The legend of lumberjack Paul Bunyan is shared by many states, but the Paul Bunyan Trail in central Minnesota is where we headed this week, and where I learned more of the legend than I ever remember learning before. I won’t go very far into the
folk tale here, other than to mention that it is, apparently, due to Paul’s companion, Babe the Blue Ox, that we owe the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota: Babe’s huge, deep footprints filled with water, giving us the many lakes we enjoy today. By the way… for the record, there are actually 11,842 lakes in Minnesota (bodies of water encompassing 10 acres or more), so evidently Babe really got around! The 
trail stretches from Baxter/Brainerd to Bemidji, and has rich historical significance as well as a wealth of natural scenery, including boreal forests and over 20 of Babe’s lakes. The trail itself follows an old railroad corridor originally built in 1893, and is currently the longest rail-trail in the
country. The town of Nisswa, where we walked, has an old pioneer town and rail cars that are open to those who are interested in visiting and learning more.
However, although my husband is an avid railway buff, on this blog we are more interested in the surrounding countryside.
The entire 123 miles of the Paul Bunyan Trail is paved, so it is easy going. Most of the three miles we walked were bordered by conifers, making the path shady and relatively
quiet. Our walk was an early evening amble, and although we met a few local human residents along the trail, we didn’t encounter many other species, at least on the way north. At the point where we decided to turn around to head back, we were greeted by an Eastern Phoebe, pictured here, but it was a short greeting and we were 
left alone again quite quickly. The point we chose to turn back was at the channel between Nisswa Lake and Lower Cullen Lake, and from this spot there is a view of both lakes. Lower Cullen Lake is close by and the perspective from the trail is serene, one can see much of the lakeshore through the trees. Nisswa Lake is on the opposite side of Highway 371, so there is some traffic noise, but the many trees do a good job of muffling those sounds, and the lake can be glimpsed beyond the highway. We lingered here, enjoying the sounds of the rushing water in the channel, as well as the warmth of the sun as it neared the western horizon. It’s a lovely spot, along a very beautiful trail.
The way back was almost as quiet, but as we neared the town of Nisswa we were serenaded by a cacophony of Sparrows. We identified White-throated,
Clay-colored, and Chipping Sparrows, with a couple of American Robins joining in. They were all busily foraging for their last meals of the day, as the sun was beginning to set by then. We wandered slowly past them. It had been a busy day and Mark and I were both tired, but it was such a peaceful walk we didn’t want it to end. I would like to take in more of the Paul Bunyan Trail at some point – my guess is that most of the trail is just as lovely as the small portion we experienced this week!