Woke up to a beautiful morning after a pretty wicked the night before. I took full advantage of the continental breakfast, always love when they have a waffle maker. After re-stocking my supplies at the local grocery store I headed a short distance to the Paul Bunyan state trail. Not even a mile into the trail I witnessed a fox crossing my path and also saw a snake. Midway through the trail I came across the town of Nisswa. Nisswa is geared towards tourists and has a lot of little shops and cafe's of which many are log cabins. Cool little town. Stopped in another small town Backer and got some really good sausage and jerky from the Backer Locker. The Paul Bunyan trail takes you through Lake Country and I was amazed by how many lakes I had passed. After arriving to my destination Hackensack I visited the chamber of commerce and met a nice woman with a lot of information and got a free postcard. Checked into my motel, did laundry, stopped at the saloon, and then had a good chicken dinner. During dinner it rained and let up just as I was leaving and out came a double rainbow. Always an beautiful thing to see. Took a trip down to the lake then went back to the Owls Nest motel and had a couple beers on the balcony. Beautiful night in Hackensack!
Start of the Paul Bunyan Trail in Baxter, MN
Lake Hubert Depot - The only open air railway station remaining in the U.S.A. Built in 1896
Taking a break on the Paul Bunyan Trail
Colonel Cobbler
The North Woods
June 20th - 75.36 / 855.66 - Hackensack - Lake Bemidji State Park
D'oh, I overslept! I knew I had a long ride ahead of me so I set my alarm for 7:00 but didn't wake up until 10:00. Packed everything up, made some coffee, and hit the trail by 11:00. Shortly into the ride I came across another downed tree across the trail. It's an obstacle trying to get the bike and trailer over a fallen tree. All part of the adventure though. Today was super hot in the mid 90's. It's amazing how many dragonflies are on the trail but makes sense with all of the surrounding lakes. This section of the Paul Bunyan Trail was beautiful with large pine trees, rolling hills, and many lakes. I biked through a section of the Chippewa National Forest and Paul Bunyan State Forest, both very pretty. The air smells so clean and fresh. I love the smell of pine forests. I met some bikers that were impressed with my speed with all of my cargo. They had many questions about my trip, most people do. Always fun to share my adventure with others and here about the adventures they have been on. About halfway through the day I met up with the Heartland trail and took it North to Cass Lake. Stopped for an ice cold Pepsi that really hit the spot then continued on the hwy to the city of Bemidji. Checked out the lake, got a sub sandwich at the Paul Bunyan Sub Shop, then headed for my campsite. I biked around the lake eventually arriving at Lake Bemidji State Park. The rangers were very nice and had many questions about my trip. Got a really nice campsite, took a much needed shower, and then hiked around the park and watched the sunset over the lake. Happy to have a day off the bike tomorrow after a 75 mile ride in the heat. Fell asleep to the sounds of the loon, Minnesota's state bird.
The library in Hackensack
Paul Bunyan's sweetheart, Lucette Diana Kensack
Downed tree from the huge storm
Beautiful forest, awesome to bike through
The Paul Bunyan Trail - one of many lakes along the path
Awesome! steep hill with curves, love it!
Paul Bunyan Trail
Happy biker!
From one trail to another
Taking a break and pondering jumping in
Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, Babe
Lake Bemidji
The towering pines at Lake Bemidji State Park
Sunset at the park
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