work every day. What is your daily life like . Typically, we come in, make sure the place opens up on time, and then you wait for the shoe to fall quasi emergencies, fires to put out, besides what you have in mind that you want to accomplish. Maybe the time has finally come to sell off trees of mystery and its valuable coastal land, especially after a 4million realestate appraisal. 4 million youre sitting on . And youre not tempted to sell . Well, there are a lot easier. But, really, to us, its priceless. So, are you doing it because its your legacy . Its because i love it. And the reward is people coming back and bringing their children to see this place that they enjoyed. John also comes to another realization about the fate of the family tree. Theres no way around it. It must come down. Could you have let it fall and die naturally . A random falling of 150ton no. No, it was too dangerous. The potential for death was too what does it mean to your family when such an integral part of it, the family tree. Mmhmm. In all its beauty, wont be with you anymore . And on top of that, your mom is gone. Two big empty spots in our lives, isnt it . It was very painful for me. In november 2015, the parks closed while axman erik tjossem works up a strategy to fell the tree. I was a little bit nervous theres usually Collateral Damage for such a big tree. The job is even more daunting than imagined. If we kind of misjudged exactly the way that we were cutting it, it would be total destruction, really. Timber whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. We made usaa insurance for veterans like liz and mike. An army family who is always at the ready. So when they got a little surprise. Two . They didnt panic. They got a bigger car for their soontobebigger family. After shopping around for insurance, they called usaa who helped find the right coverage for them and even some muchneeded savings. That was the easy part. Usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it easy. vo audi etron. Vo nce is made the next frontier of electric. Get an exceptional offer at your local audi dealer. Now back to strange inheritance. Trees of mystery roadside attraction owner John Thompson is attempting to take down a dying, 450yearold, 200foothigh, 150ton sitka spruce. With limbs falling, its already caused 100,000 in damage. It has to come down now before things get worse or someone is killed. Arborist erik tjossem has been brought in to oversee the treacherous assignment. He maps out a strategy. Step one cut the limbs hanging over the gift shop. We had to climb up to the top. It can definitely be dangerous. I mean, were talking about being hundreds of feet off the ground, and were just attached by ropes. With the hazardous limbs shaved off, the crew makes a piewedgeshaped cut into the face of the tree. That gives you the direction of where its gonna fall. Hopefully. The next step is to make a horizontal cut on the backside, but not all the way through. A piece of the middle, called the holding wood, remains intact, acting as a hinge to help guide the tree down in the desired direction. At least in a healthy tree, it works that way, but the inside of this one is full of rot. Erik is not sure the holding wood will, in fact, hold, meaning the tree could fall in any direction on paul, the gift shop, or into the forest where it could take out some other of the parks iconic treasures. If we kind of misjudge exactly the way that we were cutting it, it could be catastrophic. It would be total destruction, really. Thats not the only thing that can go wrong. The tree could also barberchair. Which means split in two and one part goes off the back and then one part goes the other way and theres a person strapped to the tree right there, so it could be deadly. Erik nervously makes his back cut as two vehicles help guide the 212foot giant safely to the ground or so they hope. Its always a little bit nervewracking when it starts going over. [ wood cracking ] [ dramatic music playing ] the whole thing kind of explodes, and its sawdust and tree parts everywhere, but we got the tree down where we wanted it to go. It takes an entire year to chip up the 150ton tree. Most of the remains are unusable. The Cross Sections of the trunk showed like 75 solid rot. There was just a rind of wood around a rotten center. The salvageable wood is used to create benches along the trails here at trees of mystery. John has survived his first major test as owner, but the ordeal has the 66yearold thinking, what will become of the park when hes gone . Do you have any idea if anyone in your family would be willing to do the same thing when youre ready to retire . Well, i have hoped for 40 years that my children would come back. But you may be setting them up for disaster. At the time, both of johns daughters are enjoying successful careers, so it shocks everyone when youngest, hannah, uproots her life to move back to trees of mystery. How big a decision was it for you to decide to do this . I mean, to give up everything and come here is a big thing. So, theres a lot of love, and theres really no desire to sell, ever. You couldve stayed at your job and hired somebody to run this place. Whyd you have to do it we have to do it. Thats part of the fun. The creativity that you get to do here, the stress that you go through, the mayhem, the sleepless nights, this is a part of me. Just like her father decades ago, hannah preps to one day take over the roadside attraction. Its just a juggle every day, but its also wonderful and liberating. You ever rethink your honestly . Of course, but this place is important. It feels like its in my genetics. Its the Family Business. You know, im thinking there are similarities between the Thompson Family and these magnificent trees. They are strong, and theyre and to last for thousands of years yeah, i dont think were quite that strong, but it takes you got a lot of generations to come. But it takes a certain inner strength to run any business, really. Have to be a little stro. The family tree may be gone, but john and hannah are constantly coming up with new attraction ideas to fill its void. Say, for example, you want to spend the night camping in the giant redwoods. The family is looking into building really cool tree houses, like this one hovering over the forest floor. Word of caution you may have to share the space with a few birds and squirrels. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. Good morning everybody im jackie delawareing monday august 17th your top stories at 6 a. M. Eastern time. The race for the white House Democratic National Convention keeking off today. Virtually and President Trump heading for to wisconsin for campaign blitz. What new polls are showing in battleground states. The Postal Service and focus as well house speaker, nancy pelosi forcing lawmakers back to washington to address what she calls sabotage of mailin voting. And america cities in crisis, jamghts declaring a riot overnight after portland and chicago slammed