The world of American tall tales contains several giants: Pecos Bill roped his tornado, Johnny Appleseed sowed his orchards across the west, and John Henry laid his miles and miles of railroad. But towering over them all is Paul Bunyan, the incredible lumberjack whose feats range from straightening winding rivers to digging the Grand Canyon. With his inseparable friend, Babe the Blue Ox, Paul has entertained generations with the tales of his adventures, and the communities along the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway celebrate his larger-than-life legacy.
They say that Paul had to be delivered by five giant storks and that he fit into his father's clothes by the time he was one week old! In fact, the Pine River information Center has acquired the wooden baby boots that he used to wear and now has them on display. Paul became the largest and best lumberjack the north had ever seen, and his camp was no less. The pancake griddle was so large you couldn't see across it when it was steaming, the camp bookkeeper, Johnny Inkslinger, used a pen connected to an ink barrel to keep up with his furious writing, and the Seven Axemen wore their full-length beards as coats.
Paul left his mark on the Whitefish Lakes area in his battle with Notorious Nate, a forty-foot northern that was the meanest fish in the north. Paul set out to catch Nate, and his blacksmith Ole made him a murderous hook and a 60-foot bobber. Paul knew that Nate had one weakness: the beautiful Sunfish Sally. Paul cast his hook right next to Sally, and to save her, Nate took the bait himself. That's when Paul set his hook and the fight began. At last, Paul flung Nate so far that he landed in the town square of Pequot Lakes, leaving behind a huge hole. Paul's bobber lodged itself on the water tower scaffold, and it's still there to this day.
All these tales and many more come alive along the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway through creative storytellers and artifacts, letting visitors experience the legend for themselves.
