We woke to clear and beautiful weather on Thursday morning, and Ava was up by 6:30 which is WAY early for her! She was so excited to hit the road! We got last-minute toys and books packed, put the dogs in the kennel in the back of the truck, and rolled out of the driveway at 7:30.
It takes about 4 hours to get to Millinocket from home, and she was pretty good during the ride. She's never liked to ride in the car, so it's always a challenge to keep her happy for a trip longer than an hour or two. She gets restless, gets "the sandy things!" (her foot or leg falls asleep, and she'll get pretty upset about it), starts in with the whine heard from the back seat since Henry Ford's day - "Are we there yet??..."
We passed many miles playing the "Thinking Game" (an Ava-ized version of 20 Questions), then we played the "Yummy-Yukky" game for a while - this is when Ava mixes up an imaginary plate of some kind of imaginary food and serves it up to us. Usually we say something like, "This tastes kind of funny..." and she busts out laughing and tells us that it was mushed up slugs and other disgusting things - she loves thinking up as many gross things as she can. Cracks her up every time!
One of the things that entertained her the most during the ride was the Audubon Field Guide to North American Mammals. She had a great time thumbing through the pages and making up stories about the animals and looking for the cute ones. ("Gammer, what mouse do you think is cutest?")
It was a relief for all of us when we got to Millinocket and had to pick up a few things at Hannaford. She was able to stretch her legs, go to the bathroom, and come out of the store with a new bouncy red ball while Patrick walked the dogs. When we met him at the truck, he told us to go out into the grass where the dogs had been walking and see what was there. Kind of apprehensively, I took Ava by the hand and we walked over - dozens of pink and white lady slippers! Beautiful! Growing in the grass right beside the Hannaford parking lot.
The North Maine Woods doesn't allow you to bring firewood from home anymore, so the last thing we had to do before we left Millinocket was to pay a highway-robbery price for a couple bundles of firewood, and then we were able to get into the best part of the trip. Mt. Katahdin loomed majestically over us as we drove toward it - patches of snow on its upper reaches. (Unbeknownst to us, an injured hiker from Ohio was in the process of getting himself lost on the mountain, and would wander for three days before finally being spotted by a rescue helicopter on Sunday.)
The Golden Road is paved for quite a way, unfortunately. It's in serious need of repair, with potholes, cracks, and frost heaves, and it was a relief when we finally hit the gravel! There had been no rain for a while, apparently, and the road was dry and dusty. It was a work day for the loggers, and when one of the trucks careened by us at full speed, the dust cloud was immense. We'd have to come to almost a complete stop while it settled and we could see again. Patrick worked the CB to try to keep track of what was coming at us.
Ava was looking for moose, and she and I both spotted a cow at the edge of a pond, not too far from the road. She was standing back-to us, with her head looking over her shoulder, checking us out as we drove by. Then we were at the gatehouse, and Ava and Patrick went in to pay the fees. There's always an old lady or two working the gatehouse, and it's fun for Ava to chat with them.
Once Ava and Patrick were back in the truck, we had another couple of hours driving ahead of us - Golden Road to Ragmuff Road to Caucomgomoc Road to another series of small logging roads - the feelings Patrick and I always share (and hopefully Ava will, too) as we get deeper into the woods are of light-heartedness and joy. There's nowhere else that we experience these feelings to the same degree - we love the Maine woods more than any other place on earth.
The only change to these feelings comes as we approach the pond and our favorite beach campsite. As we get closer, we start to feel nervous and begin glancing at each other - we know what the other is thinking: "Please Please PLEASE let nobody already be there!" The road curves around the pond, first passing the south campsite, which we always check out to see if anybody's there. It's our second choice if the beach site is taken. We've never had to stay there, and I've never really cared for the site - very shady. On this day, nobody was there.
Then we pass the next camping area, two sites, which are side by side next to the road. We've stayed here before, when we had our camper. There's no beach, although there is boat access, and you have to cross the road to get to the outhouse. You also probably will have neighbors - we've met some nice people camping here. But, again, it's not preferable, especially with a tent when the dust from passing logging trucks swirls around.
As you pass this site, if you look to the north, you can catch a glimpse of the beach site. We always strain our eyes to see if we can spot any sign of life - campfire smoke, a bright color, movement... But it's not until we drive another quarter mile or so, pull into the access road to the campsite, and see no other vehicle that we breathe normally again!
We arrived at about 2:30 on a bright and sunny afternoon, absolute peace and quiet greeting us as we stopped the truck and got out. The only drawback to our complete happiness was a new orange sign, posted to a tree. It told us that somebody had introduced smelts into the pond, and they were decimating the native trout and char population. Pending new fishing regulations for the pond that would be forthcoming, they were asking all anglers to please release alive any trout or char caught. No more bluebacks for lunch!
This pond is one of only a handful in Maine that has a natural stock of Arctic Char - the beautiful little fish with the bright orange fins that we've been honored to catch over the past 12 years in this water. Patrick was heartbroken to think that some idiot has ruined the pond for everyone.
Ava, in the meantime, was in heaven!! There are boulders blocking access from the road to the campsite, so we always park and carry in all of our gear - a hike of about 150 yards. Part of it is through a muddy area where several years ago Patrick and I layed down old boards from a dilapitated picnic table and made a walkway. Ava danced along the boards and then ran like Seabiscuit (literally! She was "Seabiscuit" all weekend every time she blasted off!) down the long beach to the campsite. She continued to romp and run while we made multiple trips back and forth until everything was unloaded. The last thing to come over was the boat, which Patrick launched near where the truck was parked, and drove over to the site.
In short order we had the tents up (one for us, one for the dogs) and the cots and sleeping bags in place, and the camp stove/propane set up on the picnic table. Patrick had also thought to bring our fold-up plastic table which came in handy as a "staging area" - all the mess kits, coffee pot, etc etc. When the camp chairs were unpacked, it was time to relax!
We noticed the black flies and deer flies right away, but they weren't intolerable. We've been camping at this time of year before where the black flies especially were so thick that you couldn't breathe without a head net, but not this time. We all got a few bites, but after a while we more or less became oblivious to them. Every once in a while, we'd have to mop up a stream of blood from Ava's leg or her shoulder where one got her, but she didn't seem to mind. She spent the whole weekend scratching her head, but she wouldn't wear her hat, so the black flies were free to crawl around in her hair - she could have cared less! The only bugs that really freaked her out if she saw one were spiders. She won't even walk by a spiderweb willingly!
There were also a lot of bees, and we had put our coolers in the midst of a dandelion patch that seemed to be the primary bee hang-out. I tried to keep Ava from going over to the coolers during the day when the bees were busy, and I was careful when I went over to wear shoes so I wouldn't step on one accidentally. It was great to see so many of them, though - they seem to be scarce at home.
Ava wasted no time in getting her little animals out to play in the sand. Before long, she and I had built a few little houses for them, with roads connecting Unicorn's house with Lion's house and Mother Bear's house - very fun! She was a little timid about getting into the water once she heard Gaffer say something about "leeches"... She went in as far as her ankles but was scared to go any deeper.
She and I walked up to check out the outhouse, and we found a tree across the path. We had to duck under it to get to the outhouse, and on the way back we took a different path. The paths were both magical, carpeted with soft green moss and pine needles, and with painted trilliums growing here and there. The outhouse itself was clean and stocked with TP. Ava always asked me to hold her hands while she sat on the throne, though. She didn't want to take any chances about falling in.
Patrick could never talk her into going fishing all weekend. When he was ready to go out, he'd invite her to come with him, and she would ask if he could just take her for a little "putt-putt" before he went out farther into the pond to fish. At one point, he was giving her a hard time about not going out fishing with him, and she said, "I don't want to go out in the deep water in that tippy old thing!!" Under his breath, he said, "I don't blame you!" The boat is 12' long, and could use to be a little longer...
While he was out fishing, I was able to get Ava to walk out a little deeper into the water. We found that the soft sand was home to dozens of little newts, just waiting to be caught. The beauty of this pond is that the sand in the water is incredibly soft, not gooey or mushy, but just really silty soft - delicious on the feet. And the water is clear as crystal, and shallow for 100 yards out into the pond - not above Ava's waist. It's a big part of what makes this pond paradise to us.
There are a few little areas of sticks here and there in the water, which we avoid because that's usually where the leeches are hiding. Occasionally, though, you see a big fat black leech swimming along the golden sand. At first, a sighting would cause Ava to run, splashing and shrieking, out of the the water as fast as she could go, but once I caught one with a stick and carried it to the fire to throw it in, she became interested in them. She still wouldn't get near one herself, but was a great cheerleader to anyone who would catch them for her to look at!
Catching newts was one of the highlights of the weekend for her. She never was fast enough to pluck one out of the water, but she helped hunt for them, and when I was able to grab one, she made a big fuss out of petting it and naming it, and then kissing it before we put it back. About the kissing, after we had let one go and she was on the hunt for another one, she looked over her shoulder and told me, "It's not that I LIKE to kiss them! I HAVE to!! It's good for my LIPS!!"
When Patrick got back from fishing (caught and released several; he was happy), we heated up the chop suey for supper, then cleaned up and spent the rest of the evening sitting around the campfire. It was a beautiful clear evening, and we watched as the moon began to rise in the east. First we could see the glow over the tops of the trees as it got darker, and then slowly the brilliantly bright full moon made its way over the hill and into the sky. We told stories out loud to Ava, until she finally asked if we could go to bed.
We put the dogs in their tent (they went happily!), and then we each got into our own cot in our tent - Ava's in the middle - and I read a couple of books to her before we all went to sleep. Cozy! Ava slept like a cute little log all night long.
We awoke at around 8am, with filtered light beaming into the tent - obviously a glorious day out there! The dogs were whining and scratching at their tent, ready to GET OUT! For breakfast we had coffee and orange juice and bacon and eggs, and Patrick played a few hands of Old Maid with Ava before he went out fishing. The sky was pure blue and the air was warm with some nice breezes to keep the bugs at bay - a perfect day.
We spent the day pretty much the same way we had spent the previous afternoon - building fairy houses for the toy animals, looking for newts, catching the occasional leech to throw in the firepit, Patrick fishing on and off, sitting in our camp chairs, playing board games (we brought Candyland and Chutes & Ladders) and Old Maid with Ava, and going for walks up to the outhouse. She always made an adventure about going up to the outhouse - being an explorer and discovering new paths and shortcuts. It was so fun for her.
We also had fun with the bouncy ball we had bought at the Hannaford in Millinocket. She would stand up on the hill at the back of the campsite and kick the ball down to us, and we'd catch it and roll it up to her to kick again. Every now and then, we'd find her down by the water, sitting on the beach, singing to herself while she dug with her little plastic shovel in the sand, busy with some little project she was enjoying. Several times she said, "Wouldn't it be good if someone else came camping that had little kids?" We've had people show up at our site and camp with us before, but they've always been crusty old fishermen, not families with nice little kids
But the following day, which was breezy and cooler with a lot of cloud cover mingling with short periods of bright blue sunny sky, as Patrick was out fishing, and Ava and I were playing at the picnic table, we heard the dogs start to bark and watched them run up the beach toward where our truck was parked. I was able to grab Heidi, just as - we couldn't believe our eyes - a family with two little girls and a teenage boy - came walking up the beach! They were on their way to the south campsite, but stopped in to say hello. The little girls were instantly in the water, and I let Heidi go to play with them - she was in her glory!
We broke our rule of not letting Heidi play with sticks etc while we were camping, because Ava had had so much fun throwing things for her to catch, and these girls had a blast doing the same thing! Heidi will put her whole head under water to fetch up a stick that's been thrown for her! She's good with the kids, too - doesn't get over-excited and jump on anyone - she just stands patiently and alertly, ears up, tail wagging, waiting for the next thing to come her way.
Ava turned shy. She sat behind me at the picnic table and watched the girls play, but didn't feel comfortable joining in. We found out the girls' names were Maia and Madison, one 6 and one 7. After a half hour or so, they left to set up their own campsite, with a promise to come over later in the afternoon so the girls could play. Sure enough, after lunch, we saw them coming across the pond in kayaks. This time Ava wasn't shy, and she and Maia had a ball catching newts. Maia was good at catching them, so she'd give some of them to Ava, and they'd put them all together in a red plastic bucket with some sand in it. Then they'd play with them. And play with them and play with them. All the adults were feeling kind of sorry for the newts, hoping they were made of tough stuff, because they sure got man-handled by those little girls! Squeezing and carrying and kissing and dropping - the newts endured it all until it was time for the family to go back to their campsite and the newts were dumped back into the pond, with dramatic good-byes from the girls.
They had said they'd come back later that evening, but a late afternoon thunderstorm kept us all hunkered down until night rolled in and the skies cleared up. During the storm, we played games and read books in the tent and listened to the rain and the thunder, feeling cozy and happy and secure. We had a late supper of chicken stew and dumplings, and spent the third night in a row sitting in front of a beautiful campfire and telling stories until Ava fell asleep in my lap.
She really enjoyed this "telling stories around the campfire" business. I told her the story of Shrek twice, and Gaffer told her the story of The Hobbit and part of the Lord of the Rings. I was wishing I remembered more of my Grimm's Fairy Tales, but none really came to mind. I have an old copy - will have to study up on it before our next camping trip!
We woke on our final morning, Sunday, to a nice day. After a breakfast of pancakes and moose sausage, we slowly began to pack things up, taking the time to fish (Patrick) and play (Ava and me) in between working. By 3, we had the truck packed and were ready to go. Anytime we've ever gone anywhere for any length of time, Ava is always anxious to get home and see her cat, and this was the case now. She was dreading the long ride, but really wanted to see Blue Cat.
Usually as we drive away, Patrick and I feel kind of sad. This is normally a once-a-year trip for us. As we see other trucks drive in, loaded with canoes and camping gear, we're always jealous that we're heading out of the woods and they're getting to go in. But this time was different, because I'm on vacation again in two weeks, and if the weather is nice, we'll be right back!
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