Our Trip to the North Country

Our North Country Vacation – October 2006

by Patricia L. Cummings
photos by James Cummings

This story is about a trip to northern Maine and as far north as St. John's, Canada in autumn 2006.

A stream runs through a bog in Northern Maine

Let me begin the story at the beginning. Our vacation trip to Canada started early in the morning on October 11, 2006, after weeks of careful planning. We packed up the car with enough luggage to last for a three month safari to deepest Africa, and headed in the direction of “north,” whizzing past Portland, Maine and all other points between Concord, NH and Calais, Maine. The foliage was still beautiful. Jim had “scoped out” some “good places to stay,” using the Internet, and I had every confidence that this would be a get-away to remember. As it turns out, it was a memorable trip, but not for the reasons you may think, dear reader.

Moose Hunting Without A Gun?

We were on the lookout for wildlife, but saw none on this first leg of the journey. At mid-afternoon, we pulled up to a gasoline pump at a small convenience store/restaurant that also serves as a Maine state registration site for game kill. A young male moose had been killed by a passenger truck because “it would not get out of the way.” (I hope that was a joke.) The large animal had managed to destroy the front axle of the truck that had collided with him at
7:00 a.m. in the morning. Now, he was lying on top of a flat bed, tag-along trailer, ready to be tagged and transported south.

As I approached to look at the moose, a woman jumped out of the truck.We chatted for a bit. She said that she lives near Bridgton, Maine, a town with which I am familiar as I taught Crazy Quilting to a guild there, a few years ago. She also revealed that the moose would yield about 200-250 pounds of processed meat that would be shared with friends and neighbors. She described moose meat as "steaks that taste game-y,” and “ground meat that is sweeter than venison.”

Two tags were attached to one of the moose's back legs, and he was packed with bags of ice to keep the meat cool. If stopped by authorities, the tags would prove that the animal was taken legally, and that it had been properly registered with the state. A number of moose hunting permits are granted by the Fish and Game Department each year during moose hunting season.

Other Wildlife

Although we saw plenty of road signs, warning us to watch for moose, I caught a glimpse of only one other moose as it crossed a field in Maine, on the way home. We did see deer, usually in small groups. Surprisingly, one large buck crossed the road just two cars in front of us, in broad daylight, in Calais, Maine. He stood between two tall evergreens and glanced back toward the road, just a dozen feet away from it. What a magnificent animal!

Peruvian Connection

Seemingly, in the middle of nowhere, but actually in Amherst, Maine, there is shop that sells high end fashions made from Peruvian alpaca fibers. They also sell ultra-soft stuffed teddy bears and other toy animals made from alpaca, a luxury fiber. Karina, the woman who owns the shop, is from Peru. A photo of Macchu Picchu, the ancient ruins of the Incas, hangs on one wall. The store features many more lovely items than you would think, if you based your opinion only on the company's website: www.peruvianlink.com

The shop sells baby hats, and sweaters for children that are knit, appliquéd, and embroidered. On both of these items, the happy motifs of sun, flowers, and white alpacas, are similar to those seen on the surface of arpilleras, discussed elsewhere on my website. The shop owner is very friendly, and seemed pleased when I told her that I had recorded some songs in Spanish for my website. We left the shop feeling very glad we had stopped, and hopeful that we would meet more nice people during the rest of the trip.

Calais, Maine

We were pleased to reach our first day's destination, the International Motel in Calais, Maine, just across the St. Croix River from Canada, an international crossing point. The motel was clean and was adequate for our needs. A handy restaurant sits next to the motel, which we visited for three different meals during our two-day stay in town. Other choices for eating were McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, and perhaps other restaurants that we did not find. The town offers downtown shopping and also a Walmart store that carries copies of The Quilter magazine!

An Eagle Sighting

In spite of the torrential rains and gale winds, we drove out to Eastport, a waterfront area originally settled by the Passamaquoddy Indians. There is a lighthouse out there, one of the nicest I have ever seen. Earlier in the season, tourists are allowed to view the interior of the lighthouse, but on this day, it was closed. I was really thankful to have worn a long raincoat, with a hood. At times, I felt as though I might be blown down by the wind, at any moment, as the strong currents of air whipped off the water, while I was walking downhill toward the lighthouse.

West Quoddy light house

West Quoddy Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine, with former lighthouse
keeper's house that serves as a museum and visitor center in better weather.

Driving back toward Calais, I spotted a Bald Eagle sitting on rocks near the road that overlooked a bay. I suspect that my dear husband did not quite believe me when I announced this sighting. All hunkered down in the cold rain, the bird could have been mistaken for a rock by anyone less alert. Jim pulled into a little parking lot, facing the eagle, and quickly located his binoculars.

After we both confirmed the sighting, the eagle rose into the sky, majestically soaring among the seagulls, his body discernible only because of its brown color and thicker mass, on this gray/dark day. He disappeared into a forested area of tall Fir trees on the other side of the bay.

This was our first sighting of an eagle, in the wild, and we were very excited. We shared some comments about how Benjamin Franklin had wanted America's national symbol to be the Wild Turkey and how we were happy that the choice of an Eagle had won out.

Few Antiques in Northern Maine and Canada

We had hoped to hike in a nearby Moosehorn National Refuge in Calais, but with the rain pouring down, we decided against pulling into the dirt access road. Instead, we stopped at a small but pleasant shop, Calais Antiques, and perused their nice selection of furniture, china, and a few textiles. I found a couple of Vogart (kit) pillow covers that had already been stitched, and were begging to come home with me.

Later in the day, we visited a couple of antique stores downtown that were still open for business. My only purchase was a couple of Redwork potholders that had lobster designs.

Many places in the north country shut down at this time of year, and others have only limited or weekend hours. This was true of the museums, restaurants, and the one quilt shop we spotted in Canada. They close on Canadian Thanksgiving, which is Columbus Day in the United States.

Magnificent Natural Beauty

The Canadian town directly over the border has an interesting mix of businesses in the downtown area. We had no trouble exchanging currency, but we did not linger in the town as it was early in the morning and hardly anything was open yet.

As we headed north, we saw more and more Fir trees, and Larches (Tamaracks), some Birch, a lot of Cedar, and very few Maple Trees. Maples give New England most of the autumn colors for which it is renowned. The predominant colors of foliage in Canada were yellow and green.

We drove north along the Bay of Fundy, stopping at strategic points to take photos. Our favorite place was the Irving Nature Park that is at a higher elevation than the Bay. We were able to drive the car around the island on a narrow, one way, dirt path. There were places to pull off the trail, all with scenic views of the ocean.

In places, the moss-covered forest floor was amazing, as was the ethereal effect of the lichen-covered firs. Lichens are a parasitic growth that make the trees look as though cheesecloth is hanging in strands from the branches. They eventually kill the tree, but the overall aesthetic image that results, is appealing.

squirrel in Irving Nature Park, St. John's NB

This squirrel was in and out of Irving Park's trash receptacles, scavenging food that tourists had discarded.

The tide comes in fast in this area and is known to produce waves that reach twenty-five feet high. There were a couple of oil tankers parked off the coast, probably waiting to deliver crude oil to the white-colored tanks at the refinery seen from across the bay.

Heron in Irving nature park, St. John's NB

A heron near the shore at the Bay of Fundy, as seen from Irving Nature Park.

In St. Andrew's, where we had previously stopped, we were able to walk in an area where live seaweed grows, and where barnacles clings to rocks. Evidently, the tide covers this area sometimes, as there were small white seashells glimmering on the dark colored sand that was quite solid under our feet.

Beginning of the End

After leaving God's country with the heron, ducks, red squirrels, and terrific scenery, we drove north to St. John's, a more bustling city than we had yet seen in Canada and one that even has an airport. We checked into our motel room and were very disappointed. There was a mustard color stove/sink/refrigerator that looked like a 1950s retro item. We put some bottled water in the fridge and it quickly turned to ice. The store-bought, stained, blue quilted coverlet with roses, did not exactly match the green draperies with diamond shapes, nor the turquoise lamps.

Hindsight is 20/20

In retrospect, we should have left right away, but being weary travelers, and having just forked over a large sum of money to stay for two nights, BEFORE having sense enough to ask to see the room, well, we felt trapped. By the way, Canadian tax on hotels is an additional 14%. We were told that we could reclaim this money at the border crossing, but since it was not an amount over two hundred dollars, that was not the case.

The only good thing about the motel room was the TV because the sound of it helped to drown out the noise of people clomping around in the rooms above us. Of all things, the cable TV allowed us to tune in to the Boston station, something we generally do every day, at home. However, in this distant spot, the reports of violence seemed strangely out of place, and I quickly changed the channel.

In switching to a Canadian TV station, we learned that an outbreak of Norwalk Virus had caused the evacuation of a local college where we had planned to go the next day. The report said that the disease is highly contagious and causes severe symptoms. Health officials were calling the problem an epidemic and were advising people to avoid going out in public.

New Hampshire Bound

That was enough. We both agreed that we would head home to New Hampshire the next day. As soon as we saw the sunrise, and a beautiful sight it was, we packed everything into the van. What an experience it was traveling that early in the morning, in the fog.

No Place Like Home

In Canada, the long expanses of highway that link more populated areas to each other are amazing. We were touched by the rugged beauty of the wilderness. After spending only three nights and four days away, we have seen a new area in NorthAmerica.

We visited historic landmarks, including my favorite, the Celtic Cross in St. Andrew's, a monument that is dedicated to the memory of Irish immigrants to Canada who lost their lives to disease and hunger during the potato famine exodus from Ireland in the 1840s.

Celtic Cross in St Andrew's NB

We are so happy to have had this travel experience, although the lesson that hit home the most is that we were so happy to return to our own good food, and familiar, predictable surroundings. What Dorothy said is true, after all: “There is no place like home.” We may never leave home again!