10 a.m.: Woke up in the middle of the night not exactly cold but not
exactly snuggly warm either. Whatever the issue, I wasn’t getting back to sleep
very quickly. Grabbed my fleece for an
extra layer and that did the trick. Sandman worked his magic again.
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Because noodling around on the computer is something I can do while sitting
around the campfire I decided to dig a little deeper into Paul’s legend after I
posted last night’s journal entry. Found
two sites that I thought were credible that gave similar stories about the
beginning of the legend:
The first Paul Bunyan
story, “Round River,” made it into print in 1906, penned by journalist James
MacGillivray for a local newspaper in Oscoda, Michigan. In 1912, MacGillivray
collaborated with a poet on a Bunyan-themed poem for American Lumberman
magazine, earning Paul Bunyan his first national exposure. Two years later, an
ad campaign for Minnesota’s Red River Lumber Company featured the first illustrations
of the larger-than-life lumberjack. Combined with pamphlets spinning the tales
of his exploits, his prominent appearance as Red River’s mascot would help turn
Paul Bunyan into a household name—and an enduring American icon.
History.com
A few anecdotes of Paul Bunyan recorded from
oral folklore suggest that he was known to lumbermen in Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin, and the Northwest before the first Bunyan stories were published by
James MacGillivray in “The Round River Drive” (Detroit News-Tribune, July 24, 1910). Within 15 years,
through popularization by professional writers, Bunyan was transformed from an
occupational folk figure into a national legend.
Paul was first introduced to a general
audience by W.B. Laughead, a Minnesota advertising man, in a series of
pamphlets (1914–44) used to publicize the products of the Red River Lumber
Company. These influenced Esther Shephard, who wrote of the mythic hero in Paul Bunyan (1924). James
Stevens, also a lumber publicist, mixed tradition and invention in his version
of the story, Paul Bunyan (1925).
These books restyled Paul’s image for a wide popular audience; their humor centered
on Paul’s gigantic-ness rather than on knowledge of lumbering techniques. The
Bunyan legend was further popularized by numerous children’s books and by civic
festivals held to attract tourists to “Bunyan-land.” Britannica.com
But
I couldn’t find anything that explained why Babe was blue. 😏
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When we switched sites Friday morning the
campground was about a quarter full. By
Friday evening it looked to be about three-quarters full. Last night when we came back from our ride to
Akeley the campground was full. Not an
open site to be found.
This morning a number of campers are packing
up and heading out even though even though there’s one more day left in this 3
day holiday weekend.
Yesterday we had decided to stay until
Monday. Thankfully our site was still
available for Sunday night…Kim still has some fishing to do and there’s still
the Bemidji Paul Bunyan to visit.
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11 a.m. Update: In a
town like Akeley with a population of about 400 a gigantic statue of Paul
Bunyan tends to be noticeable. Bemidji
has a population of just over 15,000 so it’s a bit easier to ‘hide’ a big
statue of a flannel shirted dude and his blue ox. Did a map check before leaving camp to see
the proximity of Lake Bemidji to Paul and Babe.
It turns out they are located in a park along the shore of Lake Bemidji
which Kim has been wanting to fish. So
it’s a two for one with this stop.
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Most of the sunburn on my cheeks has faded
but my chin and nose are either peeling or else I’ve developed some weird scaly
rash. Again, it’s a good thing I don’t
have to look at myself.
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1:30 Update: Kim
caught a couple of undersized fish at the first spot but considered it to be
too weed choked to be worth anymore time so we got on the bikes to head to the
second recommended spot. Went as far as
we could go on the bikes then parked at an empty lot at the Bemidji State
University. From there we walked to
Diamond Point…Kim carrying his fishing gear and me carrying my computer bag and
camera. If I’d know how far we’d be
walking I would have changed out of my riding boots.
We’re
at a park about ½ mile from where we parked…Kim is standing out in the water throwing
his line and I’m sitting at a picnic table under oak trees that keep dropping
acorns. Haven’t been hit so far 
but I
suppose if we’re here long enough that’ll increase the chance.
I’m not sure that Kim’s shoes really dried
out from his foray into the Mississippi River headwaters on Friday…I see that
he took his shoes and socks off today before wandering into Lake Bemidji. His feet will be warm and dry on the ride back
to camp but those wet pants could make his legs a bit chilly.
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Bird Watching: We
saw a couple of unfamiliar water birds while walking along Diamond Point. My job was to identify them.
We
guessed that the first bird was a loon based on its long bill. What made it tough to identify was that it
didn’t have a dark head like the images I was finding online. It had a white ‘chin’ and chest which
eventually identified it as a common loon dressed in non-breeding plumage. Didn’t know that birds had seasonal looks.
I identified the second bird as a female common
merganser. Drat! I was thinking it was
an exotic breed because the crest on its head was standing straight up and I
had never seen a bird with a hairdo like that.
Seems it was just the wind playing games.
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Kim gave up on fishing about 3 o’clock and
then we had a good walk back to the bikes. Found a geocache along the way. Ate a very late lunch at Applebee’s and then
headed to camp. Chips and cheese dip are
available if either of us gets hungry later.
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Sky has been alternating between sunny and
cloudy. Wonderful warmth when the sun is
out but the clouds can bring on a chilliness.
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Didn’t travel far today but we were able to
get a Paul Bunyan picture and Kim spent a good deal of time in the water
throwing his line out. I’ve heard it
said that a bad day fishin’ beats a good day of anything else. Don’t know that
I go along with that philosophy but then I’m not the one who brought a fishing
rod along on this trip.
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Sunday’s miles:
13
Total miles: 845
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