ST. MARIES - Frankly, Jeremy Cassal says he needs to find a cleaner sport, which was understandable Sunday.

The 33-year-old Sandpoint resident was nearly swallowed up in mud.

His mud bogger, Financial Ruin, got bogged down in more than three feet of sloppy, wet and stinky mud in the Milltown Mud Bogs during a warmup lap. He didn't make it halfway down one of the drag strip's two lanes.

"I usually go through really quick," Cassal said. "It's much too deep" this year.

The Milltown Mud Bogs were part of the annual Paul Bunyan Days Labor Day weekend events. Sunday events also included a day-long carnival, the popular logging competitions at St. Maries City Park, the Valley Piecemakers' annual quilt show at Heyburn Elementary School and endurocross at the fairgrounds. The day ended with a fireworks display at the park. The weekend events conclude today.

According to popular folklore, Paul Bunyan was a larger-than-life lumberman who roamed the forests of Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest.

In celebration of the legendary lumberjack, and to commemorate their own logging heritage, the people of St. Maries host Paul Bunyan Days annually.

The logging contests attract the event's largest crowds. Participants compete in several events, sawing through massive logs, throwing axes and vying for local bragging rights.

Mary Hasenoehrl, from Lewiston, worked a crosscut saw alongside St. Maries Mayor Tami Holdahl, who also emceed the contest. Sliding the saw back and forth across the log, the two women made a clean cut.

"It's not as hard as I thought," said Hasenoehrl, who made the drive to St. Maries with a group of friends. "You're kinda nervous (up there). It just takes a lot of pull, pull, pull, and a lot of breath. We come up here every year, and this year we decided we'd go ahead and do this."

Caleb Cox traveled from Spokane to try his hand at the chainsaw event. Using a stock saw, he ripped through his log as sawdust swirled around him. For Cox, the event is an opportunity to test his skills and have a good time.

"Done it every year since I could," he said. "It's just fun competition."

Over at the Milltown Mud Bogs, Cassal wasn't the only one getting stuck in the mud Sunday.

Only Kevin Zufall, of Deer Park, Wash., in his yellow truck, Redneck Lowrider, was able to make it down the track while the lanes were being readied for competition. Zufall exploded through the mud several times to ready it for heats. He only made it because his truck was a country mile from being an actual "lowrider."

While he threw the mud around, and giant clumps plopped on spectators, other riders watched and waited.

Chereice Flocks of Moscow was at the Milltown Mud Bogs to compete in her first mud bog competition ever. She entered a Ford F250 pickup truck.

"You look for the rush," she said. "It's the best rush you can get without alcohol or drugs."

Steve Lowery, also of Moscow, driving a 1942 Willys Jeep, said he likes mud bogging in St. Maries because organizers of the event have few rules for drivers and are more focused on just having fun.

"You don't worry about being outclassed here," he said. "It's less for professionals and more for the 'average Joe.' It's just a lot more fun here."

At Heyburn Elementary School, with a giant Paul Bunyan statue in front, the quilt show ran most of the day and provided event goers less interested in mud and sawdust with an opportunity to see the work of local artists.

About 180 items - quilts, wall hangings, table runners and tree skirts - were entered into the quilt show, which is in its 15th year.

A quilt made by Lois Noble and owned by Aleida Quick of St. Maries, won the people's choice award this year.

The quilt, "Houses," was hand-pieced, hand-appliqued and hand-quilted.

Wanda Wemhoff, co-chair of the show, said, "To be all hand-done, it's just amazing. On some of the blocks there's eight to 10 pieces of fabric."

Every year the Valley Piecemakers select one of their own as the "featured quilter." This year Rosemarie Tiffany was honored.

"I like the whole (quilting) process," Tiffany said. "I'm a pretty traditional quilter. I've started the tradition of making quilts for my grandchildren when they graduate high school."

Tiffany, who lives about 16 miles from St. Maries proper, took her first quilting class in 1991. Since then, she's crafted a number of beautiful items, and she's made eight quilts for her grandkids.

"I think for the size of our group, we have a really nice show for a little town," Tiffany said.