n our search for unusual tourist attractions we’re here in Minnesota home of the legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his pet blue ox, Babe.
They say when Paul was just a baby he was so large they had to use wagon wheels as buttons on his clothes. Then on his first birthday his father gave him a pet blue ox named Babe. Their feet were so large; the tracks they made gallivantin’ around Minnesota filled up and became the 10,000 lakes this beautiful state is famous for.
Stories abound about Paul and Babe in children’s books, local taverns and other lore. You can even hike or snowmobile the 100 mile Paul Bunyan Trail out of Bemidji.
Every state in the Union has some form of a Paul Bunyan statue and in Minnesota alone there are at least five of Paul himself plus one in Hackensack of his girlfriend, then in Blackduck is Paul’s Duck, The most famous is Paul and Babe standing next to lake Bemidji. Built in 1937, legions of tourists have had their picture taken here. I even took and still have photos of my own children, like little specks standing under these giant figures.
In Brainerd there is a 26 foot tall Talking Bunyan and Kelliher has Paul Bunyan’s Grave, and in Ortonville you ll find Paul Bunyan’s Anchor, this 225,000 lb piece of rock is perched on a lake overlook.
It is even rumored that the Mall of America in Bloomington MN the #1 most visited attraction in the United States has a Paul Bunyan.
http://www.exploreminnesota.com/ http://paulbunyantrail.com