Tag Archives: Jane

We Are Now P.O.W.

Posted on October 15, 2012 | 6 comments

That’s People of Walmart!

We have been that snobby type of person who will not shop at Walmart because we consider them part of the “evil empire” (Verizon is, in our snotty opinion,  another part of the evil empire, for different reasons).

2012-11-15T194238Z_2_CBRE8AE0XZ100_RTROPTP_3_WALMART_originalThey, Walmart, have probably caused the demise of many small, locally owned businesses. They take up a vast amount of open space in previously rural areas, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah…

But, lucky for us, Walmart has a policy that allows campers/trailers to stay overnight in their parking lot. We were enroute from Baxter to Acadia National Park. It was late and we were tired.

So, it was with some reluctance, but with gratitude also, that we pulled into the Walmart in Bangor, Maine. The contrast between “camping” in the Walmart parking lot and camping in the wilds of Baxter State Park could not have been more dramatic. Yellowstone 2011 050Noise, lights, and a parking lot cleaning machine roaring past repeatedly soon after the store closed made for some culture shock!

We actually did go shopping at our Walmart host store. It was the least we could do. Of course, that’s their plan. Pull in, shop, stay the night and shop again in the morning. We fell right in line with that plan and so now we are People of Walmart!

– Jane

I just had to add; the first Bangor gas station had a huge caterpillar treaded jack hammer going, cars rushing in and out, and all of the city cascades.  Once driving and looking for a shoe store, we were immersed.  The likely prospect was in a mall!  They were hosting a Breast Cancer Benefit Dance, so I was wishing Jane had on her Survivor tee-shirt.

Then, after three trips back into the Walmart hardware department for screws etc. (I installed a shoe bag organizer among other details) we found ourselves in the Tramper.  Foil over the windows to block light and once again, we slept great in our comfy bungalow.

– David

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Posted in Strange Camping Spots

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Day 26, 10/10/2012 Baxter State Park, Maine

Posted on October 13, 2012 | 8 comments

DAY 26 – 10/10/2012 Baxter State park, ME (Trout Run Camping Area)

My first foray out in the dawn was frosty and special.  Each and every blade of grass, leaf, blossom, pine needle, and every acre of Fall-tinged wildflowers were delicately iced with sparkling frost in the severe blue morning light.  Even the now-trusty 4Runner was frosted.  I wandered around quietly taking macro pictures to share until I had to retreat and make our first coffee.

David in the frosty rear-view mirror

David in the frosty rear-view mirror

We did move at our relaxed morning pace, had the truck unhitched and driving to a trailhead to start just before 10.

We selected a tough climb, circuit hike with a suggested turn-back spot to help us decide how much to bite off.  Nearly the entire climb was talus, loose boulders, small cliffs and crags requiring at least three limbs climbing.

Jane "making" one of the harder bits

Jane “making” one of the harder bits

The valley was at 1000′ above sea level, while the top of what we ended up scaling was at 3254.  The climb was perhaps the steepest at this end of the park and provided ample bouldering, scampering and ultimately whimpering until the summit of the main ridge gave us a view of the whole park South and the weather on its way in.  “40 percent chance of showers” never stops us from starting what we hope to do each day.  (Can’t tell you how many great rides, hikes, and overall trips we’ve had despite nay-saying weather forecasts.)

100_7074We chose to turn back for the bottom where we started (had hiked 4 point-some miles of the 10.4 we had intended), because the next 2 miles forward were the most exposed, above tree line portion where there has been snow and ice already this week.  And so, settled for a SAFE and successful 8 mile, out-and-back instead of a questionable circuit into weather and late afternoon.  We have youthful desires and energy, but no bull-headed “egos” to push us beyond the bounds of safety.  We knew going downhill on WET or snowy rocks, particularly in the dark would not be smart.  Arriving back at the car at 3:30 spent plenty of our energy as our rubber legs begged for rest and dinner.

 

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"Here comes the weather..."

“Here comes the weather…”

What an oasis is the Tramper.  Radiant heat is immediate, we were never cold as OJ, peanut butter and jelly gave the energy to make our actual dinner.

– David

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Posted in DAY posts, Hiking

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DAY 25 – 10/9/2012 Fredericton, N.B. to Baxter State Park, ME

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 13 comments

We were reluctant to leave David’s cousin Gordon and his girlfriend, Jackie, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but also, we were eager to continue the Tramper Voyage.

Gordon is as gracious as he can be. We felt very welcome in his home.

Gordon and Jackie's lovely garden

Gordon and Jackie’s lovely garden

He’s very fit and active into his seventies so we really enjoyed hiking with him. David hadn’t seen Gordon for many years and we’d never met Jackie but we were warm friends right away. I love it when that happens!!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJust before crossing the border, we saw a sign for the World’s Largest Axe in Nackawic, N.B. Naturally, we had to go see it! My daughter always finds fun, funky things while on the road. The World’s Largest Chest of Drawers, Foam-henge, etc. Visiting the Axe was a must.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Funny story about the border crossing. Not as funny as the Bay of Fundy Aunt Margaret story but sort of odd. We forgot to pack our passports when we left Baltimore. You might think this was an epic fail, but I was only one day post-biopsy when we left. The anesthesia had barely worn off. Also, David had a whirlwind 2 weeks getting the 4Runner ready after the neighbor’s Land Cruiser proved to have too many problems to be a good Tramper puller. Every day in port was a wasted day of the Tramper Voyage!

So, our leave-taking from Baltimore was, you might say, a bit rushed. Months of planning, one day of shoving everything in.

We had no passports. We had forgotten to pack the passports! No problem. Yet. Olivia mailed them to Augusta, Maine to my brother. Only, they had expired in March. Also, we were unaware that, in 2009, the border-crossing rules had changed. You needed a passport to get back into the U.S.

Even though a USPS official in Augusta told us that, with his official stamped and signed photocopies of our passports we would be able to get back in, we held our breath a bit when we passed through US Customs. You can’t hold your breath too much, however, because you don’t want to raise any red flags with the Border Patrol.

imagesWe tried to look and sound normal and I guess we succeeded because the very nice officer waved us back in to the U.S.! Phew!

Please click to really appreciate this photo!

Please click to really appreciate this photo!

As the sun was setting, we drove into the magnificent Baxter State Park. It is 200,000 acres of unspoiled land in North Central Maine.

100_7102Most of the land surrounding Baxter is pretty empty as well. Baxter, unlike other  state parks, does not have camper hookups, electricity or running water.

100_7053The campsites are few and primitive . Only a couple of gravel of roads run through the park. It is entered by only 2 gates, at the Northeast border and at the Southern border.

That little silver box in the distance is the Tramper.

That little silver box in the distance is the Tramper.

We parked the Tramper in a large meadow as darkness fell. We turned out the lights and the stars were extravagant and amazing! The woods were completely quiet and dark. I stepped outside again in the middle of the night and there were the big, sparkling stars again, even brighter than before.

By this time it was quite cold but I could not go back inside until I drank in more of the quiet beauty of the deep Baxter night.

-Jane

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Posted in DAY posts, Tramper pictures

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Loose Ends, or – things we meant to post but somehow skipped…

Posted on October 8, 2012 | 5 comments

1. ANDREW:

I’m not quite sure how but Andrew didn’t show in any of the pics from our visit to Stagge’s in and around Augusta. So, I’m correcting that with this photo. Andrew is one month older than my daughter and is beloved by everyone because he is smart, funny and kind. He is carving out a life for himself and his wife and baby on a rural family ‘compound’ in Farmingdale, Maine. We’re proud of him and I’m so glad to show him off here. BTW – the sleeping angel he’s holding is my grand-niece, Grace. She’s walking now and bumbling into things – as evidenced by the ow-ey on her forehead. She’s also starting to babble and ‘reads’ books to herself. SO cute!

2. FOX HILL

On a lonely logging highway in Maine called the Airline Road, we stopped for gas and postcards at a small cafe called Fox Hill General Store and Snack Bar. We spent a good deal of time here, blogging and sampling the excellent baked goods.

We chatted with the owner, Tina. She just opened the store very recently. A brave thing to do in such a wild place but she had customers coming in and out the entire time we were there. We bought some local potatoes and Mac apples, wished her well and were on our way.

3.  A LITTLE BAY OF FUNDY STORY

Probably in the 1970’s my grandmother and her sister, Aunt Margaret, took a sightseeing tour of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The trip included crossing the Bay of Fundy, a Canadian natural wonder with extreme tide changes. I was never sure whether the tide changed caused the rough seas or if there was a big storm but the ship was tossed and rocking. Aunt Margaret was in the loo, which was entered by a door on the main deck. My grandmother waited at the rail outside. Suddenly, the ship lurched violently, tilting precariously. The door to the bathroom flew open and out skittered Aunt Margaret, panties around her knees. I’m sure she hoofed it back in as fast as she could but not before entertaining the onlookers.

For the rest of her life, my grandmother could not tell this story without dissolving into laughter, taking the rest of us with her.

– Jane

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Posted in PEOPLE

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DAY 20 – 10/4/2012 somewhere in the Maine Woods, in which we see a moose!

Posted on October 4, 2012 | 3 comments

Impossibly tall, with an appearance at once majestic and goofy, we rounded a corner and saw a Moose! On bikes on the logging road, we were about 40 yards away. We knew he was a boy – he had a beautiful rack of antlers. Agog, we could barely get the camera out for a few photos as he stalked away into the trees. We’ve never been in close proximity to a moose before – just distant glimpses in Wyoming.

We had set up camp on a wooded rise at the confluence of Machias River and the West Branch of the Machias. This night, we were in an actual campsite. It was about 5 miles into the woods on the dirt logging road. But the campsite was completely deserted at this time of year except for us and the birds and chipmunks. After our moose bike ride, we put the kayak in the Machias at our camp.

I used to do sprint-distance triathlons. Doing two out of the three sports in a training session was called a ‘brick’. So, on this day in the beautiful wilds of Maine, our brick was a bike ride and paddle.

Gratitude was the overriding emotion of the day for me. I am grateful that, after the cancer ordeal, here I am, in this beautiful place far from civilization. I’m also so grateful for my wonderful husband, who really made this possible. We’re just ordinary middle-class people. Yet we were able to stop working for awhile and go off into the woods. Absolutely priceless!

We don’t shoot the rapids. We only paddle up to take the picture of the rapids!

– Jane

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Posted in DAY posts, Mountain biking, Wildlife

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