Wednesday, August 10, 2022 We tried to slow down this morning, having only 150 miles to drive. Tom was up at 6:00, I was up at 7:00, and breakfast was up at 7:30! By 8:15 all the work was done except for the final hitching up – we hadn’t wanted to leave until 10:00! Pippa was perched on the table – looking out the window, and wondering what today might bring. I always feel bad that I can’t explain the agenda to her, and that she must just go with whatever happens! Our destination was the Highlands Region of Maine, in the middle of the state. There promises to be many points of interest to occupy us for a few days, and our headquarters is in the town of Millinocket at the Wilderness Edge Campground. Arriving at 11:00 we were glad to hear our site was ready – but we would have to pay $8.00 to move in 4 hours early! GEEEEZ. The campground is nice with sites that are deep and secluded with some requiring advanced maneuvering abilities for backing in. The sites are gravel, but it is a rather dusty, dirty, gravel – heaven help us if it rains! It appears that there is some expansion/construction going on, and our campsite has large mounds of dirt and gravel at the back end of it. The bath house is nearby, and very nice. Compared to where we have been staying, this is REALLY camping – in the woods! We scouted out a couple of general stores/gift stores and enjoyed browsing but found nothing to buy. My general rule of thumb is that I have to be able to eat it, drink it, wear it, wash with it (soap), or I must really, really have a need for it! This excludes hats, t-shirts, blankets, dishtowels, socks, cute boxer shorts for Tom, and a lot of other things! At 4:30 we were back at the camper enjoying the woodsy nature of our campsite, and making plans for dinner: beef fajitas with Maine mashed potatoes! Thursday, August 11 Tom fueled our morning by making blueberry pancakes and sausage. That prepared us for a trip into Baxter State Park. Here is the funny thing about Baxter State Park – it does not show up on Maine State maps except as a large boxed-out area with no details of roads, trails or land features. On the truck GPS, as we crossed the border into the Park, there was . . . nothing! At the point that you enter the park, you must pay $16 for a day pass and to receive a permit that is to be handed back as you exit the park. You get a detailed map with all features marked and have to make the choice between a left or right turn on the narrow, gravel, park road. The map is nicely labeled with all features in the park. We chose the right turn, for a 5-mile drive back to Roaring Brook Campground and a hike back to Sandy Spring Pond. The road was about 1 ½ lanes wide -- to be shared with cars coming at us. This sometimes called for pulling over as far to the side as possible. For a gravel road, it was nicely graded, and because of recent rain there was no dust. The Roaring Brook Campground parking lot was surprisingly full, but there was plenty of room to park in the hiker’s parking lot. Before embarking on any of the trails we had to sign in with our destination and expected time back. The trail back to the pond was not smooth – there were lots of roots and rocks and in several places there were narrow plank walk-ways and a more substantial wooden boardwalk. Walking was minimal uphill/downhill, and the only view was of the brilliantly green, dense forest, large moss-covered boulders, and occasional swampy bogs. The stroll was peaceful, but required a bit of concentration. When we reached the pond, which seemed to be just a glorified bog, the trees parted a bit and we saw a brief glimpses of the mountain. We might not have gotten all the way back for the best view, but I was not willing to tackle a significant length of those 8” wide boards! When we arrived back at our parking lot, we walked down into the campground and a section where lean-to-shelters and cabins are rented out. The shelters are three sided with sloping roof, raised wooden floor, and no bunks. They all have a lovely view facing the river. Driving back to the park entrance, we contemplated taking the left-hand turn and determined that a narrow dirt road (with 20 mph speeds), through 42 miles of dense forest with no view, would take us back to an area where we might see the mountains – if the clouds parted. Without speeding and no stops, that would be a 4-hour drive! We headed back to our campsite! In fact, there were other ways to view the landscape in the area; Tom had signed us up for a 3-hour-moose excursion! We left at 5:30, escorted by Wendy who drives a truck-style Jeep. All around us were logging roads, mostly unfamiliar to the average tourist, but completely explored by driver Wendy who knew every pull-over and trail leading to a lake, pond, or the river. She also knew a lot about the area and wildlife (moose, bear) all along the “Golden Road” that we traveled – so named because of the cost to build the road. The area had incredible history of logging, and Wendy had large photos to show the area from the late 1880 until now. Early on we parked and walked out to a bog/pond/river, where we instantly spotted two moose in the water. Wendy shared her binoculars, and we had a close-up view. Suddenly the smaller moose took off swimming, reached the bank and trotted out of the water, and then took off for a meadow at full speed! The larger bull swam and walked more casually and then trotted off in the same direction. If we would have been 5 minutes later – we would not have seen them! There were more stops with quick trips to stroll across a bridge for beautiful lake/mountain views, and down a rocky path of boulders to a view of the roaring river. Eventually it started raining, and even that was beautiful with a full-view rainbow! Because of the rain it became dark a bit earlier, but we were in exactly the right spot when the sun dropped for some magnificent pictures through the forest. The trip was a wonderful chance (especially for Tom) to sit back and enjoy the drive, without having to keep his eyes on the road. Still raining, Wendy delivered us back to the Silvermine at 9:00! Friday, Aug 12 On our last day in the area, we did not venture far from home. A quick drive got us down to an area where two lakes merge, with a general store, restaurant, and a campground with nice cabins, where we could walk around with Pippa. We talked about eating out at a restaurant, but settled on a trip back into the town grocery to buy a fancy dessert to pair with our own steak and shrimp and New potatoes. While in town, Tom dusted off the lingering gravel road dust from the truck at a coin carwash. Afternoon was perfect a temperature to sit in the campsite tending to a few duties related to leaving tomorrow, and lots of reading time. I found I could, on an intermittent basis, get a good signal from my hot spot, and was able to get caught up on my blog.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |