Created 4-Sep-10
Modified 24-Sep-18
After a good night's sleep, Bob was up at sunrise to take some pictures of Rippogenus Lake and the Allagash Gateway campsite.
Pam woke later to find Ed (a neighbor) coming over to say hello. He said he had noticed that she had been trying to reach someone on her cell phone and that it was clearly out of range of any cell towers. He pointed out that all was not lost because there was a phone located on a tree next to our campsite.
[An Aside: When we signed in at the campsite we were warned that there was a camper who was a practical joker. He had put up a phony telephone on a tree--one that had a dial tone and appeared to be powered by a propane canister. But totally unusable. Apparantly he took great pleasure watching people try to make calls with the phone].
Pam thanked Ed very much, went to the phone, and began dialing. I could see his anticipation as he could hardly hold back his laughter -- But then I heard: "Hello, dad. Guess where we are?" Pause. "No, but you are close. We are camping on Rippogenus Lake at the Allagash Gateway Campground." Pause. "Yes, dad, exactly, we were headed to Bar Harbor and changed out mind and went north thinking of you. Listen, we're in a hurry to check out, but wanted you to know we were thinking of you. Dad, I have to go. Say hello to mom." Pause. "Yup, I'll tell him. I love you, dad, goodbye."
Well, Ed just stood there scratching his head. -- The joke was on him -- and he loved it.
Since we were a couple miles from Rippogenus Dam we decided to go downstream about 1/2 mile to see if there would be any whitewater rafting. Here on the Pennobscot River is some of the best rafting in the northeast. Just as we arrived, Northern Outdoors was in the process of launching several rafts which we hoped to capture with our cameras. We quickly followed a trail next to the river looking for a good spot to take pictures. We were not disappointed.
From there we took the dirt road about 30 miles to Lilly Bay Campground (a place Bob once camped) and then to Greenville at the base of Moosehead Lake--the largest lake (by area) in New England. Along the way Bob told Pam about a sign that used to be located on this dirt road. It said: "This is God's Country. Why set it on fire and make it look like Hell". Well sure enough, Pam spotted it in her rear view mirror. it was still up and in good repair. It has been there since at least the late 1950's.
At Greenville we toured a few shops, and viewed the "Katahdin" a boat that Bob once saw pulling logs down the length of Cheesuncook Lake, close to where we had spent the last night.
The next stop was Rockwood, ME on the Northeast shore of Moosehead Lake. It has a beautiful view of Mt. Kineo which rises straight up out of the water on an island which is about 1 mile off shore. When we have more time, we plan to return and climb the mountain to see what is reputed to be the best view of the area.
On to Jackman located on the "Canada Road" just shy of the border. The first time for both of us. Filled with outdoor types and logging trucks. Be careful. If you go only 70 MPH, the trucks will pass you -- and this is on a curvy two lane road.
Next Stop: Skowhegan, site of the longest running fair in the country. The weather is not too great and it's Senior's Day. Bob is not quite ready for the free blood pressure checks and the altszeimer seminars, so let's have lunch and call it a day. After all, the next part of the Honeymoon will resume in two weeks in Pittsburgh, NH, one of our favorite places to kayak and shoot moose (with a camera that is).
© Robert Peek Photography