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Jay Gaulard

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This is Going to be One Cold Winter

December 29, 2017

We woke up this morning and it was -11 degrees outside. That’s pretty cold. We’ve had to fill both the wood stove and the pellet stove for the past few nights before bed. Usually, we turn off the pellet stove and let the wood stove handle things, but with this cold, both are required. I made a rule a few years ago that if it wasn’t below zero, we’d turn off the pellet stove to save pellets. Sure, the house is 40 degrees in the morning, but it heats up fairly quickly once we get things going again.

I took this photo about an hour ago. This wood stove cranks. I don’t know what we would do without it. It really is the only way to go. I’m sitting next to the stove right now and the room I’m in is probably 85 degrees. It’s crazy.

Fire Burning in Englander Wood Stove

I have a post on this website that’s been really popular over the past few days. It has to do with frozen pipes because of cold weather. As of this writing, the sink in our bathroom is not functioning. Apparently, the cold crept into the walls just far enough to reach the copper and freeze us out of upstairs. This is the adventure of living in Maine.

Huge Icicles

The strange part is, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight. The entire ten day forecast calls for sub-zero temperatures at night. Just yesterday, our high temperature was zero. What’s even stranger is that it doesn’t feel any colder than usual out there. Although, I admit that I would probably freeze straight through to the core if I spent any amount of time outside, but as far as getting the mail and bringing in firewood, it’s not bad. I will tell you that my blood is so thick by this point, I don’t even notice the cold. I do, but I don’t, if you know what I’m saying.

Snow on Top of Firewood Pile

Okay, so here’s the deal with living in a cold climate, which is apparently the climate of most of the U.S. right about now. You need to plan. If you’re planning on buying, you need to make sure the house you’re looking at was built correctly. It could be a concrete cube for all I care, if it was insulated the right way, go for it. If it’s got beautiful marble counter tops and lovely bathrooms and the house hasn’t got the proper insulation, you’ll be enjoying all those features in a winter coat. That’s not fun.

As for driveways, you need a flat (or gently sloped) one. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that you’ll get it plowed or that you’ll add salt to one that’s really steep. It needs to be level or semi-level. Look at the structure and quality of the house over how pretty it is. Spend a lot of time in the attic and in the basement. Check those over well. Find out what kind of insulation was used. If they say fiberglass, move along and look for something else. Stay away from baseboard heat. Get propane and definitely have a big, giant wood stove. You’ll thank yourself on those snowy nights that are -15 degrees. It’s also very important that the house have no water pipes on any exterior wall. That’s critical if you don’t want to wake up to frozen pipes like I have a number of times.

Oh yeah, you’ll need two vehicles. One needs to be a pickup truck and the other an SUV. The larger the tires, the smoother the ride will be over all those icy bumps on the roads. It’s actually not too different up here than anywhere else if you prepare properly. You just need to be careful in the beginning. Then, you need to stay ahead of the curve.

One final thing I can think of is that you’ll need a wood shed to keep your firewood dry. Have this made by someone who knows what they are doing. Dry wood keeps you toasty warm and that’s the best way to be. I love it up here and I love looking out the windows on these cold winter nights. Part of the reason I love it so much is because the house is so warm.

Chimgard Chimney Thermometer

Oh yeah, you’ll also need a gigantic snow blower. Those are indispensable. And a steel roof. I could go on and on about this. I’ve thought about it for four years now and I have my new house all planned out in my head. I’m just waiting on that perfect piece of property and for me to start playing the lottery. I can feel that my winnings are close, but again, I need to start playing the game. Which I won’t, so I’ll just continue planning until an opportunity comes along.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the chilly weather. Stay warm and remember to bundle up! I don’t care if it looks like you’re wearing a fat suit. The more, the better.

Filed Under: Home & Living Tagged With: Firewood, Heating


Sugarloaf Mountain is Simply Awesome

December 17, 2017

I had so much fun today. A few weeks ago, as I was browsing the Sugarloaf Mountain website for events, I learned that there was going to be a craft fair this weekend. If you aren’t familiar with Sugarloaf, I’ll tell you that it’s a gigantic ski mountain up here in Maine. It’s enormous and to prove it to you, I have some stats. It’s the second largest ski mountain east of the Mississippi at 1,230 acres, it’s got a vertical drop of 2,820 feet and it has 54 miles of marked trails. I know I took a few photos during our last visit, which didn’t portray the enormity of this resort, but hopefully today’s pictures will do it some justice.

Skiers on Chairlift at Sugarloaf Mountain Resort

Before I begin writing though, I want to tell you that I may have been bitten by the snowboarding bug once again. The last time I went was in 2001 and I only lasted a half hour because of fatigue. My calves just didn’t have it in them. I went with an 18 year old and he ran circles around me. How embarrassing, especially after my earlier snowboarding success during college in 1998. Back then, you couldn’t keep me off the mountains and while everyone else was inside taking a breaks and eating lunch, I was riding 90 miles per hour down whatever mountain we happened to be visiting that day. You couldn’t stop me. It’s a shame those times are over. I’ve enjoyed this sport across quite a few venues in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont.

While I may have been bitten by the bug, I doubt I’ll act on it. I don’t know why. I really should. I have friends up here who ski and snowboard that mountain every day and I could easily be with them, capturing tons of photos and video for this blog. I’ll have to think about it. We’ll see what happens. It’s just that after seeing the clear skies, the snow and breathing that cold air today, I’m exhilarated. It’s really something to feel that vibe at the mountain. Like I wrote in the title of this post, it’s pretty awesome. I mean, I only live 45 minutes away, so it’s a real possibility.

We were on a mission today. First and foremost, we needed to pick up some coffee at the Carrabassett Coffee Company. This place has the good stuff and they are set up right in Kingfield, which is slightly south of Sugarloaf. They have a small store at the front of the building with the remainder being committed to roasting and other things. It’s like we’re getting coffee straight from the factory.

Carrabassett Coffee Company in Kingfield, Maine

Saturdays and Sundays are tough at the coffee factory. They close rather early, so the few times we’ve been in the area over the past year, we’ve missed out. Today though, we got up nice and early and hit the road. We had plenty of time to spare and rewarded ourselves with three pounds of some very dark roast. For me, with coffee and beer, the darker the better. Hopefully, it’ll last us a little while. Until we can get back up there, at least.

Drink Good Coffee Sign

It’s so crazy feeling to drive into Sugarloaf. I swear I think I’ve been there during the winter in the past, but I might be mistaken. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the mountain in operation.

Sugarloaf Mountain Trails in Winter

I’ll tell you, it’s nuts. There are shuttle buses running all over the place, people everywhere and snow makers running full blast. As you can see from the photo above, all that mist is the snow makers doing what they do.

Okay, so let me go through some photos here. I have a pretty good number of them and they’re all related. I’ll try to be as succinct as possible.

The shuttle bus dropped us off right near the entrance to the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel. The coolest part of this area is that one of the smaller chairlifts goes right through the buildings.

Chairlift Going Through Buildings at Sugarloaf

Here’s a photo of the entrance of the hotel. That steam you see is coming from a heated pool that’s right past that railing.

Entrance to Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel

From the same spot, I turned around and snapped a photo of the area where the chairlift came from. The mountains in the background are part of the Bigelow Preserve.

Bigelow Mountain

I’m assuming one of those is Bigelow Mountain itself.

After we walked up the steps, we found ourselves at the base of the mountain, near the lodge. This is where everyone parks their skis while they go inside getting something to eat. There’s a lot of foot traffic in this area. We were actually standing around doing two things. We wanted to locate the craft fair as well as find a friend of mine who works in one of the stores. I took a few photos in this area.

Ski Racks at Base of Mountain

For some reason, I think this building is a sugar shack. I got this idea from our last visit. I seem to remember some sort of maple syrup sign on the side of it the last time we where here.

Sugar Shack

There were tons of skis all over the place, especially in the rack. There were many just lying down in the snow as well. Sort of parked there for the time being. I don’t know about you, but I’d be a little freaked out by leaving my skis or snowboard just sitting around while I was inside grabbing something to eat. I wonder if anything ever gets stolen.

Skis in Rack

I think one of Sugarloaf’s primary businesses is their collection of condos. They are all over the place, scattered throughout the woods. I’m curious if one of them would be a good investment to rent out.

Condos on Ski Mountain

Since my friend did some carpentry work in the Burton store a while back, I thought he worked his regular job in there. We went in to ask around.

Burton Store at Sugarloaf

Unfortunately, he wasn’t up there. Apparently, he works a few stores away at the Downhill Supply Company. But since we were up on the second level, I decided to get some photos of the lodge.

New England Ski Lodge

A really cool feature of the lodge is their fire pit on the patio. There are chairs situated around it so you can relax and warm up. I’m sure this is very nice after it gets dark.

Fire Pit on the Patio

Fire Pit on Ski Mountain

From the available evidence, I suspect the restaurant in the lodge is called The Widowmaker.

The Widowmaker at Sugarloaf

Maybe that’s the name of the lodge itself.

We went down to see my friend in the Downhill Supply store. We found him, but he was really busy. He did drop everything to hang out with us a bit though, which was really nice. He even gave us a tour and showed off some of his custom work. He did a lot, but this is all I got a picture of. This counter area is made out of real ash wood. He cut everything up and fastened each piece to some backing. That’s a genius idea, if you ask me.

Custom Firewood Woodwork For Store Checkout Counter

This counter top was cut from old logs that were sunk in a lake up north a very long ago. Someone pulled them up and sold them. Jarrod cut them up and made these counter tops out of them. Another genius idea. They are really incredible to see in person.

Reclaimed Wood Counter Top

As we were leaving, we saw a small holiday arrangement in the entryway. I sat down to rest my feet and to snap a photo.

Birch Wood Holiday Arrangement

And just in case you were wondering what the Downhill Supply Company sells, here it is. Googles, gloves, snowboards, poles, boots and everything else you’d need while visiting Sugarloaf Mountain. The place was packed, so they are very successful with what they’re doing.

Goggles, Gloves, Snowboards Sign

The entrance to this store is located in a small alleyway, along with the entrances to a few other stores. There are restaurants and other types of retail establishments. I grabbed some photos of random signs merely because they looked interesting.

The Bag Potatoes Sign

The Bag Brew Pub

A few steps down, I also managed to get a shot of a small bridge that traverses a stream that flows through the buildings.

Christmas Bridge at Sugarloaf

These next two photos represent quintessential skiing. I mean, I couldn’t leave the mountain without something like this.

Two Skiers on Chair Lift

Crossed Skis on Chair Lift

After all of this, we made our way to the hotel, which we discovered the craft fair was in. It was up on the second floor and it was a bit hidden. Nevertheless, it was really nice and the vendors were selling some unique and interesting pieces. We didn’t get anything. Really, we rarely do. These things are just a reason to get out and go to the mountain. Perhaps if someone is selling some neat (cheap) little item, I’ll pick it up, but otherwise, I’m fine with just browsing around. I didn’t get any photos of the fair because it was so small. I’m not sure if the vendors would appreciate that.

On our way out, I took a few more photos (okay, a lot more). I narrowed the bunch down to these below. I think they’re fairly obvious, but I’ll give a blurb about each one because that’s just the way I am.

This is a beautiful photo of the sun shining high over Sugarloaf Moutain.

Sun Over Ski Mountain

Next up is some mist from the snow makers in the background. These people are waiting in line for one of the larger quad chair lifts.

Snowmakers on Ski Mountain

Here are a few skiers on one of the chairlifts heading up the mountain.

Skiers on Chairlift Over Trees in Maine

This is a woman doing what’s called the snowplow. I picked that term up back when I was 19 during my very first skiing experience. I did a lot of the snowplow.

Skier Doing the Snowplow

And here’s a young man slowing down on his snowboard. He’s almost at the bottom of the hill.

Kid on Snowboard

The mountain doesn’t look that big until you see tiny little people skiing down it. At that point, things become clear. It’s a big mountain.

Skiers at Base of Mountain

Finally, as my last photo, I have some more small people skiing under the chairlift fairly far away. I had to zoom in all the way to get this one.

Skiers in Distance Under Chairlift

I just love that snow in the background. It looks so fierce.

Well, that’s all I have for today. I hope you enjoyed this post about our adventure up at Sugarloaf Mountain today. We had a lot of fun. Until next time. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Travel & Destinations Tagged With: Maine, Sugarloaf


Three Inches of Snow Overnight

December 10, 2017

Well, we woke up to this year’s first substantial snowfall. I’m not sure the word substantial is the correct one to use here because all we got was a mere three inches, but it did cover all the grass, so that’s good enough for me. And the fact that I had to use the snowblower to remove it from the driveway says something right there. I didn’t want to do any snow removal, but we’re expecting five to eight inches next week alongside a temperature drop to -5 degrees, so I felt it was important to do the best I could. If I hadn’t, this snow would melt, then refreeze to cause havoc next week during that cleanup. I’m trying to avoid that.

Here’s a photo of the front lawn and driveway through our front window.

Snow Covering Front Lawn

I have a little something to say about firewood. Take a look at this next photo. This is the garage that houses a good majority of our wood. If you look at the piles inside the garage, you’ll see beautiful, dry, seasoned logs. Right outside is another pile. This is the stuff that I couldn’t fit on the inside. This pile is okay, but it’s been getting weathered and rained on since the spring.

Barn Style Garage

Right now, because I don’t have this wood covered, some snow is obviously touching it. I’m not concerned about this.

In April of this year, I got the bright idea of having three more cords of wood delivered. We didn’t need it, but I thought it would be fun to skip a year of ordering next year. We have a cement pad on the side of driveway, so when the guy came to deliver the wood, I asked him to dump it on the cement. He did, it fit and things were fine. I left the wood there all summer and stacked it up in October. Here’s a photo of that.

Firewood Pile Covered with Snow

You can see the tarp drooping because I’ve been chipping away at that front pile. That’s what I’ve been burning so far this year.

When I was stacking this wood, I discovered that it was really wet. I had always heard that firewood somehow dried out, even when it’s left in a big pile. Folks claim that the air can travel right through the logs and it doesn’t really matter if it’s stacked or left in a giant hump. Well, I’m here to tell you that it does make a difference. The moisture content of a log greatly depends on how it’s stored and where it’s stored. Believe it or not, there were a few pieces that looked like they were about to begin rotting. As I was stacking this wood, that’s still saturated by the way, I told myself that I would never store wood outside again. It’s not worth it. This stuff is crumbly and wet and dirty. I don’t like it at all and it’s a far cry from what I have in the garage. The reason I think the outside wood near the garage is better at this point is because I have that area lifted off the ground on pallets. The wood on the cement is actually touching the ground. That’s why I’m bringing it in and burning it. Just to get rid of it. I don’t even like looking at it.

If you look at this next photo, you can see the pallets under the wood I just spoke of. That apparently makes a huge difference.

Firewood Stacked on Wood Pallets

I think winter may have arrived. As I mentioned earlier, the temps are supposed to really drop next week. I have a buddy who is volunteering his time to clean up some snowmobile trails and another buddy who’s working up at Sugarloaf doing all sorts of things. These guys go nuts during the winter and so do I. I absolutely love it and I was thrilled this morning when I saw the change in landscape. You can’s say the first snowfall isn’t exciting. That’s for sure. In February and March, I’ll be complaining about how I don’t want to do anymore snowblowing, but for now, it’s all good.

I’m going to try my best this winter to keep things as neat as possible. I’d like to keep a path around the truck and trailer, just in case I need to use the truck. It’s too easy to get lazy and now clear around all sides of a vehicle that’s stored in the driveway.

Arising Industries Enclosed Trailer

We’ll have to see how this goes after our first blizzard.

Okay, that’s about it. I’ll leave you with one final random photo of our backyard. In a few weeks, I’m sure this will look mighty different, so it’s nice to capture it now.

Snow Covered Back Yard in Maine

Filed Under: Nature & Outdoors Tagged With: Snow


Visiting Camden, Maine During the Holidays

November 30, 2017

Today was a really long, but really great day. Laura and I finally made it out to the coast. It’s been years since we’ve seen the water and I must tell you, it was marvelous. I miss it so much and there’s something different about the water up here in Maine than any other I’ve seen. It’s strange. It has a unique hue to it. It’s smooth. I’m not doing a very good job at explaining it, I know.

Camden, Maine is located south of Belfast and north of Rockland. Basically, it’s about an hour and a half north of Portland, if you know where that is. It’s a tight knit coastal community with a small, but very vibrant and active main street that is chock full of incredibly interesting shops and restaurants. This isn’t a quiet little town that’s hidden back in the woods somewhere. Let me tell you. This town is alive and the stores, well, they are right up there alongside any you’d see in a larger city. Things were priced a bit higher than we’re used to being up in western Maine, but what they were selling was of the best quality. I have so many pictures to show you below. They should give you a good idea of what I’m talking about.

I think we made this trip at the right time. My goal was to get a glimpse of some Christmas lighting as well as some holiday items that people are selling. I’m always nervous when visiting someplace new. I never know what to expect and I get concerned that I’ll be let down. Today, I think my greatest fear was that there wouldn’t be enough shopping. I shouldn’t have been worried because everything was perfect. There was tons of shopping.

As we rolled into town, I first noticed all the lights. They were lining the shop windows and trees on the sidewalks and the Christmas wreaths on the street lamps. The ambiance was wonderful.

Here are two quick shots I took right after we parked and got out of the car. My camera was working the entire day. I have a lot to show you. Let me warn you though, the sky was mostly clear when we arrived, but it started raining shortly thereafter. Then, things cleared up and it began to get dark. The photos down towards the bottom are so much better because all the lights are brighter and more clear.

Christmas Trees on Sidewalk in Camden, Maine

Holiday Wreath Hanging on Antique Street Lamp in Camden, Maine

After we began walking down the sidewalk, I really got into it. There was so much to photograph. We could tell that the folks in this town were very organized and that they put a lot of time into their cleanliness and presentation. There was holiday spirit everywhere and I even noticed how the Christmas lights were all the same color. I’m a huge fan of that. I lost my love of colored lights a few years back and truly appreciate the twinkle of the white ones.

This is the entrance of a really great woodworking store called Once a Tree.

Once a Tree, Camden, Maine

There is a lot more than just woodworking in that store. More on this later.

As we continued our stroll, I noticed a lot of nice looking decorations around or near the windows of each shop. Like I did during our walking tour of Kingfield, I snapped some photos of these decorations.

Berries and Branches Decorations

Pine Branches and Christmas Lights

Artificial Snowflakes in Storefront

Pine Branch Christmas Decorations

There are a few landmarks in Camden. You know, the businesses that are more famous than the rest. I took photos of all of them (I think). The first one is the Sea Dog Brewing Company. It’s a restaurant right on the corner of Main Street and Commercial Street.

Sea Dog Brewing Company in Camden, Maine

Sea Dog Brewing Storefont

The next famous business in Camden is called French & Brawn Marketplace. It’s been in operation in this location since 1866. That’s huge in my book. It’s located on the corner of Mechanic Street and Elm Street.

French and Brawn Marketplace in Camden, Maine

Front Window of French and Brawn

Again, I have nighttime shots of some of these places that look really good. I’ll post them all below. They are much more creative and inspiring than the daytime ones.

If you were to visit town via the Elm Street route, you’d be greeted by Camden National Bank. It’s a fairly large building that stands out very clearly. It’s located on the corner of Elm Street and Bay View Street.

Camden National Bank in Camden, Maine

We continued to walk around a bit, just to get the lay of the land. I wanted to know what was available before we starting going inside any type of business. I found a really cool wall that combined the ideas of Christmas and lobster. I find that a little strange. I’ve seen it a lot out there. It just seems like the two don’t go together, but perhaps I’m wrong.

Fresh Maine Lobster Sign

I took a few more photos during this part of our walk. The first one is after we reached the end of the stores on Elm Street. We were heading back down and I thought I noticed the quintessential Maine coastal main street. I wanted to capture it.

Elm Street in Camden, Maine

I love those kinds of photos.

I also grabbed one of a fire escape. The sun was hitting it just right, so it looked urban and interesting.

Old Fire Escape Attached to Brick Building

And finally, I took a picture of the Nutcracker sign. This show is being offered at the Camden Opera House in December.

Nutcracker Sign at the Camden Opera House

Having an opera house like this in such a small town is a big deal. It is to me anyway.

I also snuck a shot in of a place called Stonewall Kitchen. It’s like a gourmet kitchen shop.

Stonewall Kitchen in Camden

Let me tell you a bit about the Maine coast. It’s rather strange. Where we live, it’s fairly hilly. I wouldn’t say there are really huge mountains in our town, but it’s got its fair share of terrain. When you travel from western Maine to the coastal area, things get flat near Interstate 95, but then get really mountainous again near the water. I’m always surprised by this. I’m so used to the topography leveling out near any type of ocean.

Check this out. It’s a photo of a church steeple with Mt. Battie in the background. If you look closely, you’ll see a star at the top of the mountain that gets lit up at dark.

Mt. Battie in Camden, Maine

There were so many streets to explore. As I write this post, I’m trying to filter through all my photos. I think I took 139 of them and I know I can’t upload everything here. I still need to get to the good ones later on.

Anyway, as we walked down Bay View Street, we noticed a really nice hotel on its left side. It’s called 16 Bay View Hotel and it looks like something that should be in New Orleans. Check it out. I think I got some night shots of it too for below.

16 Bay View Hotel in Camden, Maine

On the same street is sort of like a small outdoor mall. I saw one sign that said Cotton Garden and another that I couldn’t read. Wait, I see the Grand Harbor Inn and Peter Ott’s. There seriously are so many upscale hotels and restaurants in this one town. It’s very condensed and not a lot of room is wasted. Right past these buildings is the water.

Grand Harbor Inn, Peter Ott's and Cotton Garden in Camden

Okay, the true centerpiece of town is the Camden Public Library. This is the type of feature that would attract visitors from far and wide. It may even make you move to an area like this, simply because of the future you could imagine. I’ve never seen a library like this in my life. Especially not in a small coastal town.

This is the backside of the library.

Rear of Camden Public Library

The stairs continue down into the Camden Harbor Park & Amphitheater.

Camden Amphitheater

This was the real reason I wanted to visit this town. I’ve been looking at this one feature for so long on Google Earth. I couldn’t take it any longer. So now, I’d like to return to the town to perhaps go to a show at the opera house and to explore more of the library and the town itself. There was a lot we didn’t see.

Here are some more parts of the amphitheater and the view out to the harbor. These are two small towers that are situated at the entrance of the amphitheater.

Amphitheater Towers

This is a, what do you call this, a small building in the amphitheater. You really need to read the history of this park via the link above. It’s very interesting.

Round Building in Park

This is the view of the harbor from the park across the street from the library. I mean, really. Have you ever seen anything like this? I really wish it wasn’t raining and the boats weren’t covered, but still.

Camden Harbor During Winter

This is a really cool, really tangled tree that’s next to one of the towers.

Tangled Tree Near Tower in Park

And here’s a ship on top of one of the towers and a gold rooster on the other.

Ship on Tower

Gold Rooster on Top of Tower

I wouldn’t have been able to come up with those ideas.

And here are three random shots of the amphitheater that I’m sure I’ll want to look back on some day.

Stone Amphitheater Steps

Amphitheater Landscape

Edge of Camden Amphitheater Treeline

Back in 1996, the Camden Public Library went through a transition. It was expanded to more than double its original size. Part of the deal was that any expansion of the building couldn’t obstruct the view of the harbor, so they decided to create the extended library underground. Like, you can walk on top of the lower level. There’s grass up there.

Underground Camden Library

Here’s a photo of one of the stones in the foundation.

Library Stone - 1996

I don’t even want to know how much any of this cost. I can only imagine. It’s nice though, I’ll give them that. And it’s surely a tourist attraction. When we entered the top floor of the library, I didn’t know the extent of the building. It was only when we walked down three flights of steps that I realized what we were in for. It’s quite remarkable. I’m still thinking about it.

Okay, back to reality. After our initial exploration, we decided to head into some of the shops to see what was for sale. We began with Once a Tree. We looked around for a bit and then I remembered that I was holding my camera. I snapped a few shots of some really nice dishware, or home decor, or whatever category you’d put things like this in.

Ceramic Dishware

Copper Cups

After that, we went into a candy shop next door and then into a shop called Jo Ellen Designs. All of the shops were so warm and inviting. I was truly impressed by each of them. They were beautiful. Take a look at the interior of Jo Ellen Designs. I took an additional photo of one of the Christmas trees, but it was blurry. That was one of my favorites too.

Jo Ellen Designs Interior

Upscale Christmas Decorations

Everything was so, so nice.

After a bit of shopping, it was high time for some lunch. We chatted with a gentleman (who happened to grow up a few towns away from where I grew up) for a while in the amphitheater earlier on and he told us that the Waterfront Restaurant down on Bay View Street was a good place to eat, so we made our way there. Of course, I had to stop for that random, very photogenic, picture of some Christmas decor during our travels.

Exterior Christmas Decor on Building

It was nice because it was getting slightly darker as we walked. All the lights began to shine more brightly. As we made it closer to the restaurant, I spotted a cool looking store. It was called the Red Barn Baking Company and it had an interesting looking sign. I thought about how good it would look on this blog, so I took a photo. Check this out.

Red Barn Baking Company in Camden, Maine

We entered the restaurant, had a wonderful lunch and when we came out, things were really getting darker. I took a shot of the harbor from the docks. Even on a cloudy day, it’s impressive. Very Maine.

Dock Along Camden Harbor

This is where things began to get interesting. Remember that hotel I mentioned earlier? The one called 16 Bay View? Well, it looked a lot better at night. Not that it didn’t already look good during the day. I’m just saying the lights looked better.

16 Bay View Hotel

16 Bay View Hotel Entrance

It’s the little things I noticed, such as how the wall lamps appeared to actually have candles in them. Many places had these types of lamps.

And remember that little mall I spoke of earlier? Well, that was looking pretty fantastic too.

Christmas Mall at Night

The church on elm Street was all lit up and ready to be photographed.

Camden Church

Church Steeple Clocks

Everything was very impressive. Here’s another shot of that same church. There were many of them and they were all huge.

Church on elm Street in Camden

As we made it back up to Main Street, I saw a lighted Christmas tree way up in the attic of some building. I had to show you. Check it out.

Christmas Tree in the Attic

After that, I went bonkers with the camera. The traffic was picking up, things were getting busier and I knew we were in store for some marvelous window shopping. The town was much more alive during this time of day. We continued to walk down Main Street, towards the car. I didn’t want to leave just yet. I preferred to stroll around some more to see what we could find.

I found the window of the brewing company. That’s for sure.

Brewing Company Window

I also found a stuffed moose. These things were all over the place. I kind of want one.

Stuffed Moose Toy

And finally, I found that Once a Tree was brightening up even more than it had before.

Lit Up Once a Tree

Whenever I see one of those “center of town” hotels, I try to go inside to see what it looks like. I enjoy tucking valuable pieces of information in the back of my mind for later use. Perhaps we’ll stay here one day.

This hotel is called the Lord Camden Inn and it really is situated right in the middle of town. I parked the car right outside of it.

Lord Camden Inn

Huge Lighted Christmas Wreath

These people weren’t shy about their decorations. I love that. The more lights, the better.

The entrance led back through a hallway to the front desk.

Hotel Entryway

We chatted with the front desk crew for a while, but unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the inside. It’s just as nice as the outside though. It’s upscale and it made me want to stay overnight.

We left the hotel and found that right next door, there’s a, get this, a real toy store. Just like there used to be when I was a kid. Not in a mall, but on Main Street. That knocked my socks off. Inside the store was another giant stuffed moose. I just had to share this.

Giant Toy Moose

There were all sorts of other toys as well. I took my sweet time looking through all the Ravensburger puzzles and then some other Star Wars items. I was amazed at all that was there. And the best part was that there were real shop owners. Adults. Not after school kids working for some corporation. These people owned the place. It was remarkable. Sort of like something from the past.

Toys in Toy Store Along Wall

Star Wars Toys

Okay, don’t worry. I’m almost done. After leaving the toy store, we did a little more window shopping because we really wanted to get our fill. We knew we wouldn’t be back for some time and our cameras were ripped and ready for work.

Take a look at some fresh fruit from the market I showed you earlier.

Fresh Fruit in Market Window

I believe these next three shots were from the window of Jo Ellen Designs. The items in the window appealed to me because they are so holiday oriented. Little reindeer and all that. I loved it.

Holiday Reindeer in Window

Toy Reindeer

Holiday Decor

I got this one photo for my friends here in town. Many of them have custom license plates.

Wicked Pissah License Plate

And finally (yes, I mean it this time), we have some window shopping photos from (I believe) Once a Tree. It was either this store or another close by. I can’t seem to remember right now.

Antique Styled Lamps

Cottom Snowman

Holiday Glass Bottles

So how was that? I’m not sure if I spent more time visiting Camden or writing this post. I don’t mind. Both were worth it. I hope you enjoyed looking through all of these photos and if you have any questions, I’d surely answer them. Just leave them in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Travel & Destinations Tagged With: Maine


A New Dunhill Fir Artificial Christmas Tree & Some Snow

November 27, 2017

For some strange reason, I am so into the holiday spirit this year. It’s most likely because I’ve been planning it since February. Last year, we had such a good time shopping up in Kingfield and doing all sorts of things, such as cutting down our own Christmas tree. I don’t think I wanted last season to end. Unfortunately, it did, just as it always does. To make up for that, I began thinking about this season early. I picked out some ornaments and little odds and ends online and I even bought an artificial Christmas tree from Home Depot in October. I know it was early, but I couldn’t wait. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be looking at this right now.

Dunhill Fir Artificial Christmas Tree

I had to take this photo this morning, just to make sure I got a decent shot. All of my previous ones weren’t that great because of the low lighting. You can see that it’s light out by looking at the curtains to the right. They’re glowing. It doesn’t matter. The tree is gorgeous and I smile when I look at it.

Get this, I bought this tree from Home Depot online and they delivered it for free. I think I paid $149 for it, but it’s now on sale for $119, which, I’ll admit, makes me a bit disappointed. Anyway, I didn’t know how an artificial tree would look, since I’ve yet to own one. This one is called the Dunhill Fir and I have to tell you that after I set this thing up and fluffed the branches (which took about four hours), I can’t even tell the difference between it and a real tree. A really good real tree. This Dunhill is a seven footer and it is as thick as they come.

Close Up Look at Branches of Artificial Christmas Tree

I still need something to go on top of the tree, but for now, I’m happy. Laura’s mom gave us a whole bunch of ornaments and these ornaments are the ones you see in these photos. Also, I bought the lights a while ago from the hardware store in town. I think I got 450 bulbs for something like $12 and change. That was a deal. At least I think it was. These people keep changing their prices so it’s difficult to tell.

Top of Christmas Tree

In other news, we’ve been getting a hint of snow out there over the past few days. We received a dusting yesterday and this is what I woke up to this morning.

November Snow in Maine

I loved seeing the snow fall like this. It makes me think we’re going to have a good season. So far, I have a trip to Camden, Maine planned to do some Christmas shopping, a trip to Sugarloaf (which already has nine inches of snow) to visit a holiday bazaar and fireworks on New Year’s Eve as well as some other small places that I haven’t etched in stone yet. It’s going to be exciting.

As far as Thanksgiving went, we had a really great time. I cooked for two solid days and we had my friend Kevin come over to join us for dinner. That was really nice and it makes things so much better when someone comes over. I have to act like a human and we have to clean the house. Guests also inspire me to cook more than I normally would, which was fun. I pulled so many recipes from my food blog, so that was quite the handy thing to have. I’d say the whole thing was a success and it makes me look forward to Christmas even more.

Okay, off to do some work now. I just thought I’d share these few things with you. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Home & Living Tagged With: Snow, Trees


Hiking Reed Brook to the Falls in Kingfield, Maine

October 22, 2017

Boy, this fall season has really been humming right along. We’ve gone out more than I’ve expected. Yesterday was the last for a while because it’s supposed to be cloudy for the next few days. Actually, I think we’re supposed to get two full days of rain coming up. That would be nice, since we haven’t had a good soaking in a while. It’s a bit dry around here.

Anyway, yesterday, we decided to head all the way up to Eustis to hike around a two mile loop that runs through the Cathedral Pines. The thing is, the coolant light has been coming on in the car and after I checked its fluid level yesterday, I thought we shouldn’t push it. It was low. I was forced to drive the truck, which meant the long distance all the way up to Eustis would have to wait. Mind you, Eustis is probably only 25 miles from Canada, so it’s a ways up there. We recently heard about a new trail called Reed Brook just north of Kingfield, so I thought that was a better idea. Staying a bit closer made sense. The only problem was, I had no idea where the trail was.

After making it to Kingfield, we stopped by a small antique shop that’s located in a room of the Herbert Grand Hotel. The owner of this shop, who is named Barb, was the one who initially told us about the trail. Luckily Barb was there and after I asked her for more specifics about how to find the trail, she gave us great directions which we used to find what we were looking for. I’ll warn you here – it’s not an easy trail to find. It’s off of Rt.27, but it’s tiny and virtually invisible if you don’t know what you’re looking for. There’s a small piece of orange land marking tape hanging from the tip of a branch along the road, if that helps any.

We parked across the street from the trail head in a small dirt pull-off. I believe fishermen use this pull-off as they fish the Carrabassett River. There were signs directed towards anglers attached to trees here and there. After entering the trail, I still wasn’t convinced that we were where we needed to be. That is, until I reached this:

Welcome to Reed Brook Sign

Ah, now I knew we were getting somewhere. Right past the sign, I looked back towards the road and grabbed a shot of the bridge the brook runs under. That’s Rt.27.

Reed Brook Flowing Under Rt.27 in Kingfield, Maine

I was quite impressed with how great looking the area was. It was like a hidden gem, right off the main road. I was excited to hike deeper into the woods to get away from the noise the cars made as they passed by.

I have to admit, I took a lot of photos of big gray rocks. As we were there, I thought all of them looked so pretty, but after I got home and reviewed them, I realized they were pretty ugly and very basic looking. Rocks are rocks, after all.

I’ll try to filter through as many as I can and only show you the interesting things I took photos of. There were some really neat features along the trail. If you’re a Star Wars lover and remember the Ewok Village, you’ll enjoy some of what I have to show you.

The trail was very well marked with many signs. All of them were interesting to read and written in a font that’s sort of like some sort of calligraphy. This one is straightforward. I’ll show you some others later on.

This Trail Was Built by Dawn Patrol

Basically, this is what the brook looked like for about a half mile. As you can see, there wasn’t much water flowing. There was some, but not a lot. Also, as you can see by looking at the rocks, this brook really gets cranking come spring. That’s when all the snow melt creates a rush of water down the mountain. By the way, yes, this brook climbs a mountain. A rather steep one the further up it goes.

Reed Brook in Kindfield, Maine

There were lots of little staircases along the way.

Staircase Along Trail in the Woods

There were also many small bridges. Even some with rope handrails.

Small Bridge

Rope Bridge in Wood on Trail

And what would a hike along a stream like this be without the classic water shot? There were a few pools like this that were very pretty.

Water Pool in Maine Stream

Okay, there are two really cool features along this hike. The first is the bridge and the second is the waterfall itself. About three quarters of the way up the trail is the bridge. This is an interesting looking piece of architecture that should be admired from all angles. You don’t see things like this all too often out there.

Max Bridge Capacity Sign

This sign details what the max bridge capacity is. It says there should be no more than one adult and one child crossing at any given time. As I read this, I wondered how accurate this sign really is. One adult and one child? There are many shapes and sizes out there. Perhaps a strict weight limit would have been better. I’m not the boss though, so I’ll just appreciate what someone else has done for me.

Check out this awesome bridge.

Bridge Across Reed Brook

Hey look, I even snuck into one of the bridge shots.

Jay Gaulard on Bridge

This is the main walkway.

Bridge Walkway Across Brook

And here are the steps that lead back into the woods.

Stairs Leading Back into the Woods

As I was walking, I really had no idea where we were headed. I heard there was a waterfall at the end of the trail, but I didn’t know how big it was or what it looked like in any way. A bit beyond the bridge, I snuck a peak through the trees and was like, “Whoa.” I called back to Laura, but she was too far behind and didn’t hear anything I said. All she missed was, “Hey look!” No big deal.

Jerocho's Steps in Kingfield, Maine

Huge hemlock trees lined the entire brook, which made for a good hike. I love hemlocks.

I walked a little more and saw a sign right before the falls. It said, “The Jericho Steps.” This was a little weird, because everything I have seen about these falls indicate that they are called Reed Brook Falls. I guess they have two names.

The Jericho Steps

Right after the sign, I snapped a picture of the falls themselves.

Reed Brook Falls in Kingfield, Maine

While that rock doesn’t seem that large, check out this next photo. I’m standing on a large boulder at the base of the falls. I like to do this to give a perspective of the sizes of things.

Jay Gaulard Standing at Base of Reed Brook Falls

As my final photo, I’ll show you a pile of stones that was set up nearby. These things seemed to be all over the place. I actually added a rock to the top of one of them. I’m quite balanced, if you know what I’m saying.

Rock Pile Near River

Overall, this was a really nice hike. It’s only about two miles round trip, so it was perfect for me. As I’ve said before, I’m not into all day events. I get itchy if I’m stuck someplace for too long.

On the way back, we stopped at Longfellow’s for lunch and then headed home. I was full, so I didn’t need to do any cooking, which was nice.

Anyway, if you’re ever near Kingfield, Maine and if you’re into hiking, this is one trail you might want to check out. It’s very enjoyable and whoever cleared the way and is in charge of the maintenance, nice job. I owe you.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking, Maine


Apple Picking at Morrison Hill Orchard in Farmington, Maine

October 16, 2017

Well, we finally did it. I didn’t think it was going to actually happen this year, but it did. We went apple picking and surprisingly, there were tons of apples to be picked. I thought the trees would be stripped clean, but they really weren’t. So many really beautiful (and huge) apples! I see an applesauce recipe in the very near future. So mark this on your calendars, mid-October – apple picking can totally happen.

Okay, first of all, why is it that every time we get in the car to do something like this, it’s sunny, but by the time we arrive at whatever location it is we’re going to, it’s cloudy? Two o’clock in the afternoon is when it happens. Sunshine makes photography exponentially better and today, we were forced to take about half of our photos under clouds. At least the other half looked good. I’ve got a ton of photos to show you in this post, so settle in and enjoy.

By the way, it’s supposed to drop to 32 degrees tonight. It’s getting chilly out there. I think I might need a fire in the stove tonight.

I’ll start off by telling you where we went. There’s a nice orchard on a really great looking hillside in Farmington, Maine.

Morrison Hill Orchard Sign

It’s called Morrison Hill Orchard and if memory serves, they offer about 15 different types of apples. We stuck to one side of the hill because the other side was picked clean. I think those were the apples that ripen up in August and September. We had fun with the ones that go all the way to late October. The Red Max, Empire, Rogers Red, Cortland and Macoun.

Apple Types Sign

After we got back to the house, I looked up each one of these apple types and I have to tell you, they all look identical. Weird. That’s fine with me though because they were all rather large and super crispy. I did the ol’ eat my way through the orchard thing this afternoon. I’m sure you know how that goes. Really good apples.

When we first arrived, I saw something that looked like a huge slingshot. Guess what – it was one. Check this out.

Apple Sling Sign

For two bucks, you can buy a bucket of lousy apples and sling them into a field way down the hill. Since it’s difficult to describe what I’m talking about, I had a photo taken of me demonstrating.

Jay Gaulard Holding Back Slingshot

We didn’t buy the apples because I was on another mission – a picking one. Do you see that smile in the photo above? I know, I don’t smile enough. I’m trying.

Here’s the field you can sling the apples to. There’s a board with the furthest distances recorded off to the side.

Apple Sling Field at Orchard

I’d say this is a pretty good idea for this orchard. I really came this close to slinging some apples.

After I played with the sling for a bit, we did the majority of our picking. The trees weren’t huge, but I had a tough time getting any apples. Because of this, I had to go grab two pole pickers.

Jay Picking Apples

We picked a half-bushel. I think that’s what it was. It’s the big bag and it cost $18.

Apple Prices

Here’s what the bag looked like.

Half Bushel of Apples

And this is my favorite apple. It’s pretty big and it’s sitting on my desk looking at me right now.

Holding a Big Apple in My Hand

After the picking, we walked around the orchard for a while taking random photos. There was a lot of good stuff to photograph and it was really enjoyable. This first photo is of the upper portion of the orchard. This is the area where there were no more apples.

Upper Orchard

I thought this next shot was pretty. I framed the front of the farmhouse with the apple trees. Talk about skill.

Apple Orchard Farmhouse

Next up, we have the standard apples on tree photo. This is a given. Along with the next apple trees in a row photo.

Apples Hanging From Branches

Rows of Apple Trees

This is an example of one of the apple trees.

Apple Tree

I thought it was pretty cool looking, so I grabbed a picture of it.

I also thought the signs that described the types of trees were cool, so I snapped a few photos of them as well. This first one is for the Empire apples.

Sign for Empire Apple Trees

And this next one is for the Cortland apple trees.

Sign for Cortland Apple Trees

Hey look! There’s even one of me holding an apple and giving a half smile. I think this picture was taken a second after I thought it was taken.

Jay Gaulard Holding Apple

Here are a few more random shots. One is of an old broken down wine barrel.

Old Broken Wine Barrel

This next one is of a pumpkin on a nice stone wall. I thought this was a pleasant touch. It’s so New England.

Pumpkin on Stone Wall with Pretty Flowers

If you take a look at the photo above, you’ll also see some pretty flowers at the base of the wall mixed in with some autumn leaves.

Okay, this orchard had some chickens in a coop, or a pen, or whatever you call it. One of the chickens got out and was walking around. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world getting a good picture, but I managed to get a few that were presentable. This one was the best.

Young Chicken

I’d say that’s one good looking chicken.

I saved the best for last. You’re going to love this story. I paid $18 for a half-bushel of apples. Last night, we had a lot of wind because the temperature dropped so much. It actually woke me up from slumber a few times. Today, while we were at the orchard, I saw a bunch of big bags that were full of apples, sitting every so often throughout the trees. The orchard people usually clean up the dropped apples every day. Well, since there was so much wind last night, a ton of apples fell from the trees. Good apples too! As I was doing my regular picking, I saw them all over the place. I kept commenting on how much of a shame it was to lose so many great apples.

I noticed that they were selling these bags of dropped apples for $7 each. Each bag weighed at least 60 pounds. I inquired about them and the lady said that they “have to” sell the apples as animal feed because they touched the ground, but that she can’t control what everyone actually does with them. We both knew everyone who gets a bag makes pies with them. At the other orchard, they press the fallen apples and make cider out of them. I said to myself, “What the heck,” and I bought a bag.

Jay Gaulard Holding Huge Bag of Apples

I put the big bag of apples in the trunk of the car and just opened it a little while ago to see what was inside. Guess what – the apples are perfect! Yes, some are small, but so many of them look just like the apples we picked off the trees just this afternoon. I’m totally washing as many as I can and am going to be doing some serious cooking with these things. And now that I know this place sells fallen apples, I swear I’m going to look at cider presses. I just have to.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I hope you enjoyed today’s post and if you have a comment please leave it below. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Travel & Destinations Tagged With: Maine


Hiking Center Hill Nature Trail in Mount Blue State Park, Maine

October 11, 2017

Today was a very adventurous day for us. After a bit of work this morning, I suggested that we get out there to enjoy this wonderful fall weather we’ve been having. Apparently, there’s a gigantic state we’re living in that has yet to be explored. We’ve seen, I don’t know, maybe half of a half of a percent of it. Let’s just say we have a long way to go.

The western part of Maine is chock full of mountains and trails. I’ve been looking at a place called Mount Blue State Park for a few months now. It’s a huge area that covers many miles right in a town called Weld. Really, this is a magical setting and if you ever get a chance to visit Maine, put this park on your places to visit. There’s Webb Lake, which is rather large. Right off its shores is a park campground with tons of sites. As we drove through the mountains this afternoon, I felt like I was visiting Vermont for skiing. Lots of mountains up there.

Here’s a view of Webb Lake from Center Hill in Weld, Maine. It was sunny when we left the house and, of course, it got cloudy just as we arrived at the park. That’s my luck. I’ll take blame for it.

Webb Lake From Center Hill in Weld, Maine

There was a small parking lot off the side of the road where we pulled over. I took so many pictures and I would really love to post them all here. The only problem is, they all look the same. Mountains. Oh yeah, and the lake. I did make sure to take many photos in succession because I wanted to test out my photo editing program’s panoramic capabilities. It did a really great job. Check this picture out. I shrunk it down a lot, but if you want to see it just a bit larger, you can right-click on the photo and then click on “Open Image in New Tab” or whatever menu item like that your computer offers.

Mountain Panorama

That’s fall in Maine for you.

The funny thing about researching areas like this on Google Earth is that I can’t really gauge the topography. For some strange reason, I completely forget to take it into account too – every single time. I thought Mount Blue State Park would be sort of flat with a mountain in the middle of it. No, it’s not. The roads wind around and the entrance to the smaller area we visited today was like climbing the beginning part of a roller coaster. It was really steep. Here’s a photo of me in the parking lot of the Center Hill Nature Trail. Right behind me is the drive into this dirt parking lot. It was like a cliff, as you might guess from looking at this photo.

Jay Gaulard at Center Hill Nature Trail in Weld, Maine

Those stones in the picture prevent your car from going down the hill if it accidentally rolls. You really don’t want that to happen.

Center Hill is a self-guiding nature trail. There’s a small wooden container with brochures in it that you can pick up as you walk towards its beginning. Inside the brochure are descriptions of 11 trail-stops that you can make while you’re enjoying the hike. At each stop, there’s something to learn, from what mountains can be seen from a lookout point to why a bog exists at the top of a mountain to what types of trees grow among others on a particular side of the hill. It’s pretty cool. I actually stopped hiking to read the description for each area. Luckily, the hike was only half mile, so I didn’t really feel the need to rush. A half mile might sound short, but they really packed a lot into it. There were so many cool features. I’ll try to show you some of them below.

Topography of Mount Blue State Park

The very beginning of the trail is a small, grassy hill with stone steps ascending it. When we climbed that small hill, we found a shelter like something you’d probably see along the Appalachian Trail.

Center Hill Shelter

There were picnic tables too. The view was perfect, so maybe I’ll bring some sandwiches next time. The both of us kept on commenting how much the trail looked like it should be in Ireland or Scotland or a place like that. Lots of grass and moss.

Right after the shelter, the real trail started. I took one look at it and thought it was going to be a doozy. There were some steep steps made from wood and stone. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed after this part.

Wood and Stone Trail Staircase

Okay, I have only one more picture of me to show you. I wanted to post just this one, but the first one I posted was the only one of the parking lot with the mountains in back of it. Here goes.

Jay Gaulard Hiking in Mount Blue State Park

At least in this one, I’m half smiling. It’s not easy being in these photos, but I try to get at least one for every post. You know, to keep things personal.

The entire hilltop consists of a mix of hardwood trees as well as pines. I’d say the majority is pine, so there are some rather dense areas. These are my favorite type of trails and parks.

Top of Trail Staircase

Pine Forest in Maine

It wasn’t too long before we saw a sign for an overlook. Things were about to get interesting.

Overlook Ledges

A short distance beyond the sign I just showed you was the very top of the hill. Like many mountains and other hills in the area, the top was completely rock.

This is the trail that leads to the peak.

Rocky Trail

And this is the peak itself.

Peak of Center Hill in Weld, Maine

You know I had another picture taken of me on top of this mountain. I just can’t bear to show it to you though. Three in one post? I don’t think so.

Another lookout point had a picnic table and a bench available for resting. This was probably the half way point of the trail.

Bench at Lookout Point Along Trail

Remember I told you there was a bog here? Strange, right? It really is. It’s such a small hill on top of a mountainous area and to have a wetland situated all the way up there was pretty weird. My guess is that there’s some sort of a spring that feeds it. It’s been dry recently and for it to be marshy at all is a wonder.

Center Hill Bog in Mount Blue State Park

This is the final lookout of the trail. It’s of the mighty Mount Blue itself. I thought this was a really great shot because of the framing involved. I didn’t even have to do any work.

Mount Blue in Weld, Maine

By the way, there’s another hike that begins at the base of this mountain. It’s 3.2 miles long and it goes straight from the bottom to the top. They claim it’s a challenge. I believe them. I’m not interested in hikes like that. I enjoy mozying more than hiking, to be honest with you.

We continued walking and finally made it to the end of the trail. This was probably the most challenging part of the whole thing. It’s sort of a cliff. We both made it down just fine and I decided that one last photo of the field with the picnic tables in it would be in order. I kept saying that if I was a kid again, I’d be running around these grass trails like a nut.

Picnic Tables in Field

So there it is. A nice day at Center Hill in Mount Blue State Park. Overall, I thought the area was very exciting and we plan to visit again soon. I’d like to hit some other trails. There are quite a few of them. Also, I want to visit the campground on the other side of the lake. I haven’t gone camping in years, but hey, you never know.

Until next time. Thanks for reading!

PS – Obviously, Laura and I went hiking in this area together and as you may already know, we both have cameras. What I posted here is my perspective of the nature center. Why not take a quick peek at Laura’s perspective? Her photos are rather good. Also, sign up for her email list while you’re on her site. She’s got some really posts that she shares.

Filed Under: Nature & Outdoors Tagged With: Hiking, Maine


This Year’s Almost Apple Picking Adventure

October 6, 2017

Yesterday was the day we chose for our yearly apple picking adventure. We’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember, we’ve been late at getting out every single year. Well, perhaps that isn’t exactly true. I can recall times many years ago that we ventured out in September, but the problem with those occasions was that September is oftentimes just as hot as August is. For some odd reason, we seemed to have found the hottest days of the month for our picking. In more recent years, we decided that any time after October 1st is just fine with us. It’s been working out too. The only issue is that many of the better apples are already gone. We manage to get our fair share though.

Last year’s picking was the best. As I wrote in a previous post, we found the most beautiful orchard in the world and it was right in our own backyard in Mercer, Maine. If I had to guess, I’d day the orchard is a good 20 minutes from our house. This orchard, for some strange reason, has the best energy about it. It’s quiet, has a ton of different apple varieties and has a landscape that I could get lost in for hours. It’s stunning. And what’s best of all is that there’s a cat named Felix that lives on the property. Felix just loves to come out to play with those of us who visit to do some picking. Take a look at me falling in love with him just yesterday.

Jay Gaulard and Felix the Cat

When anyone approaches Felix, he drops to the ground and rolls on his back waiting to be pet. Of course, this is what everyone does. I like to rub his belly and then pick him up for a squeeze. I can remember doing the same exact thing last year. He’s a real highlight at the orchard.

I have a story about yesterday’s picking, but I’d like to start at the beginning of our outing first. Later on in this post, I’ll get to what happened at the orchard.

We decided to take the long way down to Mercer yesterday. There weren’t many people out, so I could drive very slowly like I enjoy doing. When I drive slowly, I see things I don’t usually see. Yesterday, after I pulled off the main road onto the dirt road that leads to the apple place, I passed by a regular looking Maine house. There wasn’t anything all too special about it. As I was peeking in the back yard of this house, I noticed a small cemetery situated along a treeline. I remarked at how interesting it is to have something like this so close to a residence and as I continued driving, I realized that the cemetery was larger than I first thought. I decided to pull over to the side of the road to see what it was all about. Again, we were pretty much alone out there yesterday, so I could have parked in the middle of the road to enjoy a sandwich. Very little pressure when it comes to the driving around here.

Cemetery in Mercer, Maine

The cemetery was beautiful. It had a traditional iron fence that surrounded it and it was in very good shape. I love seeing things like this in the month of October. The weather is usually so good and sometimes, the exploring is even better.

After I took a few pictures, I turned around to notice that I had parked in the parking lot of the Mercer Meeting House.

Mercer Meeting House Sign

As I learned yesterday, much of the construction in the area occurred in the 1800s. You wouldn’t know it because so many structures have been re-sided, but many of the original houses and buildings still stand. Don’t get me wrong here, there were never many to begin with. But from what was built, so much is still being lived in and used.

The Meeting House is still in very good shape. I took a few photos of it. I’ll share the best one here.

Mercer Meeting House - Maine

Green Door From 1800s Building

Sitting all the way over to the left of the building, along the road, was a mill stone with a plaque attached to it.

Mercer, Maine Elm Tree Plaque

On this plaque were some words describing an enormous tree that once existed in the town. If you can’t read the words in the photo above, here’s something that’s more clear.

Largest Elm Tree in New England Sign

Who knew the largest tree in New England grew in Mercer, Maine? I sure didn’t. I love interesting tidbits of information like this. Of course, I view this claim with skepticism. I have a weird feeling that there are many “largest tree” stories out there. But, without knowing any facts, I’ll give this one to the town of Mercer.

After leaving the Meeting House parking lot, we didn’t get much further than an eighth of a mile before I noticed the most beautiful pond over to our left. There was a sign in front of the pond indicating that the area was, in fact, a bog, which is a wet, muddy area that is too soft for any heavy structure to be situated.

Mercer Bog Sign

At first, I told myself that this area was particularly beautiful. As I continued to walk down the street though, I realized that the area was actually remarkably beautiful. Take a look at this next photo.

Beautiful Pond in Mercer, Maine

I mean really? How nice does that look? I stood there for a while soaking it all in.

As I walked just a bit further, I saw the coolest grass pathway leading to the rear of a nearby house. I simply love features like this. I have a long history of exploring a variety of properties, and when I can picture myself walking though some grass on an autumn day with a glass of red wine in my hand, I’m a happy camper. Take a look at this path that leads to the area in back of the bog.

Grass Path Through Property

I think I like the wooden fence all the way to the left the best.

Across from the path was a dead milkweed pod that was just begging me to photograph it. I love the details in these things.

Milkweed

Okay we’re down to the final photo for this part of the post. As I was walking back to the car, I noticed another mill stone hidden in the high grass, right off the road. Upon closer examination, I noticed that this stone had some writing on it. It said, This wheel was used in the Mercer grist mill to grind grain into flour in the 1800’s.

Grist Mill Stone

The road we were walking on was dirt and there was a large ledge right off of it, in back of this stone. As I moved closer to the side of the road, my left foot fell into a hole. I went down all the way to my knee. Apparently, there was some erosion in this area that I didn’t see because I was so focused on getting a picture of the stone. The lesson I learned was that I need to pay closer attention to the environment when I’m in the field taking photos. You know, I’m frequently so enthralled with taking pictures of things that I oftentimes don’t notice the danger that lurks all around me.

Anyway, let’s move onto the apple orchard. That’s where most of the fun happened.

Unfortunately, since we had such a rainy spring this year, the orchard we visited had a tough time with their spraying of the trees. Because of this, there weren’t many apples that were good enough to pick. Sadly, we didn’t fill our bag at all. We left empty handed in that regard. I did, however, take a few bites of an apple during our meandering through the orchard. Also, the owner of the property gave me a red delicious as a gift, which I ate on the ride home. Here’s a picture of me holding the apple I just spoke of.

Jay Gaulard Holding Apple

I also purchased a gallon of freshly pressed apple cider, which I tasted last night and found to be delicious.

Apple Cider Sign

We did manage to snap a few photos during our stroll around the property. You know, the usual photos. I was actually kind of nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to get any because I have done such a thorough job of photographing things like this in the past. Sometimes, I feel like I’m writing and sharing the same posts over and over again. Especially when it comes to apple picking. I mean, how many times can I show you photos of apples? I’ll limit this year’s to only a few random shots of the orchard.

Apple Tree Rows

Apple Crate Lying in Grass

The owner of this apple orchard, whose name happens to be Carol, sometimes operates quilting getaways for friends and family. The last time we visited the orchard, I noticed a building that looks sort of like a house, with a sign that read “Quilted Apple Retreat” on its side.

Quilted Apple Retreat

Like I said, I never thought much of the building beyond that fact that it was in very nice condition and that I liked the sign on the side of it. Well, as it turns out, the building is a restored barn and as Carol was talking to us yesterday, she invited us inside for a tour. I was especially glad she did this because, as I mentioned above, I wanted to write a blog post about the day and I didn’t have many photos. I’ll tell you right now, the tour of the barn really helped. It helped a lot. I love the pictures I took of the interior. I’ll show them to you now.

Let me tell you, when we walked into this structure, my jaw almost hit the floor. I wasn’t expecting what I saw. Take a look.

Restored Barn Interior

I mean, can you imagine having a place like this? I can’t. I would love it, but I couldn’t imagine ever finding the luck that would allow me to own something so wonderful. Talk about cozy. As we were walking around and as Carol was telling us about the building’s history, I couldn’t help but to imagine relaxing in front of the huge wood stove. This wood stove has a story of its own. It was given to Carol by a group in town that had gotten it from another group. To make a long story short, the stove is considerably old and it has a rich history. It’s also enormous. Check it out.

Round Oak Wood Stove

For some reason, I always picture myself cozying up near a wood stove at night during a snow storm. There’s nothing more peaceful than that idea for me. I love having a wood stove here at the house, but ours is nothing compared to this larger one above. I could get used to something like that.

The building contained so many unique attributes and features. For instance, there was a huge hand-forged chain that Carol’s family found in the back yard during some excavation. The chain was wrapped around a boulder. I guess someone tried to move the boulder, failed and gave up. They simply let the chain sit in the dirt and eventually it was covered by earth. It was found and restored and now it sits upon a beam in the barn.

Restored Chain

Here’s a different view. It’s a big chain.

Huge Chain

Along the walls are signs from a long time ago. This one that says “Wealthys For Sale – One Mile” is from 1930.

Wealthys For Sale - One Mile Sign

I don’t know the story about these next two, but I thought they were really cool, so I took some photos of them.

Apples For Sale Sign

Huston's Biscuit - Auburn, Maine

Inside this building, there’s a loft, a kitchen and a bedroom upstairs. Here’s the kitchen.

Restored Barn Kitchen

And here’s the bedroom.

Cozy Loft Bedroom

I honestly don’t think you can get much more cozy (apparently, I find myself using this word a lot in this post) than this. I instantly fell in love with this place. I really didn’t want to leave.

When I was remodeling the room I’m sitting in right now, I had a great idea. I thought that I would attach cedar shake shingles to the inside of the ceiling. I also wanted to place restored barn wood on the walls. After thinking about this for a while and after adding up how expensive it would be, I talked myself out of the idea. Well, as it turns out, someone else had the same exact idea and actually followed through with it. This next picture makes me want to re-do the room I’m in.

Interior Cedar Shake Siding

I love the warmth of interior wood. There’s nothing like it.

The last thing I want to show you from the inside of this building is an example of the creative lighting Carol used. I want to copy this idea so bad, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Luckily, there are a lot of folks out there who are now getting into these types of creations, so I might just have to purchase something similar. Perhaps I could hang a few over my puzzle table.

Antique Lantern Lighting

Wow, what a great place. I’m excited to post these pictures to share with you. I also enjoy looking back on them, so this is a win-win.

After our tour was finished up and as we were leaving, I decided to grab some shots of the apple cider press this establishment uses. First, I took a photo of the apple crates.

Apple Crates Filled with Apples

And finally, for the last photo of this post, I present the apple cider press. I’m starting to think I want one of these. I was watching a few videos last night and learned just how easy making apple cider can be. Believe me when I tell you this, there are apples all over the place up here. All over.

Apple Cider Press

Overall, we had a really great day yesterday. What began as a loss quickly turned into a sheer delight. I loved the adventure and look forward to our next apple picking effort, which might happen in a few days from now.

Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Travel & Destinations Tagged With: Maine


First Bike Ride on the Narrow Gauge Pathway in Carrabassett Valley

September 22, 2017

We have already walked on this trail a few times, but yesterday was the first time we rode our bikes on the Narrow Gauge Pathway up near Sugarloaf Mountain. I’m happy to report that our ride was just as enjoyable as our walks have been. The trail is smooth, fairly long and it even has a few offshoots for the adventurous riders among us. Those offshoots are more for mountain biking and they range in levels of complexity. Some are easygoing and straightforward while others are much more technical for the advanced rider. Since we are merely casual riders, we stuck to the beginner trails. More on that below.

I was forced to drive the truck up to the trails yesterday. I didn’t want to do that because it gets something horrible like eight miles to the gallon as far as fuel efficiency goes. Surprisingly, I used less than a quarter tank of diesel for the whole trip. That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The reason I had to drive the truck was because I haven’t been able to find any decent bike racks for the car. The ones available online are very flimsy looking and I’m not in the mood to spend a lot of money for a rack made specifically for the model of car we own. Every time I do that, less than a year goes by and I get rid of whatever vehicle it was I just “customized.” I hate it when that happens. No matter. I’ll just drive the truck when we want to ride the bikes. We don’t do these things all that often anyway.

We arrived at the parking lot that sits approximately 1.3 miles east of the trail head near Sugarloaf. I know this distance because there are marker signs all over the place. After I unloaded the bikes, I had a few photos taken of me so I could remember the moment whenever I reread this post. This is the best photo by far.

Jay Gaulard Posing in Front of Mountain Bike Near Sugarloaf Mountain

By the way, since I already took so many pictures the last time we visited this area, I really didn’t take too many this time. Also, it’s sort of difficult to do that sort of thing while riding a bike.

Anyway, here’s a photo of my bike. I’ve had this thing since I was living in Binghamton, NY while going to college in 1996. I bought it when I first arrived, for something like $300 and it’s been everywhere I have since. It’s a perfectly good bicycle. So good, in fact, that I made a few upgrades to it. As you might be able to see in the photo, I added those additional handlebars that face towards the front tire. I also switched out the tiny, extremely painful little seat that comes with these types of bikes for a larger, more cushioned version. Finally, I pulled off the knobby tires and replaced them with some plump road tires. I probably ride on the road more than anything else and I never saw a need for too much tread.

Mongoose Mountain Bike

Notice how it doesn’t have any shocks or anything like that. I don’t need them because I ride old school.

The weather was perfect yesterday. It wasn’t too hot at around 73 and not too cool during midday. Later on, I had to put a sweatshirt on, but that’s why they’re made. I’m sure you agree when I say that autumn weather is the best because you can still wear shorts, but it’s just cool enough to pull a hoodie over your head. No sweat. That’s what I like the best.

As we were riding towards Sugarloaf, I noticed a tower at the top of the mountain peeking through the trees. I decided to grab a photo of it.

Tower at Top of Sugarloaf Mountain

As you can see, the leaves are somewhat changing. There’s still a lot of green out there, but fall is definitely here. As we were riding through the trails, we saw a lot of leaves falling from the trees. It was very nice.

This pathway is full of wooden bridges and beautiful twists and turns. Sometimes, it’s best to take a break for some photos.

Wooden Bridge on Narrow Gauge Pathway

Narrow Gauge Pathway in Maine

Along the primary rail trail, as I mentioned above, are offshoot trails that offer a bit of variety for riders of all skill levels. One trail called “Grassy Loops” is for beginners. The nicest thing about this particular trail is that it’s very smooth and is more open than some of the others. It’s almost as if someone mowed the grass along its entire length.

Grassy Loops Sign

Grassy Loops Trail

While the ride along this path was very peaceful, and I know this is awful to think of, but I kept telling myself how I could really tear this sucker up if I was riding a motocross bike. It had the perfect soft and fluffy dirt to spit out from behind while slamming through some gears. Okay, enough of that. I was merely daydreaming.

Some of the most beautiful sections of the trail are those that hug the Carrabassett River. We made it down to one such area and decided that we had traveled far enough. Since it was our turn around spot, we rested for a while and grabbed a few more photos.

Narrow Gauge Pathway Along Carrabassett River

The edges were rocky and steep, but I still made my way down to the water for a photo. It’s just something I need to do every time I visit this area.

Carrabassett River

Since I didn’t want to duplicate other photos I already took too much, I decided to stop taking pictures at this spot.

After our ride, we stopped off at Longfellows in Kingfield for a nice lunch/dinner. After that, we made a quick visit to Wire Bridge in New Portland. This is just something that needs to be done every so often. It’s the perfect monument to photograph and it’s a pretty cool place to hang out as well. Since I don’t want to bore you with these photos because I already took so many, I’ll just post a few here.

Wire Bridge in New Portland, Maine

Now that I look at the old photos compared to the new ones, I can see that the new ones look a lot better. That’s most likely due to the time of day these were taken. Closer to dusk is always better for photography. I’ll show you a few more.

Half of Wire Bridge

Side Angle View of Wire Bridge

Wire Bridge Cables

Sitting in the Middle of Wire Bridge in New Portland, Maine

Wire Bridge Brackets

If you’d like to see a video of me driving across this bridge, you can do that in this post. Just scroll down a little to get to the actual video.

I have a huge surprise for you. Since it’s the end of the post, I suppose I should share a few photos from the end of our day. As we were driving home, we passed by a field with a fairly good number of red deer in it. When I noticed this, I quickly pulled over and we both began taking mad pictures. Here are two of the best that I was able to get. Check out this big boy. The first is a huge male walking away from me.

Red Deer From Behind

And this next one is the money shot. I got him looking right at me.

Large Male Red Deer with Many Points

Now that’s what I’m talking about! How cool is that?

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any comments, please leave them down below. I always reply. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Maine

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