It’s summer here, although as I write this, it is difficult to tell. The temperature today has been closer to spring or fall temperatures, but as they say up here—if you don’t like the weather, just wait ten minutes and it will change. Hope springs eternal.

We are in the midst of blueberry season here in Maine.  Maine boasts the title of being the world’s largest producer of wild, lowbush blueberries. Wild blueberries aren’t planted like the highbush varieties and they spread by way of underground runners which make more blueberry bushes. The blueberry “barrens’ throughout Washington county are a site to behold. The barrens were glacially formed and are huge rolling plains of sandy soil, the perfect medium for raising blueberries. It is by no means the only place in Maine where you can find wild blueberry barrens but it is where you will find the largest fields and they go on for miles and miles. Needless to say, blueberries are a major industry in Washington county where nearly a quarter million acres of barrens yield millions of pounds of blueberries annually.

I have traveled through the barrens both in my vehicle and on an ATV. Watching the fields change with the season is a sight to behold. 

During the month of May, growers import millions of commercial bees to aid the native bee population in pollinating the barrens and fields (NOT a good time to go ATVing through the barrens). By June white blossoms cover the plants. As the berries mature, they turn green to blue and then the bushes turn a beautiful reddish color as the cool, crisp days of fall arrive.

The berries are harvested both by machine and by people. Migrant workers are seen working along with the locals to get the berries picked and ready for harvest. They pretty much work from dawn to dusk because the berries must be harvested before the first frost.  These low bush berries are hand raked and then put through a winnowing machine to remove the leaves and twigs before they are washed and processed.

If you are in the area and would like to witness the harvest, the largest stretches of barrens are off Route 1 in Cherryfield, Delois, Columbia Falls, Epping, Centerville and Jonesboro. Wesley and Crawford on Route 9 also have large barrens.

If you are in the area during the third weekend in August, be sure to check out the Machias Blueberry Festival. It features over 200 craft booths, races,  entertainment, eating & baking contests, and lots of food. It is a great festival and definitely worth attending.

One more thing! While in Machias, do not leave without having a meal at Helen’s Restaurant. They are known for their outstanding pies but they also have wonderful seafood.

Well, that’s it for now.  Enjoy the Maine blueberry season!

Last Sunday Nicatous Lake looked more like the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was howling and the waves were pounding with white caps everywhere. Ok, this didn’t look like a great day to go bass fishing, so what to do??

It turned out to be a perfect day for an ATV trip. We left our camp and headed out on the trail that goes around Sabao mountain to the 42-00-0 road. Yep, that is the way that the roads are named in this remote part of Maine. No names—just numbers. We are traveling on dirt woods roads which stretch every which way so remembering the numbers comes in pretty handy. There are no houses out here, just miles and miles of dirt road. I carry a GPS but never did learn how to really use the darn thing. I’m in the lead with hubby following. He is the better navigator but it is sooooo dusty back there! He lets me take the lead and when the roads confuse me, I just stop and wait for him to tell me which direction to go. Is that love or what?? But I digress.

After traveling for about twenty miles, we turned on to the 60-00-0 road and tacked on a tree was a sign with an arrow pointing that said “Reggi’s Way”.  As we traveled down that road a few miles we passed another sign. This one was larger and was in an adirondack chair. It read “Reggi’s Way Camp” and also hot dogs, soda, chips, coffee, etc.  Now this may not seem all that strange to most folks but you have to remember that we are on ATV’s and have traveled about twenty-five miles and haven’t seen a building—just mile after mile of dirt road. Traveling another couple of miles we came upon the chair to the right which read that Reggi’s was just a quarter mile away. By this time we were really intriqued and we were ready for lunch.

We continued a bit further down the road the road where it crosses between the Getchell Lakes. This is when we decided that Reggie must really have a sense of humor because this is what we saw (photo to left-click on any of these photo’s to get a larger view).  Yes, that is a skelton fishing in that canoe. Again, here we were in the middle of nowhere. We had gone thiry miles or so and had not seen anything but an empty campsite at Third Machias lake.  Still not knowing what to expect, we kept on driving. As we came around the corner a sign appeared that said to watch out for the dogs. Dogs!! Yikes. I am really afraid of dogs and by now I was really hoping that we were talking about friendly dogs. As that thought ran across my mind, low and behold, right on the side of the road was a small camping trailer with a picnic table, another picnic table in a screened-in tent and a couple of trash cans. We had arrived at Reggie’s Way!

We stopped just beyond the trailer and a big dog (gulp) came out to greet us. He was a friendly dog, thank goodness. Reggie appeared a few minutes later apologizing for not being right there when we had arrived. Seems that some careless campers had left a campfire burning somewhere on the lake. Her significant other and another friend of theirs had been helping two other guys to put the fire out. Reggie had just come back from taking the fire pump to them.

 Reggie is a very friendly lady that smiles a lot. She took our order and proceeded to cook it. Needless to say, she can’t make things in advance out here in the boonies because she is never sure how many folks will show up.  We had a nice cold soda and our hot dogs were soon ready.  Reggie came out with a basket of chips that she also sells (part of the hot dog special).  She then ran to her camp and came back with a basket of brownies.  Needless to say, we each had to try one of her homemade brownies. The food at this “diner” has a very modest price. She is just trying to make a few extra dollars. She also has jelly and jam for sale from the  wild berries that she picks. There was even a basket of VHS tapes that she was selling for a dollar each because they had seen them enough.

Reggie and her significant other have lived on this lake year-around for the last few years, including last winter which was one of the worst that we have seen in Maine in quite some time. I don’t think that the roads are plowed. That would mean that they would need to leave a vehicle at a place that is plowed and snowmobile to it when it is necessary to get supplies. Phone service in the area is sporadic. It takes a tough breed to stay the entire winter in a remote area like this and for sure, Reggie is one of those folks. 

While we were eating, her significant other, Chip, and their friend, Ted, who had turned into impromptu fire-fighters, came back to the camp. They, too, joined into the lively conversation. Reggie gave us a “Ted” stone where she had painted a likeness of Ted, who has a large belly (sorry Ted, but you really do). When my hubby asked who was the artist, she replied—”me, what else do I have to do out here“, she said with a smile. What else, indeed?? Seems to us that Reggie must never sit down.

If you are in Township 43 and see a sign that says “Reggi’s Way” be sure to follow it and say hi to Reggie & Chip. Tell them that you found them on moosetique.com.

As an add-on to this post, I would like to mention that after finding Reggie’s Way, I came home to do an internet search to see if anyone else had found this eatery in the middle of no where. I found a blog that is titled  “The Giddy Garden Gnome” and found that she had found another part of Reggie’s business (did I not tell you that Reggie was a very enterprising woman?? ).  Click on the Giddy Garden Gnome link and scroll about half-way down the page to see what Giddy and company found last fall while out for a ride. Yep, Reggieis one enterprising woman!

While we are at our camp on Nicatous Lake we do lots of ATVing. The trails that we ride on are mostly woods road and the riding is great!

One of our favorite places to go is to the village of Grand Lake Stream. It is an easy ride of about 35 miles each way and the trail is a loop trail so we have to travel back on the same roads that we came in on.

Entering Grand Lake Stream village is like stepping back into another era. The tiny village consists of some old time sporting camps, a fire station, a church, a post office, and a store. The village store sits in the middle of the village and they have something for everyone, including groceries, fishing lures & gear, gifts and gasoline. They have a wonderful snack bar where you can get a sandwich, hamburger or a pizza. There is also a historical museum and the state salmon hatchery.

Fishing in this area is outstanding. Folks come from all over to enjoy their sport. Grand Lake Stream and the surrounding lakes are in the St. Croix watershed. They have landlocked salmon, square-tailed trout, lake trout and some of the best small-mouthed bass fishing in Maine.

After arriving at GLS, we usually head straight for the Pine Tree Store for a sandwich and a soft drink. We then jump back on the ATV’s and head for the dam to watch folks flyfishing. Early in the spring we watch the salmon trying to jump up the rushing water of the dam.

After lunch, we jump on the ATV’s and head across the dam back toward camp. Hopefully, we will see some wildlife on the way.

What a wonderful way to spend the day!

Nicatous Lake is one of my most favorite places in Maine. It is located approximately 65 miles northeast of Bangor. The fact that we own a camp on the lake makes it even more special.

Nicatous Lake is a long, narrow lake at the head of Nicatous Stream, tributary to the Passadumkeag River. It is approximately ten miles long, containing 5,165 acres. It is widely considered to be one of Maine’s most beautiful water bodies with its pristine sand beaches, intricate coves and 98 islands. By purchasing an easement on the Robbins paper company land and additional acreage owned by International Paper, the state of Maine helped to foster sustainable forest management while extinguishing all development rights on the purchased land, protecting shoreline buffers, conserving wildlife habitat and opportunities for traditional recreation. In addition to the easement, the state acquired 76 of the 98 islands in Nicatous Lake. The lake is one of the top five loon-nesting lakes in Maine, and has three bald eagle nesting sites. There are six deer-wintering areas in the area and ample range for species such as bobcat and black bear. There is excellent bass and perch fishing in the lake and many trout ponds with a short distance. I am told that nearby West Lake supports trophy-sized land-locked salmon.

There are many campgrounds in the area and two lodges on the lake. Most campgrounds are remote and require boat or canoe access.

Oh yeah, did I mention the ATV trails that run near the lake?? There are hundreds of approved trails (usually woods roads) that are closeby.

This area is truly one of Maine’s nicest places to visit.

Staycation is a new buzzword taken from the words, stay and vacation. It means taking a vacation at home or somewhere close to home.  With the tight economy and gasoline over four dollars a gallon, folks are finding creative ways to spend their summer vacation.  Living in Maine, we have MANY opportunities for interesting and fun “staycations”.  

No matter where you live in the state, there is most likely a park or attraction nearby. Most of us have pleasant backyards where we can enjoy  our time off.  Just think, no packing or kids asking “are we there yet?”. Now is a great time to enjoy our local area and find out why folks from away have been taking their vacations here for years.  Maine is truly a vacationland and lucky us…we don’t have to travel to get here!

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