New Parts of Maine

 It was great to pack in the 5th wheel and get rid of the excess cobwebs and what-nots that accumulate when you sit for 3 months.  Our trip to the mountains was uneventful, other than the microwave door swinging open and clearing out its contents and then closing again on the drive, which seems like a magic trick, until you have to clean up all the salt that has spilled everywhere :(

We stayed at Big Moose Campground at Lake Millinocket which is near Mt. Katahdin and Baxter State Park.  Mt. Katahdin is where the Appalachian Trail ends (or starts) and sits at 5000 ft.  "The Golden Road" is a 96 mile-unpaved road built by the Great Northern Paper Company and stretches from Lake Millinocket  (where the mill used to be) to the Canadian border and leads to many remote areas of Maine wilderness.  It is amazing to know that this Maine wilderness has been logged 3 times over!

Our friends were also staying at our campground which was nice to have our meals together and the dogs had another place to hang out.  We ate a lot, boated a lot, and enjoyed the company a lot.  

Here's the crew thanks to JP and Madelin

Our friends have a summer home on lake Millinocket  (they were renting it out while we were there, so they were in their RV at the campground),  but everyone up here calls their summer cabins their "camp".  There are a lot of islands on Lake Millinocket and Lake Ambajejus which people buy and set up their "camp".  You too could have an island for $100k!

Most camps are built in the winter when the lakes freeze over.  They have solar, propane and compostable toilets.  Some islands are really big with lovely sandy shores, some have tree houses too!

Just wait to see what this Lobstah Roll looks like!

That is some meat!  I could only eat half.  I liked mine with mayo, lettuce and chives.

Madelin and JP introduced us to these delicious rolls (and tolerated our dogs!)

Lunch with a view! This is next to class V rapids on the Penobscot river.  We were hoping to get a show with the experienced kayakers or rafters coming down.

The next few days were spent on the boat, going around islands, up rivers, and enjoying sunsets.

Otis is always on the lookout

Otis wanted something out there in the water

This blog program is not letting me put a caption unless it moves the picture to a place I don't want...yes, there is swearing going on....so, I will talk about the last 2 picture:s:  1st one- this is a loon.  They are so pretty, and make an interesting call to others.  They were all around the lakes and rivers.  In the rivers we were trying to look for moose and bald eagles.  We saw some bald eagles, but no moose :(  2nd picture - is the boys (50 yr olds) having some fun by finding a rope and zip line!  

The boom house was where the logs came from the river into the lake and where the loggers spent the night and ate.  It was amazing to see old pictures of logs stretching across the lake headed for the mill.  Great to see a piece of the Maine paper mill history.

The boys loved riding at the front of the boat with their ears flapping in the wind

Jason and JP went on a sea plane ride around the lakes and Mt. Katahdin.  They loved it.  JP was even given the controls to fly the plane for a while.  Jason said the landing was really smooth.

We really loved our time in the mountains with JP and Madelin, that we made plans to visit with them again a week later.  Jason offered his help building a deck and steps for their container "ice shack" which we stayed in.  The ice shack is a container 20 ft long that they cut out windows and a door and made it into a little cabin-ish retreat.   We spent more time on their boat when all the work was done, and lots of time just relaxing and enjoying the scenery.  This type of living is definitely more our style, and we could see ourselves here.....except for the winters, and being across the country from our family. 

This was the inside of the container.  We had a very comfortable bed, eating and sitting area.  Our toilet was one you would use on a boat, which was new to us.  Also the shower was a large water trough with a handheld shower head that was perfect.  Our sink was a small aluminum bucket with a hand water pump the water came out of.  It was really cute and felt rustic, but doable.  The Keurig was just steps away!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the outside of the container or of the new deck.

JP is from South Africa, he and Madelin cooked in their Poike pot; marinated chicken, vegetables, potatoes and broth....so yummy!  Especially beautiful with the lake right behind.

Sunset from their camp looking at Mt. Katahdin

"magic" fire happening

Otis and I were frog hunting, we saw a few, but Otis scared them away

They blend in so well

Beautiful views from their property.  

We all went floated the Penobscot river, down from the class V rapids!  Otis came with and was in and out of the kayak or float raft.  There were some little rapids that threw Jason off his float, but other than that, uneventful.  We had a tasty lunch at a little waterfall/waterslide area (Lobstah rolls were involved!).  We saw lots of fish jumping and lots of eagles swooping.  It was a really nice ride.   We really like this part of Maine!

We had to say goodbye to one of our fellow workamper couples who left this week for home.  It's like losing your arm after working and enjoying life with them for a few months.  The leaves are starting to change as the nights are getting a little cooler, but at the coast our days are in the low 70's and sunny.  We are looking forward to exploring more of Acadia Nat'l Park with the crowds gone, and maybe make it to New Hampshire/Vermont to see a bit of the apple action going on there.  

I've got my Autumn Leaves candle burning, thinking of making pumpkin this or that, and eating all the Honeycrisp apples I can manage (my favorite!).  I'm ready, but not really ready to end summer and welcome fall.  I think it's going to come fast!