Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are so revered in Minnesota that the Minnesota Wild were almost named the Minnesota Blue Ox, according to Mental Floss. We made it a point to stop and see the gigantic statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe when we stopped in Bemidji. It is, after all, the birth place of Paul Bunyan himself.

Bet you didn’t know that the Mississippi River was created when the huge camp tank wagon Babe was hauling sprung a leak! And if you think winters in Minnesota are cold now, check out this tale from Visit Bemidji:

During the ‘Year of Two Winters’, it was so cold at the camp on Lake Bemidji, words froze in mid-air.  When the words thawed out in the spring, there was a huge roar of conversation heard 600 miles away in Chicago.

Uff-da!

There’s also a Paul Bunyan Amusement Park in Bemidji, as well as Paul Bunyan’s Animal Land, which is Minnesota’s largest wildlife park/petting zoo.

You can follow the Make Minnesota Thrive Drive as we travel across Minnesota on Twitter — @alliancemn.