Friday, August 5 Tom plotted out a little driving tour circling the countryside around Presque Isle; he had talked to the owner of our campground as well as various campers. The drive took us through very productive and prosperous farm country – more shades of green than I have ever seen before! Our first stop was Fort Fairfield, where a small fort (now the Blockhouse Museum) was situated on a village green – it is a fort from the Aroostook War! This was a military and civilian-involved confrontation in 1838–1839 between the United States and the United Kingdom over the international boundary between the British colony of New Brunswick and the U.S. State of Maine. Not a full-fledged war, it was more of an international incident. Loring Air Force Base, built in the 1950’s as a bomber squadron (100 B-36 Peacemaker bombers) was the closest base in the United States to the Soviet Union, Europe and the Middle East. Loring was a megabase with enormous weapon and fuel storage, part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). All the buildings and roads are still there – and not a person in sight! It is completely abandoned. And creepy. This part of Maine is prime potato land and harvesting is going on right now. The schools used to close so that the kids could help pick potatoes. Tom was looking for a road-side stand to purchase a 5# bag of new potatoes. A man at the campground had told him to boil the new potatoes, add some peas, cream , butter, S&P and smash it all up. Back at the camper for lunch Tom did as instructed, except he didn’t have the peas and used milk instead of cream. The result was very excellent . . . mashed potatoes! The afternoon was amazing weather to sit outside and read – 75 degrees, blue sky, and a nice breeze. All sight-seeing this afternoon came from the vantage of our chairs. Our young neighbor is with a wildlife division that is doing a duck study of area lakes; she visited awhile and told us about trapping, gathering data, and releasing ducks. Back home in Bangor, her husband is a deer counter! Supper tonight was a gourmet treat – Ruben grilled sandwiches with corned beef, Swiss cheese, and thousand Island dressing -- with fried Maine new potatoes. Saturday, Aug 6 We are a little bit in the middle of nowhere up here in Northern Maine, but Tom had scoped out a visit to the Salmon Brook Lake Bog PRI. It was on the map! It was only 15 miles away. After a breakfast of eggs and bacon, we set out! Our main roads turned to back roads and then to gravel roads as we searched through the beautiful country scenery. A country mail carrier gave us directions and we followed those to one smallish sign – but there was nothing there! There was supposed to be all kinds of hiking, biking, and 4-wheeler trails, from gravel roads to narrower hiking trail and boardwalks over the bog. We could not find it! Driving back into the town of Caribou (known for its view of the Northern Lights – but not until December!) I had a hankering for a hair-cut. We found a salon and a guy that was between appointments and had time to trim me. He was so good, I wish we could take him home with us. Tom pulled into a 50’s-style Burger Boy restaurant for lunch. I sat with Pippa in the car while Tom went in and ordered three cheeseburgers and an order of fries for carry-out. Thirty minutes later (!) Tom emerged with our lunch! While he waited, he admired the artwork hanging in the restaurant. We landed back at the camper at 1:30 . . . with no other plan for the day except to enjoy the camping experience. Our neighbor came over with her Aussie-mini puppy to sit and chat. The puppy, EV, is so well-behaved and Pippa enjoyed a little romp session. Tom took a picture of the hillside view below our campsite – during the day . . . and again at sunset. Sunday, August 7, 2022 Today , our last day at Presque Isle, Tom outlined a little trip to Eagle Lake – about 50 miles away. As always, in Aroostook County the secondary roads wandered through the farmland and small towns, but this trip followed along the Fish River. Adding to the beautiful scenery, the roads were once again freshly paved! We found Eagle Lake, but there was not a rousing tourist trade or even a small downtown. There were some beautiful homes strung along the lake, but we got the feeling that most of those were family residences more than vacation homes. There were a few pontoon boats on the water but no speed boats, fishing boats, kayaks, or canoes that we saw. There was a parking lot with a picnic shelter that was perched beside the road, overlooking the lake! On our way back we stopped at a little roadside eatery – the dining room was closed (Covid?) but the place was doing a great business out the window! Tom got a hotdog that was as red as a fire truck (but tasteless), and I got a cheeseburger. They served Pippa’s burger plain, without the bun, nicely chopped into bite-sized pieces and in a container labeled “dog.” We were back at the Silvermine at 1:00, and surprised to see that a wind had come up and trashed the neighbor’s awning. Tom helped her untangle the supports, slice the rotted awning fabric off, and roll everything up in tidy bundles. It is not her trailer – but one that the Maine Department of Natural Resources loans to its employees when they are on assignment for a month . . . not well taken care of!
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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 |