Mississippi

Odd how same, yet different a year can be.  Last time this year, the human and I were in the desert heading towards the Mississippi.  This year, we found ourselves 2000 miles north, in the forest and mining areas of Minnesota, heading towards the Mississippi.

We cross the “mighty” Mississippi near its source, where the water is clear and the bridges short.  Then we road for miles down the Mississippi River Trail crossing and visiting it yet again.  Our final crossing was in Brainerd where the Mississippi began to take on the size and flow of a formidable river, yet still just a tiny fraction of what it would become as it picked up water on its tumble down to New Orleans.

For the last ride of the trip, the humans and I once again picked up the Paul Bunyan Trail.  As usual, it was a beautiful ride with lakes and trees galore.  Over the course of the Paul Bunyan Trail, there were many statues of Paul, of course.  In one town there was a statue of Paul’s “wife” (uh….not really…Lucette is the imagination of the marketing arm for the town of Hackensack….nice try folks).  But, no where was there an image of Babe.  WTF?   Paul Bunyan is not the main character of the tales…no way….Paul is just a “human”…oversized in time, but just a human…Babe, now, was the main character.   So, to my surprise!  Finally a Babe statue.  Whaddaya think?  Pretty impressive, eh?

But, alas, the trip is over and soon I will be partially dissassembled and forced to suffer the pains of Edwin kicking me in the head tube for the 6 hours it will take to get home.  The human has promised me that we will get out again before Tucson.  We were lazy on this trip, taking our time, smelling the pines, sipping chai and being pampered by the awesome Timberline crew.  Now it is back to work, training for the Southern…well, work for the human, adventures for me.