North Camps in Rangeley, Maine 2013

North Camps Rangeley, Maine

Typically at the end of August, the flow of arriving tourists to Maine begins to slow.  One reason is that school starts a bit earlier now.  When I was younger, school always started the day after Labor Day, but now kids are back at their desks at the end of August, making summer vacation just a little shorter.
 

3-Bedroom cottage at North Camps

Our last hoorah for the summer was a trip to North Camps in Rangeley, Maine.  My family was joined by my in-laws.   We rented a three-bedroom camp right on the north shore of beautiful Rangeley Lake.  As summer in Maine goes, the temperatures were cooler, but with cooler temperatures, came less haze and bluer skies.
 

Farmers market in the old Phillips train station

Along the road to Rangeley, we made a detour into the town of Phillips for the farmer's market figuring we could get some fresh lettuce for dinner.  Instead, we left the farmers market with homemade fudge, maple syrup, and homemade root beer - admittedly, the fudge didn't make it up the road too far.

North Camps is made up of 12 cabins spread across 20 waterfront acres.  There's a playground area for kids, a tennis court, horseshoe pits, 3 docks and countless Adirondack chairs waiting for occupants to have a seat and enjoy the lake and mountain views.

The living room in the cottage.

Our cottage had three bedrooms, a large living room/kitchen, bathroom, small porch on one side and a screened porch on the other.  This particular cottage was attached to the main lodge which housed the camp's office.  Upon check-in we discovered that we were staying in the only cottage that didn't have well water, something we were unaware of when we booked.  In this one cottage, the water was fed from the lake, so the camp owners had to provide us with drinking water.  Originally they brought us a couple gallons, but it wasn't long before the five of us needed to ask for more, which for some reason seemed to surprise the owners.  It was a bit of an inconvenience, but it worked out.

Since it was late in the season, we were the only people staying there, aside from the family that runs the place, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  So much so, that the owners kept leaving periodically for an hour or two informing us that they'd be gone for awhile.  This was a little frustrating because if we wanted to use the tennis courts, horseshoe pits or ping-pong table, we had to borrow the rackets, balls, or shoes from them.  If they weren't there, we were out of luck until they returned.

I know what you're thinking...tennis court, ping-pong, docks.  It sounds like a really nice resort.  Well, it was nice in a rustic cottage sort of way, which is fine by us.  We're not that picky when it comes to amenities.  But let me tell you a little about these amenities.

The tennis court next to our cottage was a bit underutilized.

The tennis court was probably a nice clay court back in the 1960s, but today it is overgrown to be a cross between clay and grass.  The lines are long gone and the rackets they provided were the old wooden ones I used when I was a kid back in the 70s.  While we did attempt to volley a bit, the court really wasn't in shape for a real tennis match.  Instead we relinquished the rackets and made up our own game with a large inflatable baseball-beach ball that was just lying around, and had a good time.

Proper footwear recommended.

Ironically, there was a sign suggesting that people should wear tennis shoes on the court, which would have made sense if the integrity of the court was worth preserving.  For this court, however, I was thinking that the sign was placed there about the same time the court was built, so we ignored it.

 Next to the tennis court was a playground for little kids.  It would have been interesting for toddlers and young children, but it was much too small for my 10-year-old.  It consisted of a couple of Little Tykes climbing toys and an old swingset.


The highlight of the amenities was the ping-pong table, although table was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration.  It really was a 4x8 piece of plywood on four tree limbs that were about 4-inches in diameter.  It was extremely weathered since I believe it it sat outside in front of our cabin permanently, no matter what the season.  As a result, the table top was warped and cracked making the ball do all kinds of interesting bounces.

Home of the World Outdoor Rustic Plywood Ping Pong Championship

Despite the condition of the table, we invented a new game.  The World Outdoor Rustic Plywood Ping Pong Championship,  The object was to keep the ball in play as long as possible.  You would get a point it the ball hit the other person's side of the table and then hit the ground. However, the ball could bounce as many times as needed on one side of the table.  We had a really good time playing this game.

A cottage next to the "beach".

The camps talk about a private beach on their web site and there is a mostly stone beach from which you can swim.  But, after all, you're in Maine, so a stone beach is not out of the ordinary.  When we decided to go swimming, the water temperature reflected the fact the that the summer was not exceptionally warm.  The lake temperature was not "Atlantic Ocean" cold, but it was probably about 74, which feels cold on the body, particularly when the air temperature was in the mid 70s with a stiff wind.

Since the water temperature was not conducive to wading in and slowly getting used to the water, swimming consisted of, jumping off the dock into the chilly water and getting out almost immediately to dry off.  I'm sure in mid-summer on an 80 or 90 degree day, it is fine.

All in all, we had a nice time.  The camps are rustic and yes, they could use a little infusion of cash to improve the facilities a bit, but it worked for us.  Despite the commentary above, we would consider staying there again, but in one of the other cottages.

It is a relaxing place to visit and the Rangeley area is beautiful.  Below are a few photos I took around the property.
 

Steve and Ashton at Smalls Falls near Rangeley

Path to additional cottages.

Pretty flowers in an interesting flower pot.

Ashton on the bench swing.

View of the swim area.

Fall Wanderings

A view of the Bigelows from Eustis Ridge

Last fall, I had the good fortune of traveling the state of Maine to supervise photo shoots for the state's marketing campaigns.  It has brought me to places I haven't visited in a long while, or places I have never been.  By New England standards, Maine is a vast state.  It covers more than 35,000 square miles, an area larger than Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut combined.  Heck, if you added another 851 square miles, Rhodes Island could fit in too.  And I have lots more to see.

Below are a few of the places I've been.

 

A view of the 4,237-foot summit of Sugarloaf Mountain from Ira Mountain

A restaurant called Earth in Kennebunk

Smalls Falls outside of Rangeley

Videotaping at Rangeley for the Maine campaign

Sunrise on Rangeley Lake with Saddleback in background

Height of Land, south of Rangeley

Historic Genesee Country Village & Museum

A view of the apple orchard and Shaker Trustee's Building within the village.

Just when we thought we'd been to every historic village museum in the Northeast, we discovered Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, NY.  We stumbled across it while planning our trip to Niagara Falls over the summer and were pleasantly surprised at what we found.

The 40 buildings represented three time periods during the 1800s, from the basic log construction, similar to what you'd find at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, to Colonial and Victorian architecture that dotted the northeast landscape in the 19th Century.  Throughout the village were costumed interpreters who provided insight into the lives of the people who would have lived in small villages during that time.  The buildings were purchased, disassembled and moved here from other parts of New York state, and then reconstructed into a single historic village.

The entrance to the museum was a modern visitor center where we paid the fee of $15.50 per adult and $9.50 for Ashton.

After we purchased our ticket, we crossed an expansive green lawn, passing a tall bandstand to the Toll House where we entered the historic village.

One of our first stops was the one-room schoolhouse where Ashton wrote on a slate and heard about what children would learn in their lessons way back then.

Brewery and Hop House

One of the more interesting buildings, to me anyway, was the brewery and hop house.  The brewmaster there did an excellent job explaining how beer was made.  Interestingly, they actually brewed the beer there, but since it was not a sterile facility, they could not sell the beer that they produced, so it went to farms for fetilizer.  However, the recipe used to brew the beer here, is actually produced by a modern brewery, which you can buy by the bottle in one of the food service areas.

Turning pottery at Flint Hill Pottery

Across the road from the brewery is Flint Hill Pottery, where they make earthenware and
stoneware.  Now this is a product made on-sight that you can also buy in the gift shop, so we purchased a small pitcher for coffee cream.

We visited every building that was open including the tinsmith shop, blacksmith shop, cooper shop, gunsmith shop and innumerable houses. We also gave walking on stilts a go.

Seeing all the buildings probably took about 2-3 hours including a break for lunch.  For those interested in riding around the village, there was a wagon pulled by a farm tractor.  Only one was running that day, so if you wanted to use it to move from one place to another within the village, you had to have patience, as the tractor pulling the wagon had one speed - slow.

Another one of our favorite stops was Hosmer's Inn.  The interpreter there did a great job making us aware of appropriate inn etiquette.  He explained that the women and men had different rooms in which to socialize and talked about the costs of the rooms, pointing out that save money buy opting for a room without a bed.  This essentially just gave you a feather mattress on the floor and a blanket.

It was an interesting place that was reasonably priced, so we would recommend a visit for anyone interested in history.

Ashton in the meeting house

Hamilton House

Newspaper shop viewed from in front of Hosmer's Inn

 

Howe Caverns

About 40 miles west of Albany, New York, near Cobleskill, NY is Howe Caverns.  As we cruised west along Interstate 88, we saw the building and in-ground sign looming on a hillside.  While the caverns have been around for close to 6 million years, it wasn't until the mid 1800s when Lester Howe discovered it and started offering tours.

The story goes that on hot days Howe would notice that rather than seeking the comfort of a shade tree, his cows would stand next to some bushes in the middle of the pasture on his neighbors land.  When he went to investigate, he felt the cooler draft coming from the bushes and discovered the cave entrance.  Howe bought the land from his neighbor for $100 and soon started offering tours.

It is interesting that as you drive to the caverns there is evidence of the once popularity of this roadside attraction.  At the foot of the road leading up to the cavern building was dilapidated old gift shops and old motels that probably thrived prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway system when Americans hit the road in their family cars for their week-long vacations.

When we got to the cavern parking lot, we were unpleasantly surprised that they charged a parking fee of $2.00 as you pulled into the lot.  Frankly we found this a bit cheesy since the cost to get into the caverns was $63.00 for my family.  We thought they would be better off having free parking and charging everyone an extra dollar for admission.  Then it wouldn't seem like nickel and diming.

We arrived early and ate a picnic lunch at the picnic tables in a shaded area next to the parking lot.  Although there is a cafeteria there if you prefer to purchase a meal.  From the picnic area we could watch the people enjoying the zip lines.  One of the other attractions at the caverns.

Lester Howe talking about the caverns.

Once inside, it was a bit confusing, as there was a big line of people waiting for the next tour, but it looked like it was the line waiting to buy tickets.  Finally we figured out that the ticket windows were open and we didn't need to wait in the line after all.

The tour started with an animated Lester Howe telling the story of the caverns before descending 156-feet underground to the cave floor. 

On a hot summer day, the caverns are a good place to visit given that the temperature stays at a consistent 52 degrees, although we were glad we heeded the web site instructions and brought fleece jackets for the 90-minute tour.

The caverns were only accessible by guided tour.  Our tour guide moved us along, stopping occasionally to share interesting facts and stories about the caverns.  As  a 51 year old guy whose hearing is starting to go - in a cavern that echoed, and with a group of people talking - it was sometimes difficult for me to hear what the tour guide was saying, but we still enjoyed the tour.  It made me realize that I might be able "to benefit from amplification" as my audiologist suggested.  In other words, he thinks I need hearing aids - but I digress.

Steve and Ashton overlooking the stream the carved away the caverns over millions of years.

When planning our trip to Howe Caverns, we were intrigued that they said part of the tour was a boat ride.  For perhaps the last 100 or 200 feet we were stacked into aluminum boats and guided to the end of the accessible part of the cavern where you could hear the water echoing its way into the darkness of the caverns ahead.

Boat tour into the depths of Howe Caverns

After the boat tour, we backtracked through the cavern to the elevators.  As we waited for the elevators to return to the earth's surface, we noticed a plaque on the wall mentioning something about Cave-Aged Cheese.  Apparently Howe Caverns lets Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard in Fly Creek, NY age their New York Cheddar Cheese in the caverns.  Given that our family thrives on cheddar cheese, I regret that we didn't buy any to bring home just for the novelty of it.

Cave-aged New York cheddar

Bethany and Ashton in the caverns.

One of the tunnels in the caverns

 Back on the surface, you could browse the gift shop or take advantage of one of the other attractions, but we opted to head out as we continued our summer vacation in upstate New York.  Next stop, Genesee County Village Museum.  Stay tuned for that posting.

Cabot Vermont Fourth of July Parade - It's raining Cheese!

Bread and Puppet Theater leads off the Cabot Parade

Each Fourth of July, the agricultural community of Cabot, Vermont hosts a parade that is the embodiment of rural Vermont.   People in central Vermont know that this is a low-key parade in this quaint farming village, and that's exactly what attracts them to it. 

The parade starts at the Cabot Creamery on Main Street and doesn't pass much beyond the United Church of Cabot and village green about a half-mile down the street.  It's not long, but it really doesn't have to be.  After all, this is more of a social event for the locals in this community of 1,400.

As with many parades, the shining red fire engines from surrounding communities usher the parade participants down the main street.  It includes homemade floats, local farmers on their tractors, local ATV clubs and a handful of classic/antique cars and trucks.

We attend our fair share of parades and it's pretty common to see children along the parade route standing poised, bags at the ready, to scramble about collecting the sweet treats that are tossed to them from parade participants.  While a little bit of candy was tossed about, Cabot provided an added bonus - sample packets of Cabot cheese.   And why not, after all, you're standing in the middle of farm country, and the home of Cabot Creamery, the region's most popular cheese producer,so it only makes sense.

As an added bonus, High Ledge Farm, a small organic farm in Woodbury, Vermont, handed out plant seedlings.  We were the recipients of a Calendula plant and broccoli plant, and they were handing out other herb and vegetable seedlings as well.  I have to admit, we thought that was pretty cool.  Where else can you get cheese and vegetables handed to you at a parade?  Leave it to Vermont.

The Cabot truck tossing out cheese packets

Classic ladder truck in Cabot parade

If you're in Cabot, it is only natural to visit the Cabot store where you can take the tour and sample a large variety of Cabot cheeses and other snack items.  As usual, we walked away with a couple 8-ounce blocks of cheese from the gift shop.  My wife and son liked the Garlic & Herb, while I go for the standard Extra Sharp or Hunter's.

We didn't hang around for the chicken barbecue, church rummage sale and other festivities because we had to get home.  But if we're back in the area next July Fourth, you can bet we'll head back to Cabot and perhaps linger a bit longer beneath the rolling green hills and white clapboard houses, savoring this little piece of authentic Americana.

   

Niagara Falls

View of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side of the falls.

Like with most American's summer vacations typically include some kind of water-based activity.  While you might think that would have you jumping off a dock into a crystal clear lake or digging your toes into a sandy beach along the ocean, we opted for a different water attraction and shuffled off to Buffalo to visit the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls.

Maid of the Mist Approaching Horseshoe Falls

You hear time and time again that you should see the falls from the Canadian side and I often wondered why people always said that.  Now I know.  From the Canadian side of the falls, you get a head-on view of both Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.  If you're on the U.S. side you are basically standing above the falls and can't quite get a sense of how large the falls are.

Maid of the Mist Beneath Bridal Veil Falls

We departed our hotel in Buffalo, passports in hand, around 8:30 a.m. heading north to the border.  We crossed the Peace Bridge and waited in line to clear Canadian Customs.  We arrived about ten of nine and there were only 2 or 3 lanes open.  Based upon the traffic, we figured we'd be in line about 15-20 minutes.  But promptly at 9 a.m. the other lanes opened one right after another, and in a matter of seconds there were about 10 lanes open with cars maneuvering for position as if someone just waved the green flag at a NASCAR race.  We were through in about 10 minutes.  I guess that's a tip for the future.  If you wait until 9 a.m. the bottleneck opens up and you can clear customs more quickly.

If you haven't been to Niagara Falls, Canada, you may not realize how "touristy" it is - with a zillion hotels, casinos, and "tourist trap" attractions like Ripley's Believe it of Not, Guinness Book of World Records, House of Frankenstein, Criminal's Hall of Fame, the Upside Down House and a plethora of places - too lengthy to list here.  There was even the Louis Tussaud's Waxworks that made me wonder if the good Madame in London had a rogue nephew who made his way to Niagara Falls to get his share of the wax museum market.

Bridal Veil Falls From Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls from Maid of the Mist

We found a parking place right on Niagara Parkway, the road that overlooks the falls, paying $15 for 3 hours.  We figured it was worth paying extra to be across the street from the falls.  After walking along Niagara Parkway with 5,000 of our closest friends, from all over the world, we decided to take the Maid of the Mist tour to get up close and personal with the falls.  The trips run from both the Canadian and U.S. sides.  Since we just a stone's throw away on the Canadian side, we just walked to the other end of Niagara Parkway and boarded there. 

The line for Maid of the Mist looked long from afar, but the boat must have a large carrying capacity, so we didn't have to wait for more than 10 minutes.  We paid about $19.75 (CDN) for each adult and $12.65 (CDN) for Ashton.  This gets you each a blue Maid of the Mist poncho, made from materials that resembled the plastic that goes over your dry cleaning, with a hood and arm holes. 

We immediately went to the upper deck of the boat so we could get the best view and get the full effect of the mighty falls.  First, the boat goes by Bridal Veil Falls and that's pretty neat, but as we get closer to Horseshoe Falls, it feels like you've just entered a downpour as the mist and water from the falls rain down on you.  This was well worth the price, just to feel the power of the falls and see it from the perspective of the river's surface.

After braving the Maid of the Mist, we headed back to the car and were on our way back to the U.S. side for a different perspective.

Ashton & Bethany at Cave of the Winds

We crossed the Rainbow Bridge, right next to Bridal Veil Falls, and were welcomed by U.S. Customs.  The officer who checked us out was very pleasant and we got into a discussion about Maine.  He said his girlfriend has been trying to get him to go and he asked me a bunch of questions about the state, periodically glancing at his computer screen, presumably while he was making sure we weren't on some terrorist watch list.

In my opinion, your best bet in the U.S. is to skip the parking area right next to the bridge and cross over to Goat Island, about a half mile up the road.  We paid $10 for all-day parking in Niagara Falls State Park.  We ate a picnic lunch surrounded by seagulls in the picnic area next to the parking lot, then bought our ticket to Cave of the Winds - which as we were told, isn't a cave at all.  What it is, is a series of walkways that go right up to the edge of Bridal Veil Falls.

Looking up at Bridal Veil Falls and the Hurricane Deck

One thing is for sure.  If you decide to do Cave of the Winds, be prepared to get wet.  We went prepared, with Keen's, shorts, t-shirts and raincoat that we wore under the yellow plastic poncho they provide.  Even with that, the bottom of my shorts go soaked and water was running down my arm to my torso because I had to hold the poncho hood in place on my head, so water was getting in around my sleeves.  Fortunately, we had a change of clothes in the car.  On the plus side, they issue you a pair of Cave of the Winds sandals as a souvenir. They also give you a plastic bag to put your own footwear in so it doesn't get soaked.  The price was $11 for adults and $8 for kids 6-12.


After changing into dry clothes, we took the trolley ride around the park.  Frankly it was not all that interesting.  Before we left we went to the viewing area above Horseshoe Falls.  While you couldn't see the falls head-on, it was an interesting prespective.

Horseshoe Falls from the U.S. side

Maid of the Mist approaching Horseshoe Falls on U.S. Side

Although it was a long ride to the far side of New York State, it was a fun trip.  I would definitely recommend that anyone visit the falls, being sure to view them from both countries.  I'll be following up this post shortly with a couple other adventures during our road trip to Niagara, so stay tuned.
 
A couple of critical notes.  The Americans didn't seem to be quite as customer-friendly as the Canadians.  The Canadians who worked at these attractions seemed upbeat, friendly and chatty.  On the American side, the employees seemed a bit begrudged, like they couldn't wait to get the day over with so they could stop dealing with tourists. Also, the pathway from the bottom of the elevator to the Cave of the Winds is a bit malodorous and dotted with seagull droppings because it appears the seagulls live in the rocks above the walkway between the falls.