Thursday morning, July 15, was warm and sunny as we loaded the truck and rolled out of the driveway at 8:45. We had reservations for three nights in a rustic lean-to at Baxter State Park's Roaring Brook campsite, and the weather promised to be beautiful. Dogs aren't allowed at BSP, so we had to drop them off at the kennel in Lisbon along the way. They'd been so excited to be in the truck with us, and Ava and I were joking about how confused they'd be when we stopped to let them off at the kennel - like, "HUH??" It made us happy to see them jumping around with wagging tails when they heard the other dogs barking - they would be having their own little vacation.We kept assuring Ava that the ride would be shorter than both trips to the Caucomgomoc-area campsite we'd done earlier in the summer, but she was still apprehensive about the long drive. She's never liked to go for car rides, even as an infant, and she had been stressing about this one. Several times she had said that she DID want to go camping with us, but she did NOT want to go for the ride. But she was a trooper, and didn't complain as much as she could have during the five hours in the truck. We had brought along her little DVD player, so she happily watched Ice Age with her headphones on while I read "The Fellowship of the Ring" out loud for Patrick and me.
It was a new experience for me to bear right, away from the Golden Road, at Ambejesus Lake. I'd never been to Baxter, so this was going to be new for me as well as for Ava. Patrick had been many times, and had a lot of happy memories of climbing the mountain and camping there, but his last trip had been 17 years ago. Brenda, John, and Tyler also had reservations, and were meeting us there - Brenda had never been, but John, like Patrick, had been often when he was young and was looking forward to sharing the experience with Tyler, who just had just graduated from Gorham High School in June.
After a few miles of pavement and then dirt road, we came to the entrance of the park, where a friendly forest ranger came out and greeted us and checked our reservation. When he asked us if we had brought any animals (not allowed), Ava held up Teddy and said, "I brought my bear!" and he laughed and told her she'd better keep an eye on him. We were impressed during our entire stay at the pleasant demeaner of the rangers - low-key, friendly, always willing to take the time to answer questions or just chat.
After another few miles of dirt road we arrived at the trail-head parking area, and then to the ranger station. The ranger wasn't in, so we continued on to our campsite at Roaring Brook and were happy to find that it was the first lean-to. An empty lot beside it meant that we had no neighbors on that side, and on the other side was the lean-to reserved by Brenda and John. The lean-to's are all on a slight hill looking down over the well-named Roaring Brook, with rocky pathways down to the river. (The tent sites are farther up the hill, overlooking the lean-to sites.) The ranger came down to see us an hour or so later, and told us that the bears had been a nuisance lately in the campground, so to be sure to keep coolers in the truck (with windows up), and to leave no food lying around.
We were delighted with our lean-to! Roomy and clean, with a little "porch" - we saw places where people had carved their names in the wood, the oldest one we spotted was "Bob and Kay 1953"! The site included a picnic table and a lovely stone fire pit with a nice grate for cooking over flame. And we had brought steaks!
Patrick quickly had the cots assembled and our gear stowed into the lean-to, the camp kitchen set up, water jugs filled from the river (with the portable water filter)
and a fire going in the fire pit while Ava and I explored. She couldn't wait to dabble her feet in the river. 
The current was very strong in the middle and around big boulders, but it was sheltered near the campsite, with little quiet pools and eddies for her to play in. She found out the rocks are slippery in a river, though, and it didn't take long before she slipped and went in! A quick change of clothes made everything all better, and then the Wyman party arrived.
As they were getting unpacked, we decided to walk down and check out the "swimming hole" past Lean-to #10. It was a hot day and even though we hadn't packed Ava's bathing suit (a swimming hole?? Who knew??), we thought she'd enjoy a swim in her undies and t-shirt. It wasn't a very long walk past all the lean-to's and then through the woods along a pretty little path to get to a small sandy area and a shallow (but swift) part of the river.
A large boulder was in the middle, with quaint cairns of stones piled on it - someone's previous artwork. Patrick carried Ava over to the boulder, and she had a blast jumping into his arms or into the water, and she collected her own little stones for Ava-cairns. I was persuaded to make the walk over the wobbly boulders and rapid current to get to the boulder, but halfway across I slipped - my nice cold Mich Ultra filled with river water - but I made it over and Patrick helped me up onto the boulder. He began noticing how many baby trout were swimming around near us, and made a quick run back to the lean-to for his camera.
We soon had hot dogs cooking for supper, and then Bren, John and Tyler came over to join us around the fire. They had uptight neighbors on their other side, so we figured we'd better keep the noise over at our site. Tyler had been fishing earlier and caught a couple of trout, so his vacation was starting out on a good note. Ava fell asleep in my lap, and so I carefully placed her in her sleeping bag on her cot and she never stirred. I had put our pillows on the open side of the lean-to, so that we could breathe the clear air and enjoy the sound of the river. The grown-ups continued their merry conversation around the fire, until the ranger came down to tell us that 9pm was "quiet time" and that we had better keep it down a little. Shortly thereafter, we all headed off to our sleeping bags.
Little Ava had a restless night this first night. She woke up several times, telling me that the river was too loud and was waking her up! And she also had several awful cold sores on the left side of her mouth, on both lips, so the pain of those also woke her up. I gave her some Tylenol in the middle of the night, and that seemed to help and she rested fairly well the rest of the night.
The next morning, after an early breakfast of bacon and eggs, Patrick was jonesing to climb Katahdin. The sky was overcast, and strong thunderstorms had been predicted for the afternoon, but he didn't want to wait until the following day, in case the weather was worse. We had checked the weather before we came, and Saturday had been predicted to be glorious, but he didn't trust the forecast. I really didn't want him to hike alone, and the Wymans had already planned to take their hike on Saturday. He went over to talk with them to see if any of them were interested in going today, but he got no takers.
Finally, he agreed that we'd walk up to the ranger station to check the forecast and make his decision from that. So he and Ava and I took a little walk up the hill, and found the forecast to be just what it had been predicted before we left home. The ranger came out and talked with us, but didn't give any advice one way or another whether Patrick should climb that day - he seemed to be of the opinion that it might be hit-or-miss at any time on the trail. He did suggest that Patrick could climb as far as Chimney Pond and then make a decision from there.
While we were hanging around on the ranger's porch (which also has a scale replica of Mt. Katahdin, with the trails marked - very cool!), he mentioned to us that this would be the perfect time of morning to hike in to Sandy Stream Pond and see moose. Ava heard that and wanted to go see moose! So we ran back to our lean-to real quick, put on our hiking shoes and stopped in to ask Brenda and group if they wanted to go with us, but they were just starting to cook breakfast.
The hike to Sandy Stream Pond is only .4 miles each way, starting out as a dirt path and then changing to boardwalk for most of the trail.
Ava had a lot of fun negotiating the boards and looking out for moose tracks in the mud on either side.
She surprised me by pointing out labrador tea growing beside the path, and we gathered some leaves for tea. 
When we got to the first look-out at Sandy Stream Pond, we were tickled to see two little moose calves on the opposite shore, splashing and eating in the shallow water of the pond. A young bull was grazing a short distance away, and even further off was another moose standing in the water. The view of Mt. Katahdin was beautiful, also.
We continued on, after picking some blueberries, to the Big Rock Lookout, where we could still see the calves and the other moose. We stayed for quite a while, watching as the calves went into the woods, came back out again, and started walking along the shore, getting closer and closer to us. We never saw a sign of the mother, and eventually they disappeared again into the woods. Ava picked more blueberries and labrador tea leaves - I think she enjoyed doing that more than looking at the moose.
I was walking in the lead on the way back to the campsite, with Ava following me and Gaffer bringing up the rear. We had picked a large mushroom on the way in, and I had set it next to the path so I didn't have to carry it to Sandy Stream Pond, and I was just thinking that I'd better remember to pick it up on our way back through. Just as I was putting this thought together, Ava piped up: "We have to remember to get that mushroom!" That happens a lot between the three of us - it must be like that with most families - a certain degree of "mind-reading". So I was walking along, pondering this, when all of a sudden Ava cried out: "A bunny rabbit!" I stopped and turned around and, sure enough, there was a cute little brown bunny, sitting beside the path. I had walked right by him and had never noticed him. Little Eagle-Eye spotted him!
We took some pictures of him and he hopped away into the bushes, and Ava was thrilled. I think she was equally as thrilled that she had seen him when I hadn't, as she was to just to have seen him! We picked up the mushroom along the way, and also found several others. We forgot to bring our field guide to mushrooms, so all weekend we gathered them and photographed them, to identify with the book once we got home.
It became more and more overcast as the day went on, but the rain held off. Patrick kept saying, "I should have gone today... I should have gone today...", kicking himself that he didn't try to climb Katahdin, and fearing that it was going to rain the next day in spite of the encouraging forecast. He finally settled down and accepted the situation and resigned himself for a Saturday hike. Bren, John and Tyler came over in the afternoon and we played a camping board game that was fun for all of us, even Ava. We all took a walk together to Sandy Stream Pond, where everyone but Ava and me had fun looking at the mountain and trying to identify the different trails and places where they'd be climbing the next day.
Returning to camp, it was time to cook supper. They had brought steaks, too, and this was steak night! We put dinner together by 5:00 so that they could all go to bed early, anticipating an early rise to get on the trail by 6am. The flame-broiled steaks, Greek pasta salad (thank you Cook, Eat, Share on Facebook!), and garden salad with Newman's parmesan dressing was wonderful.
After dinner, the Wymans took an evening hike to Sandy Stream Pond, and Patrick and Ava and I relaxed by the campfire. The outhouses were up the hill, near the tent sites, so every time we needed to "go", we had to climb a pretty steep and rocky path up to the facility. Luckily, the path was directly across from our lean-to, so it wasn't too inconvenient. Ava and I never got our schedule in synch, though, so it seemed as though we were constantly going up and down that path, either for her or for me. When we headed up this evening, it was for me. Usually, we leave the door open while we "go", because the smell was pretty bad even though the outhouses were all cleaned every day.
I had gone into the privy while Ava stood on the path directly in front of the door so I could keep an eye on her. As soon as I sat down, though, I noticed that I was in direct line of view by a tent site that had just become occupied this afternoon. I quickly stepped forward to push the door to, and asked Ava if she wanted to come in with me, or wait right there. She chose to wait, so I hurried to do a quick pee. Just as I was putting myself back together, she let out a blood-curdling shriek - "GAMMER! LET ME IN! LET ME IN! A MOOSE!!" and she pushed open the door just as I was reaching to open it, and she stumbled in, still saying "LET ME IN! A MOOSE!!" I scooped her up into my arms, and we both peered around the door frame. I didn't know what I expected to see - on one hand, I thought she must have seen a shadow or a rock, but on the other hand, she had sounded like she knew what she was talking about! And there it was, a cow moose, not 10 feet away, slowly walking through the campsite.
We ran back down the hill, Ava still in my arms, to get Patrick and his camera, and then all three of us charged back up the hill. Patrick was able to snap a few frames of the meandering moose as she ambled back into the forest. Ava and I were both trembling with excitement and laughing our heads off that she had had such a close encounter. We agreed that it was the most exciting thing that's ever happened to her in her 4-1/2 year old life!
She couldn't wait until Brenda and John got back so she could tell them all about it. And as luck would have it, they hadn't seen any moose at the pond. I guess at Baxter, you never know when or where you're going to see one!
This was an early bedtime night for everyone, and Ava and I read books in our sleeping bags until all of a sudden she shrieked again - "A BEAR!! A BEAR!!" - and scrambled as fast as she could back toward Gaffer in the back of the lean-to (he had turned his bag and pillow so his head was in the back, while Ava and I stayed with ours looking out over the river.) He had been sound asleep, but bolted upright and quickly asked her where she saw it. She was half in tears, and pointing to my small dry-bag that was hanging from a nail on an outside wall of the lean-to. She could just see the outline of it in the dusk. I took it down, and she calmed down, but then crawled into my cot with me, and there she slept the next two nights.
Patrick was up at around 4am, and had himself all ready to climb Katahdin by the time I got up at 5:30. It's easy to wake up early when you're camping outside during this time of year - it's so light out at the earliest of hours that, especially if it's a clear morning, you really want to get up and about. Every morning he woke up first and made coffee, and when I woke up he brought me a cup. How heavenly to stay in my warm sleeping bag, looking around at the morning, sipping coffee and listening to the rush of the river. We were so lucky to have such great weather while we were there - Mother Nature and Pamola both showed us their tender sides.
Brenda, John and Tyler were ready early, also, and before I knew it, they were headed up the camp road to the trail head. As I watched them walk away, I remembered my camera, and made them wait while I took a group picture. They were happy and excited to be on their way.
So, I had the luxury of sitting by a beautiful morning campfire, sipping coffee, listening to the river, and reading my book while Ava slept. When she woke up, she cried because she hadn't given Gaffer a kiss good-bye, but she gathered herself together and had sausage and pancakes for breakfast with me, and then we went on our own hike, back up to Sandy Stream Pond.
As we checked in at the ranger station, a young family showed up with three little kids, looking to be 5,4, and 3 years old. The kids were really noisy, so I whispered to Ava, "We'd better get ahead of them while they sign in, or they're going to scare away all the wild animals..." She took that to heart, and walked as fast as her little legs would go.
In spite of this, we could hear the noisy family gaining ground on us, until suddenly we heard wailing and then nothing more. We speculated that someone had tripped on a root and hurt a knee, and we wondered if they had band-aids with them.
We got to the first look-out, and saw a moose out in the pond, dunking her head deep under water and splashing it everywhere. 
We watched her for a while, but then we heard "The Noisies" coming up the trail, so we took off for the Big Rock lookout. When we got there, it was approaching noon, and John had told us that at noontime be looking for smoke coming from the top of the mountain, so Ava and I both scanned Katahdin, trying to spot where John might be having his smoke-break. The noisy family finally caught up with us, and Ava didn't have any interest in lingering with them on the rock (surprisingly - I was thinking she might have liked some little kids to talk to...), so we started to head back to the campsite when the dad called out to his kids that he saw deer on the far shore. So Ava and I went back to the rock and looked at two very golden deer far off in the distance.
Then we hit the trail, and she had fun pretending to be a baby moose with no parents in the forest, and I was the nice lady that rescued her - although I didn't know my way and needed a baby moose that was familiar with the woods that could show me how to get back to the campground. We played the same game over and over until we were on our way out of Millinocket!! It was a favorite with her. (This afternoon we went blueberry picking, and she played it again - I brought a "baby moose" home with me...)
There were a pair of ravens that visited us each day via a tree overlooking our lean-to. Ava and I called them "Loudmouth" and "Quietmouth". Loudmouth would caw and caw, never even bothering to ever close his mouth. Quietmouth actually looked annoyed by Loudmouth, and would flutter over to a different tree and sit on a branch with his shoulders hunched up around his ears, like, "Will that guy ever shut up??" Ava and I followed them around the campsite as they moved from tree to tree, Quietmouth always seeming to try to get some distance from Loudmouth; Loudmouth never taking the hint and flapping over to sit beside him. We imagined him saying, "I'll keep you company; I have lots of stories!"
Later in the afternoon we packed a big canvas bag with snacks, beverages, toys, camp chair, and camera and walked down past Lean-to #10 to the swimming hole. We spent an hour or two there - I had my sneakers so I could safely carry Ava over the rocks in the fast-moving stream to the big boulder. When we returned to our lean-to, it was pushing 4pm, and if the mountain climbers took 10 hours they should be returning shortly. Ava fell asleep on her cot, and I used the time to par-broil some chicken thighs, then barbeque them over the fire. After that was done, I had another opportunity to relax and read some of my book.
When Ava woke at around 6:30, we made the long trip back up to the privy and then decided to walk the long way back to our lean-to, past the trail head - just in case our family was returning. They had now been gone for 13 hours, so we were getting a little nervous, even though they had warned us that it may be after dark before they got back. Before we got to the trail head, I heard "Hey, Pammy Poo!" and there was Patrick and Tyler, walking down the road to the lean-to! Ava and I ran to meet them, we were so relieved. They told us John and Brenda were still on the trail, but not far behind them.
I won't write here of their adventure - that is for them to tell. We were just glad to have them back (John and Brenda came down the road at around 8.) We had another early night, one last chance to fall asleep to the sound of the river. The lyrics to one of my favorite songs, "Brokedown Palace" played in my mind:
In a bed, in a bed
by the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul
River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
all the way back back home
It's a far gone lullaby
sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come
since I first left home
Goin home, goin home
by the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul
Goin to plant a weeping willow
On the banks green edge it will grow grow grow
Sing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go - the river roll roll roll
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul.
The next morning, we sadly but happily packed the truck and by 9 were on the road home, so Ava could see her cat.
