On Wednesday, we took a drive known as “The Edge of the Wilderness”. This scenic drive consisted mostly of trees and lakes, and sometimes you can spot bald eagles here (which we unfortunately did not.) It is quintessential northern Minnesota, with historic sites along the way, along with some lumberjack-influenced small towns, and did I say lakes? Yes, more lakes. There are numerous resorts along the way, all seemingly very primitive, and not a lot of evidence of civilization.

From our Edge of the Wilderness drive, we then returned to the Grand Rapids area and visited the Forest History Center, which contains displays exhibiting stories of forestry and lumbering in the northern part of Minnesota. We took a guided tour of a 1900s logging camp, and learned about the whole process of cutting down trees. It’s not as simple as you think. Most of the trees in this area used for logging was white pine. Logging was always done in the winter, which seems odd at first. But the reason is that the roads were iced over and it was easier to transport the heavy logs over the ice than the muddy, dirt roads of spring and summer. There would be about 300 camps in the area, with about 72 men, or lumberjacks, working at each camp. They would start early in the morning so that they could eat breakfast and walk down to the trees where the logging was taking place, usually a couple of miles away, in time to begin just as the sun was rising. They worked until dark, felling as many trees as possible. After the trees were down, they were cut into about 16-foot lengths and then transported by sleigh pulled by horses (not reindeer!) down to the river. The sleigh held about 20,000 pounds of logs and yet were pulled by only two horses – thanks to the ease of transport over the ice. When the logs arrived at the river, they stayed there until spring, when the thawing of the river allowed the logs to be transported downstream to the sawmills, where they were then transformed magically into lumber and paper. Okay, maybe not magically; I’m getting carried away with this legend stuff. The camp we visited showed all the different aspects of “camp” life: living quarters, blacksmith shop, cook and dining quarters, wanigan, etc. The wanigans were huts or shacks situated on top of a barge where meals were served when men worked near the river. During the tour, Joe asked the question about the transport of the logs, after we were told they were transported by horses. Joe asked whether any were transported by oxen that might have given rise to the great Blue Ox legend. The tour guide looked at Joe as if he had three heads. “No, they were pulled by horses, not oxen. I know nothing of oxen,” he said not in so many words. Apparently no one told him of the importance of perpetuating the Blue Ox myth so that the Paul Bunyan and Blue Ox statue can continue to be the second most photographed roadside attraction in the nation.