Day 21: June 22, Maine ATVing

Last night JoeLaChance and I had agreed that we would meet for breakfast and that I would call him when ready.  Joe is the President of the Four Corners Park Association in Madawaska.  He has been the creator and driving force behind the Park being erected and has galvanized the community into supporting it. 

Well, Joe got a little impatient.  At 9am he was knocking on my motel door and greeted me with “last year you promised we’d go ATVing this year, let’s go!”

Hmmm, I was looking for a good reason to hang out in Madawaska for another day J.

And this is when I discovered, as I was getting my gear, that my expensive prescriptive bifocal goggles were no where to be found.  After a thorough search I knew for sure that I had lost them.  Retracing my steps from the night before it would have to be at the gas station.

In the meantime, Diane (Joe’s wife) had arrived so we got into her car and went to the station.  As we pulled in I could see the goggle’s foam cushion insert laying on the ground next to the pump.  As I retrieved that Joe went to the cashier inquiring about the eyewear and lo and behold, she had them!  Someone had found them and gave them to the cashier.  Boy was I ever lucky!  I think I’ll write a letter to the local newspaper expressing my appreciation.

With joy coursing through my bones over finding my goggles, we returned to the motel so I could retrieve my helmet and bike and ride over to the Park for photos.  I like to get a photo with Joe and I think he likes to have his photo taken.  Upon exiting the motel I saw Joe talking with another rider. 

The rider was the biggest guy I have ever seen.  Probably around 6’10 and 350 lbs!  He is Lutheran Pastor Kerry Nelson from Bellaire TX and Madawaska was his 2d corner.  So I led him over to the Park and we got joint photo with Joe.

After the photo sessions Joe and Diane and I went to Polly’s for breakfast.  Inside everyone was greeting Joe (happens everywhere you go with Joe) and sitting at a table by himself was Rev Kerry!  So he was kind enough to join us and we had a great conversation with Kerry telling quite a few stories of his exploits. 

With breakfast over we went to Joe’s house and fired up the ATV 4-wheeler and headed to the mountains.  What a fun time!  This is my first time in an ATV and definitely my first time in the Maine countryside. 

All the trails were hard packed, many were rutted, and there was the occasional opportunity to splash through some large puddles in the trail.  Here’s a pic of one of the wider trails.

We stopped on a wooden bridge

and observed bugs and small fish/big tadpoles swimming in the stream and I took this photo of us.

A bit later Joe slowed the vehicle and warned me to watch for moose.  I thot he was joking until I looked left into a wooden swamp area AND THERE WAS A MOOSE!!  Albeit a teenager in size. 

Joe took a photo of me and the moose but it started moving away and only shows up as a brown spot in the woods above my shoulder.

Back on the trail, perhaps another mile later, we came upon another one.  This one was a BIG MAMA!  She stood there and stared at us and Joe kept saying to creep closer (I was driving then).  I kept saying to take the photo now!  But Joe was adamant so we crept the ATV closer and Mama Moose turned back into the woods.  No photo, darn!.

Continuing on our ride, Joe took us up on an overlook and, while sipping Canadian beer, we took in the views of the mountains and the lakes.  Absolutely gorgeous! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then rode more trails down to the lakes and I spied a couple working on their home that was on the lake. 

I can’t find the scrap paper where I wrote their names but I think they are Bruce and Danielle.

ATVing up another mountain Joe took me to the cabin that the ATV Association.  It is located up on the mountain and, between the trees, affords a view of the two lakes.  The cabin is really nice for guys, gals and families.  Inside we found game tables, casual chairs, country decorations and a mounted deer’s head sporting cool sunglasses.

Then it was back down the mountain, around some different trails, and Joe took me to where a beaver dam was located.  He was a little concerned about being there because it is off limits.  He shut the engine off and we got out and found moose footprints in the soft soil.  As we stood there in the quiet we then could hear a moose’s mating call.  Pretty soon we heard two more.  There were three moose in the nearby woods, completely hidden, issuing their calls for a babe to join them.   I was standing on the edge of the dam and I heard a SLAP!!

Looking in the water I saw a flat tailed beaver grabbing air and diving away.  Wow!  This is cool!

Dinner was pizza and salad and then we called it a night.  Tomorrow we’ll have breakfast at Tim Horton’s and then I’ll get on my way to New Hampshire to ride the Kancamangus.

It was quite an outing with Joe today. He really showed me a lot of Maine that I normally would not have seen.  And the icing on the cake was seeing two moose, pheasant, moose tracks, hearing moose making mating calls, and seeing a beaver.

Thanks Joe!

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
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