Today, I begin blogging about everything related to our
Yankee RV Tour 2017 Maritime Caravan.
Later in the day on Saturday June 3rd, we day,
had informal dinner at the Hermon Family Restaurant. It was not part of the
caravan package, but it was a great opportunity to meet some of the other
caravaneers. There were 21 people there, which represented 11 of the 18 rigs in
the caravan. That is a pretty good amount in attendance, the day before the
caravan’s first day. After dinner, some of us headed to the clubhouse and enjoyed
more time together with a little trivia! I swear to God, that Rod is a walking
encyclopedia!
It was a lazy morning on Sunday June 5th. Charlie
spent some time cleaning the outside of the rig and I did some laundry and
interior cleaning.
At 12:30, we all met at the clubhouse for the first
“official” event of the caravan, Root beer floats! Every Yankee events starts
with this sweet treat! Who does not like a good root beer float!
Starting at 1:00 we had the welcome from Rod Coe, owner and
wagon master for our caravan. Traveling with the owner of the company is an
awesome experience! We spent the remainder of the afternoon introducing
ourselves and learning about the other caravaneers. It is amazing, how much you
have in common with others … we have many veterans, a few retired military, a
couple of ladies that are confirmed shopaholics, teachers, truck drivers and
two chefs!
We learned what everyone was most excited to see on this
caravan, it ranged from the tidal bore, the Bay of Fundy, the wildflowers, the
culture, Moose, the extreme tides, and icebergs.
At 4:45 pm, the cars lined up and we had our first “caravan”
to a scheduled 5:00 pm dinner at Angler’s Restaurant.
We had a private room,
with two sets of long tables. At each meal, Rod asks you to sit with a
different couple. This practice allows you to meet all the other caravaneers
and stops “clicks” from creating and makes the group gel much faster! It must
work, because the buzz in the room was loud … until the food was served!
Once we got back to the campground, it was almost 4 hours
later and everyone began picking up and preparing for our move tomorrow
morning.
On Monday June 5th, we departed Pumpkin Patch RV
early, 6:45 am. Nancy & Charlie Ragland and us volunteered to be the “dawn
patrol,” so we departed ahead of the rest of the caravan. The “dawn patrol” are
caravaneers that leave ahead of the rest of the caravan and make all the rest
and fuel stops along the route to ensure there are no surprises for the rest of
the caravan. We arrive at the campground first and help the campground place
the rest of the caravan rigs. It allows a smooth entrance to the campground for
a large volume of rigs.
We headed back the way we came, for the most part! We took Route
2 & 100 and got onto I-395 to 1A. We skirted Bangor and went through
Holden. In Holden, you can see the historic Holden Town Hall, it is located
right on 1A. Built in 1873, it is an architecturally distinctive blend of
styles. The building served as town hall into the 1960s, and as the local
Grange hall until 1995. It is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Holden is a small, New England town in Central Maine setting
amid rolling hills and overlooking the Penobscot River Valley. In the late 1700s,
pioneers settled in the Holden area, setting up homesteads and small farms.
Economic opportunities arrived when Holden became a stop along the stage coach
route. Inns, taverns, black smithies,
ice cutting operations and general stores emerged to service those who traveled
between Bangor and coastal towns.
Bangor’s dominance as an American lumber giant in the 1800s coincided
with Holden residents becoming investors in ferries, landings and bridges on
the Penobscot River.
We turned off Route 1A onto Route 46. It was a connector
road that took us to Route 9.
On Route 9, we ran into some one lane traffic, because of
road construction. There was a large church perched on a hill top. It is
Clifton’s United Baptist Church, it has an awesome steeple and bell on it!
Then we entered the town of Clifton, where Parks Pond and
Parks Pond campground is located.
As we were driving, we kept watching the fog “breath” as it
covered, then uncovered the mountain top. Lead Mountain was off to the west, as we headed north toward the Canadian border. It stands about 1,500 feet high. There was a great deal of ups and
downs on this route! However, this drive did offer us some scenic vistas!
We saw this sign indicating “Public Reserve Land – Amherst.”
What is public reserve land? The Amherst Mountain Community Forest is part of
the public reserved land system, but unlike other units, it is managed jointly
with the town of Amherst. The almost 5,000-acre parcel is home to brook trout,
white-tailed deer, black bear, Peregrine Falcons, Ruffed Grouse (partridges),
and American Woodcock. The area contains two popular hiking trails, Ducktail
and Partridge Pond trails.
We made a rest stop at a designed truck pull off. It was a
nicely paved large area, ample space for the entire caravan to pull off, take a
break and walk all the 4-legged caravaneers!
Wesley, Maine is a small hill top town, which was named
after John Wesley, the founder of the English Methodist movement. There is a
historical society and a beautiful mural. I captured a picture of the
historical society building, but was not quick enough to get a picture of the
mural too.
There was not much business or bigger towns for that matter
on this route, but there was a restaurant on the top of the hill! Nothing else
around it, but it was open and looked like it had customers!
Crawford Lake runs along Route 9 and reminds me of some of
the Finger Lakes in western NY, very long and skinny!
The little town of Alexander had a Tractor museum and a well
drilling business. I missed the complete picture of the Tractor Museum.
But I
did get a picture of the well drilling rig in the air! In Baileyville, Maine we turned right onto Route 1 and
gassed up at the Irving Gas station.
Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge has nearly 30,000 acres
of federally protected lands in eastern Maine. The refuge's landscape is
varied, with rolling hills, large ledge outcrops, streams, lakes, bogs, and
marshes. A northern hardwood forest of aspen, maple, birch, spruce and fir
dominates the upland. Scattered stands of majestic white pine are visible. This
habitat diversity supports many wildlife species. In the past, wildfires
revitalized the forest, while farming maintained open areas.
After everyone arrived, and was set-up in their sites. We
headed downtown to exchange money. We had a light lunch at the Red Herring Pub.
After dinner, we caravanned to Bar Road, to see the sand bar
to Minister’s Island.
Tomorrow is another day in St Andrews!
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