OMG!

22 July 2013
OMG! OMG! OMG! We just got back from our flight and it was AWESOME! I have over 100 pictures to sort through and will do that over the next few days. We are heading up to our new campsite and will be off the grid until we return. No cell, no internet, no nada! I'll report back in when we return!

Roger our pilot!

Greenville Maine

22 July 2013
The last few days have been so beautiful - weather wise and other wise. Not too hot, not too cold, perfect level humidity, and lots of new experiences. Today is Monday and on Saturday we took a long drive to check out a different lake/pond. We found our next spot to camp. We will be moving to the bottom of Indian Pond to a nice private campground. No hook ups but that is okay because Trox got the generator to behave itself.

On the drive we spotted an Osprey nest. Decided to stop and set up tri-pod. The stop was well worth it. There were at least two babies with one very actively trying out its wings!

Baby Osprey playing with its wings

Baby Osprey playing with its wings

Baby Osprey playing with its wings

Two baby Osprey

Here comes a parent.
S/he was really pissed at us and kept
circling and yelling until we left.

The new "pond" is huge. Very long and skinny and is all privately owned. Just south of here is the Kennebec River Gorge which is a popular raft trip. It is a twelve mile run through Class II, III, and IV rapids. Seems to be a pretty popular spot.

A view from the boat dock

Another view from the boat dock

This map should give you
an idea how long and skinny the pond is.

Merlin is working out as a great Motorhome!

On the way home we kept looking for Moose but didn't get to see any. Trox spotted one the other day on his ride but so far I haven't had any luck. We're told they are hard to find when it is so hot but now that it has cooled off maybe we'll get to see more.

Yesterday we rented a kayak and headed out to a local pond. Neither of us have any real experience in a kayak so decided on a small pond that was recommended by the guy we rented it from. This pond is known as Prong Pond. I got to go out first and played for about an hour. Trox went out and came back before dark. His goal when he set out was to paddle the circumference of the pond.

The rental!

And I'm off!

Self-portrait

HEY, MOM! Look at me!

While I was out Trox managed to get some birding in! Also while I was out he solved a mystery. We have been seeing these funny purple "boxes" hanging from trees and he figured them out!

Cedar Wax Wing

The purple thing

Now we know what those purple things are!

Dragon Flies on a Yellow Pond Lily

Blue Winged Teal Ducks sleeping in a pile

Blue Winged Teal Duck

Pickerel Weed

Pitcher Plant

Pitcher Plant Bloom

Yellow Pond Lily

Trox coming home!

I couldn't believe how much energy he still had!

He didn't quite make the circumference.
He paddled 7 miles!
He's sore today.

The moon rise

He got back just as the moon was coming up and we packed up and headed back to our campground for a yummy dinner. On the way we got a few more pictures.

We spotted this little guy on our way home.
No sign of Mommy.

A beautiful end to a beautiful day.

Today we are up early for our flight in the 195! And then we are heading to our new campground.

20 July 2013
We are still enjoying Greenville and the surrounding area. Thursday (the 18th) Trox got up and made a ride. He said the mosquitoes and black flies were so bad he was afraid to stop to get pictures. He did manage to get a photo of an owl.

Barred Owl

Later that day Trox and I took Merlin out to Mountain View Pond where we both had a dip off the boat ramp. We had the spot all to ourselves which was really nice!

There is a ski area on those mountains!
Water was warmish!

The wild flowers are still in abundance. While we were in Belfast the Lupine was blooming everywhere and once the Lupine stopped then the Lilies and now there are lots of things in bloom.

Wild Flowers are everywhere!

While we were in Belfast we converted the bathroom sink area of Merlin into a coffee station. We are both enjoying it!

Room for both coffee pots
and the creamer and grinder.
As well as lots of storage above!

Yesterday Trox made his longest ride yet - 38 miles! He is really enjoying his new 29" bike. He came back from his ride pictureless - once again blaming the mosquitoes and black flies. They are really bad and we have both been making blood offerings and they keep coming back for more. We had some rain yesterday but once it cleared up we decided to go to one of the public beaches to make dinner. It was beautiful when we arrived with the water completely calm and the skies cloudy but not threatening. Within minutes of setting up the stove to cook dinner the wind whipped up and the rain started.

Everything was wet after the storm.

The storm was fast and furious with lots of lightening over the lake. We waited it out and cooked dinner afterwards. We watched the loons out our window during the storm and after we got some pretty good shots.

A Common Loon
checking out what's below

Common Loon

Ducks of some unidentified variety

Largest birds of them all
1958 De Havilland Canada DHC-2 C/N 628
and a Cessna 195

The planes belong to Currier's Flying Service out of Greenville. We are scheduled to go up in the 195 on Monday to fly up to Baxter State Park! Stay tuned for pictures of the flight!

Greenville Maine

18 July 2013
Maine has a network of state parks which range from VERY small to VERY large. So far we have visited 9 of them. We are currently staying at Moosehead Family Campground near Greenville and not far from us is one of the moderately sized parks - Lily Bay at 925 acres. It is right on Moosehead Lake with a really nice beach.

The view from the beach

The beach and the bottom
of the lake is fine pebbles

Lily Bay is one of the state parks that has camping so while we were there yesterday we checked out the campgrounds. They are really nice with a number of sites right on the water. Unfortunately it has been really hot and muggy (with promises that it will cool down starting this weekend) and their sites don't have power so it would be pretty miserable (no air conditioning). The other problem is that the sites we really liked are all booked for the rest of the season! Obviously a very popular spot. Oh, well ...

We got in a really nice swim and the water was nice and refreshing. There was a nice playground so both us took advantage of it and did some of our exercises. Afterwards we got back in the water to cool down. I think the kids thought we were nuts.

Playing on the monkey bars

My goal this summer is to be
able to do TWO chin ups
I can't quite get one yet!

This morning Trox is off on another ride and he took the camera. I should have some good pictures to post tomorrow. Today we are going to go exploring up by Rockwood - about 20 miles from here.

A = Rockwood
B = Greenville
C = Lily Bay State Beach

In Maine

17 July 2013
Trox and I are in Maine this summer. We have been working on a POS since early May and it is now SOLD!!!! Now for the fun part of summer. Our plan (WHAT plan??) is to tour around Maine for awhile and then head north to see a little of this part of Canada and then south and then finally west to end up home before the passes are closed.

We spent our first two plus months in Belfast living in the driveway of some property owned by Mummy Nina. Most of our time and efforts were spent towards getting the property sold. Luckily we had some help. Mummy Nina arrived in June and stayed until the end.

Mummy Nina with menagerie - Miney & Raunchy

We did manage to have some fun while she was here. One day we went out to Dark Harbor and got to visit the home where Nina spent many summers growing up and got to meet one of her childhood friends.

The summer home of Nina's Grandfather,
Charles Crook Auchincloss

Nina & DB with Glenda in background

While in Belfast we lived in the RV (Merlin). Our parking place was in the back driveway of the property and was NOISY since we were right on a busy highway.

Our parking place had nice shade

Not necessarily a nice view to the front

And to the rear was down right yucky

On July 15 the property sale was finalized and yesterday morning we all headed out. Nina headed south for Florida. Her first stop was in Mystic CT. We headed northwest and ended up in a really nice campground in the Moosehead Lake Region. Yesterday on our drive from Belfast we stopped for a nice swim in one of the many lakes in Maine and then after we set up camp at the campground we went on into Greenville and took a dip at Red Cross beach - a little public beach right in town and then did a little exploring.

This morning Trox got up early and made a great ride of 30 miles! We are back in our favorite travel mode of "wonder where that road goes?"!

Much more to our taste in parking places!

Big Indian Pond on Trox' ride this morning

Stay tuned for more!