Maine Travel Maven

Shorter trips on Maine’s Allagash Wilderness Waterway

Hilary Nangle

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April 4, 2012

Shorter trips on Maine’s Allagash Wilderness Waterway

Thinking about paddling Maine’s Allagash Wilderness Waterway? Former AWW Superintendent Matthew LaRoche offers options for those who desire, but lack the time, to spend an entire week canoeing from Chamberlain Lake to Allagash Village.

Shorter Allagash Adventures

By Matthew LaRoche

There are several opportunities for shorter Allagash adventures without canoeing the entire 92-mile-long waterway.

Allagash Lake to Chamberlain Bridge

One of my personal favorites is the Allagash Lake to Chamberlain Bridge trip. This route takes you through the wildest section of the waterway. One of the nice things about this trip is that if you are accessing the AWW from the south or east, you will be driving right past your takeout location on your way to Allagash Lake. The closest vehicle access point to Allagash Lake is actually at Johnson Pond (page 55 of Delorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazetteer).

Don't miss Lower Allagash Falls, one of the highlights of paddling Maine's Allagash Wilderness Waterway.Matthew LaRoche photo. — Little Allagash Falls on Maine’s Allagash Wilderness Waterway is one of the most beautiful and remote locations on the waterway. It can be part of a short AWW adventure. Matthew LaRoche photo

If you do decide to make the Allagash Lake to Chamberlain Bridge trip, there are a few “must- see” places you should checkout along the way. The ice caves at the northwest corner of Allagash Lake by the inlet are an extraordinary geological feature. A climb up the fire tower on Allagash Mountain will afford you fantastic views of the Maine Woods from the Canadian border to Mt. Katahdin. Little Allagash Falls is one of the most beautiful and remote locations on the waterway. If you can arrange your itinerary to stay here overnight, you won’t be disappointed.

At normal water levels, it is a lively 6-mile trip down Allagash Stream to Chamberlain Lake. You should call for current water conditions in Allagash Stream. The stream can be a raging torrent at high water or a drag at low water.

Once you enter Chamberlain Lake, you should take a short detour to the northeast corner of the lake and visit the Tramway Historic District, which includes the tramway and trains.

Another 5 miles down the lake will bring you to Chamberlain Bridge, where you left a vehicle on the way to Allagash Lake.

You should plan on spending four nights on the waterway to make this trip and visit the sites that I have mentioned. Don’t forget to give yourself plenty of travel time to reach Johnson Pond. Wrong turns are common for first-time visitors, and the logging roads are notorious for flat tires!

Umsaskis to Allagash Village trip

Another three- or four-night trip that is slightly easier and no less spectacular is the Umsaskis to Allagash Village trip. This route starts where the American Realty Road crosses the waterway between Umsaskis and Long lakes. There is a nice vehicle access canoe launch and parking lot at this location. You can just launch your canoe and start paddling north. The campsites and scenery are beautiful along this section of the waterway

At the outlet of Harvey Pond, you will come to the remnants of Long Lake Dam. This was once 700 feet long and held back a 15-foot head of water. It is now a very nice campsite. The fishing can be excellent below the old dam in the spring and fall when the water is cool.

It is 10 miles of moderately flowing river to Round Pond — a pretty spot on the trip where the river takes a break before heading toward the St. John River.

Below Round Pond is a 2-mile-long stretch of Class 1 rapids know as Round Pond Rips. These rapids are easy for an intermediate canoeist, but they will provide some fun for those who like fast-moving water.

About 13 miles below Round Pond, you will see a campsite on river right called Cunliffe Depot. If you stop here and follow the trail upriver from the campsite, you will discover the remains of two Lombard log haulers.

Another couple miles down river will bring you to the Michaud Farm ranger station. You can end your trip here, but you will miss seeing Allagash Falls, or you can take another night and continue the 17 miles to the town of Allagash. Either way, please stop at the ranger station and sign your group out on the clip board hanging in on the porch.

The Umsaskis to Michaud Farm trip should take three nights. If you want to continue all the way to Allagash Village, you should plan on a four-night trip.

Allagash intro for first-timers

These are just two of the many shorter trips you can take on the AWW. I often suggest that first-time visitors or novice canoeists just drive to Churchill Dam and paddle up on Churchill Lake for a few nights of camping. This gives these first-time visitors a feel for the waterway and the logging roads used to access the area.

If you do decide to canoe the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with the opportunity to reconnect with the natural world.

Winter arrives in Maine’s western mountains, and a few nibbles and nods

Hilary Nangle

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March 4, 2012

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After a relatively mild winter, March roared in lionlike, with a major snowstorm that dropped upwards of a foot on Maine’s western mountains. Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Sunday River, Shawnee Peak, and Mt. Abram all benefited, and if you have any doubt about the conditions, don’t. They’re superb. It’s a white, white world in the mountains.

In the past week, I snowshoed into Flagstaff Hut for an overnight on the Maine Huts Trail and I skied Sugarloaf summit to base (western conditions on an eastern mountain!). My Nordic skiing friends are savoring the snow conditions, as are the snowmobilers, who finally have the perfect combo of snow and temperatures.

And if you’re thinking that this too shall pass, remember historically March and April are the snowiest months in Maine’s western mountains.

Nibbles and nods around Sugarloaf:

First, the Orange Cat, located in the building known as the Brick Castle in Kingfield. This is a must-stop for truly excellent, made fresh, hefty sandwiches with a dose of creativity, as well as good soups and enticing baked goods. (The cookies are my weakness.) The atmosphere is eclectic cool, and the Wifi is free. Stop for breakfast and sandwiches on the way to the mountain or for car food and caffeinated drinks on the way home.

Second, Black Diamond Burritos, in the base village at Sugarloaf. This place is so easy to miss. It’s located in the slopeside greenhouse above The Bag and next to the Board Room. Nothing fancy, just good, reasonably priced burritos. Only a handful of stools, so you might want to get it to go. And another hint: I find the child size plenty big enough. It’s fast, easy, cheap, and good. Brought to you by the same folks who operate Hug’s Italian restaurant.

Maine chefs and restaurants well represented among 2012 James Beard semi-finalists

Hilary Nangle

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February 21, 2012

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The James Beard Foundation has announced the semi-finalists for its 2012 James Beard awards. Maine chefs and restaurants in the running are, by category:

Best New Restaurant:

• Petite Jacqueline, Portland

Outstanding Chef:

• Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland

Outstanding Restaurant:

• Fore Street, Portland

Best Chef Northeast:

• Penelle, Megan, and Phoebe Chase and Ted LaFage, Chase’s Daily, Belfast
• Brian Hill, Francine Bistro, Camden
• Krista Kern Desjarlais, Bresca, Portland
• Demos Regas, Emilitsa, Portland
• Danai Sriprasert and Nattasak Wongsaichua, Boda, Portland

For a topnotch fare, find The Lost Kitchen, in Belfast, Maine

Hilary Nangle

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February 10, 2012

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For a topnotch fare, find The Lost Kitchen, in Belfast, Maine

CLOSED. Chef Erin French has taken her show on the road with an Airstream food truck.

For too long, Belfast, Maine, had only one restaurant worthy of a dedicated road trip, and that one served dinner only on Friday nights. Now it has The Lost Kitchen. The Lost Kitchen began as a secret supper club by Erin French, but word spread and its popularity grew.

The Lost Kitchen restaurant occupies the flatiron building at the head of Main Street that once held Maine’s best ice cream shop, The Gothic, and more recently an architectural salvage and antiques biz. It’s been updated and refurbished with clean, contemporary lines and gleaming wood floors, but without losing its historical charms. We entered through the bar, where there also are a handful of tables, but were seated in the adjacent small dining room. And then the fun began.

Our waiter welcomed us, helped us choose from the wine-by-the-glass selections, then reviewed the menu, explaining nearly every dish in detail. The menu changes daily, reflecting what’s fresh and locally available. My friend G and I didn’t get beyond the appetizers, choosing to cobble together a meal from three of them. All arrived together—in hindsight, we should have asked to stagger them a bit.

One taste of the fresh dates, paired with local chorizo resting upon a slice of blood orange and dressed with honey and yogurt ($6), and I was a fan. The heaping bowl of skillet-roasted Pemaquid mussels with rosemary and lime, accompanied by two slices of Tinder Hearth bread ($12), turned me into a rabid fan. Only complaint was the stinginess with the bread. We requested more, and were again given two meager, thin slices. A basket of bread would have been preferable and provided enough to mop up all the juices (we resorted to using mussel shells as spoons). But it was the local lamb sliders, decked with feta, pea shoot pesto, and yogurt and served on a housemade bun that slayed me. I would return night after night for those (serving comprised two slider-size burgers for $12). Had we opted for entrées, (see menu below), these ran $16-27.

Honestly, those lamb sliders were so good, we debated splitting another order, instead we opted for dessert. Lost Kitchen offers two menus, one listing nine cheeses, (available as single $5, double $8, triple $12, and quad $12 servings), and the other listing three desserts at $6 each. We chose a single serving of Tourmaline Hill lavender honey chevre (heavenly!) and the to-die-for housemade fresh ricotta fritters with ginger cream and blackberry jam, absolutely decadent and delicious. The night’s other dessert choices were a pistachio semifreddo and a bittersweet chocolate mousse.

I’m already planning to return, hoping that the lamb sliders and the fritters are both on the menu again, but then, as our waiter noted, there may be other equally delicious and enticing offerings available.

Start 2012 on the right foot with a First Day Hike in a Maine state park

Hilary Nangle

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December 30, 2011

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Start 2012 on the right foot with a First Day Hike in a Maine state park

Maine’s State Parks are offering four, free, First Day Hikes, each led by park staff, on Sunday, Jan. 1: Aroostook, Cobscook Bay, Wolfe’s Neck Woods, and Popham Beach. Each hike will focus on the park’s natural landscape.

Aroostook State Park, Presque Isle, 8-11 a.m.

Park Manager Scott Thompson will focus on “Stories in the Snow,” discussing park history, hike etiquette, animal track identification and winter habitats. Snowshoe rentals ($5/day) are available with advance reservation, call 207-763-8341. Park facilities open free of charge include groomed, classical cross-country trails, sliding hill, and a warming lodge, where hot drinks, water, and snacks will be available.

Cobscook Bay State Park, Edmunds Township, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Park Manager Matt McGuire will present “A Cobscook Shore Walk,” discussing coastal ecology, natural history and wildlife. Snowshoe rentals ($5/day) are available with advance reservation, call 207-726-4412. Park facilities open free of charge include groomed ski trails; hot drinks, water, and snacks will be available.

Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, 2-3 p.m.

Park Manager Andy Hutchinson, a well-known Maine naturalist, will discuss “Winter in the Woods,” focusing on the ways that plants and animals survive in winter, as well as identification of animal tracks and signs. Free snowshoe rentals (courtesy of L.L. Bean) are available with advance reservation (40 pairs available), call 207-865-4465.

Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Jocelyn Hubbell, BPL interpretive specialist and an avid winter-time beach walker, will offer “The Gifts of the Sea”; hikers will experience the first low tide of the New Year and learn about beach and dune dynamics at one of Maine’s most popular parks. FMI 207-389-1335.

Bouchard Family Farms cookbook preserves Maine’s French-Acadian recipes

Hilary Nangle

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December 15, 2011

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Bouchard Family Farms cookbook preserves Maine’s French-Acadian recipes

Craving tortierre or pot en pot or raisin pie? Check out Bouchard Family Farms new French-Acadian Cookbook. — Bouchard Family Farms cookbook preserves traditional French-Acadian recipes.

Ployes! Pot en Pot! Tortierre! Creton! Raisin Pie! If you’ve ever had the good fortune to travel in Maine’s St. John Valley, you’re likely familiar with French-Acadian cuisine. Bouchard Family Farms, based in Fort Kent, Maine, has a new cookbook, French-Acadian Cookbook: Keeping the Tradition Alive ($12), that celebrates both the food and Maine’s Acadian culture (see my previous post on ployes and Acadians).

Bouchard is known for its ployes mix, which is made from buckwheat grown and milled on the family farm. I buy it and make ployes often, usually for breakfast, although thanks to this new cookbook, I now have 101 ways to use the mix, from making pancakes to as a coating for fried fish.

Equally enticing recipes include Acadian-style baked beans, French-Acadian doughnuts, pea soup, chicken stew, and herbs salees (salted onions—so glad to have the recipe, as I purchased a jar of these during my last visit to The County and have used them in everything from eggs to soup). There are recipes for Maine potato donuts, salmon shepherd’s pie, even a recipe for the World’s Best Whoopie Pies.

Traditionally, ployes were served as the bread with every meal. With that in mind, consider these recipes—hearty fare for a cold winter’s night.

NOTE: Bouchard Family Farms ployes mix is, fat free, cholesterol free, and vegan. Good stuff!

French-Acadian recipes

Pot en Pot

Although this main dish can be served anytime, it was an anticipated treat at Christmas and New Year’s during family gatherings.

Filling:
2 pounds beef
2 pounds pork
2 pounds chicken
2 large chopped onions
2.5 teaspoons summer savory
salt & pepper to taste

Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco
cold water

Preparation
Dumplings: Sift flour and salt in medium-sized bowl and cut in Crisco with fork or pastry blender. Add cold water, enough to mke a very thick dough. Turn dough on floured board and roll to 1/4-inch thick. Cut one round crust for top of pot and rest into 1-inch-sized pieces.

Meat filling: Cut all meat into 1-inch squares and mix together. In a 4-quart pot, place about 1 inch of mixed meat, salt and pepper, and 1 teaspoon summer savory. Add 1/3 of the chopped onions. Place some cut-up dumpling over this first layer of meat. Repeat with a second layer of meat, seasonings, and dumplings. Repeat with the third layer but top with the round crust. Cut slits in the crust to vent. Gently lift part of the crus and add cold water to just cover the top of the meat, then replace crust. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours, then turn down oven to 275 degrees and bake for an additional 2 h ours. Remove cover for last 1/2 hour to brown crust.

Serves: ~10. (For a larger crowd, double recipe, but add an additional hour of cooking time at 275 degrees).

**Tourtiere (French-Acadian meat pie)**

This is another traditional French-Acadian recipe for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. There were many different variations to this and most recipes. Everyone’s grandmother had the best one.

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 small chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 cup water
1 finely chopped celery ribbed
1 finely chopped carrot
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 finely chopped potato
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
9-inch unbaked deep-dish pie shell with top crust
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef and pork with onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in 3/4 cup water, celery, carrot, potato, and bouillon cubes. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg into skillet mixture. Spoon mixture into deep-dish pie shell. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water to make egg wash: brush edge of crust with egg wash. Carefully add top crust and seal edges. Make slits in crust. Brush with remaining egg wash and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Serves: 6.

Old Fashion Raisin Pie

Recipe by “Uncle Royden Paradis, King of Cooks” who spent many years cooking in Northern Maine lumber camps.

2 cups raisins
2 cups water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 double unbaked pie shell with top crust or lattice strips

Combine raisins and water. Boil for 5 minutes. Blend brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt and add to raisin liquid (may remove small amount of liquid and blend with brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Add to raisins; will blend more smoothly). Cook and continue stirring until mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and butter or margarine. Cool slightly, and pour into pastry-lined pan. Cover with top crust or lattice strips. Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Serves: 8

Thanksgiving guest post: Thankfulness, humility, and a Maine coastal island

Hilary Nangle

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November 21, 2011

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Thanksgiving guest post: Thankfulness, humility, and a Maine coastal island

When this article by Rex Turner, Outdoor Recreation Planner for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, popped into my inbox, I knew I had to share it with those who love Maine and especially those who love Maine’s outdoors. Read on:

Humility is part of thankfulness. To say “thank you” is to acknowledge that you need others to survive in what can be a challenging world. Perhaps this is why I have a special place in my heart for the late fall season and the time of Thanksgiving, when we turn our thoughts to appreciating what we have been given.

In addition to being a time of pumpkin pie, turkey and gravy, and deer hunting, the late fall is a season when the winds turn cold and ice makes its way back into our world, whether as a heavy coating on dying grass blades or a skim on calm waters. The cold, and all the harshness it brings, is, like thankfulness, intertwined with humility. Nature has a way of clarifying who is in charge when the skies grow gray, the mercury plummets, and a chill sinks into your bones. Nowhere is this clearer than in the wild, exposed places.

It’s no surprise that mountain tops, exposed shores, and expansive bogs have a great capacity to humble you, especially when the summer gives way to its less-welcoming neighbors, fall and winter. These places may be stunningly beautiful, but they also are rough places for both visitors and residents alike.

As a visitor to places such as the alpine ridge atop Mount Abraham, the coastal headlands at Quoddy Head State Park, one of the many islands on the Maine Island Trail, or the remote Number Five Bog adjacent to the Moose River Bow canoe trip, you can experience that you are part of an amazing world, but that the world is not here just to make you comfy and warm. For “permanent residents,” like the stunted mountain spruce able to grow small limbs only to the leeward side of their stems, or tough-leafed bog plants making due in acidic soils separated completely from nutrients and groundwater, these places are challenges that deter the vast majority of their fellow plants, let alone animals.

I feel very fortunate, very thankful, to have the opportunity to visit these wild places. They help sustain me spiritually. And though I’ve had this thankfulness for a long time, one recent event put a new spin on all I have to be thankful for.

I was contacted by the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA), a group I work with rather regularly on trail management, regarding a man who they had discovered was on a trail island and was well beyond the stay limit. MITA and my bureau, the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, had both winterized all their boats. With no quick means of accessing the man, who reportedly had stated he intended to stay on the island indefinitely, I turned to the Maine Marine Patrol.

With great professionalism, the Marine Patrol quickly assisted and determined that the man was a homeless veteran with few resources or family to help him out. With some quick phone calls and scurrying, we seemed to find some assistance for the man as the Marine Patrol delivered him back to the mainland.

While I never met that homeless veteran, the small incident keeps cycling in my consciousness. I’ve slept on rocks; I’ve had icicles hanging from my eyebrows; I’ve heard trees groaning and creaking at night as the sub-zero cold settles in; I’ve waded through deep, dank bogs till my feet wrinkled as if I had soaked too long in a bathtub..

Every time, though, it has been my choice or perhaps part of a day’s work. I’m typically dressed in Gore-Tex or other technical fabrics, and I tend to have good gear – after all, this is my recreational passion. Never do I recall being cold, hungry, tired, or in danger because I did not have the resources to feed and clothe myself. I say that not to boast or disparage those less fortunate, but to give thanks.

Like most people nowadays, I see those who I assume do not have a home. I see those who make me wonder if they get enough to eat. It took this man on an island in Maine, however, to give me pause when I visit the wonderful wild places I seek. I’m quite sure the next time I feel the bite of ice particles blowing horizontally across a ridge top or feel the wet cold of the Atlantic spraying off rocky headlands, I will remember that I choose to face the cold and wet. I give thanks for that choice. I cherish the opportunity to be humbled by nature, but I now better appreciate that not all people have such a luxury.

I really hesitate to preach – and I hope I’m not – but it seems to me this is yet another reason for folks to venture forth into wild nature, whether in your backyard or a huge piece of conservation land, and to appreciate not only the wildness but also your ability to return with your memories to a warm home and a hot meal. Not all share this opportunity.

Tasting Maine: Favorite food finds from the Acadia region

Hilary Nangle

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November 17, 2011

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Tasting Maine: Favorite food finds from the Acadia region

I spent the better part of the past five months noodling the highways and byways of Maine’s Acadia region researching a new edition of my Moon Acadia National Park book for spring 2012 publication. As I noodled, I nibbled, and I wanted to share some of the must-have Maine-made foods that left me craving more. Many are available via online order, so if you can’t get to the source, you can still get the goods.

Lucy’s Granola: Yes, I know, granola makers are everywhere in Maine, but Lucy’s won me over. It’s hand mixed in Blue Hill by Brit-born Lucy Benjamin, assisted by her three kids, husband, and some local helpers. She earns points for make her granolas with whole grains and unprocessed ingredients; sourcing her ingredients locally whenever possible; and using recycled materials for her shipped packages. But that’s secondary to the flavor. I find too many granolas are overly sweet or dominated by the flavor of one ingredient. Not so Lucy’s. Three flavors are available: Original, Extra Seedy, and Gluten Free, and she’ll also make custom mixes.

Tinder Hearth Bakery breads: Tim Semler, Lydia Moffet, and crew make the most fabulous breads in a rural farmhouse in Brooksville. Sure, you can purchase the loaves at local farmers markets and local stores, but looping out to the farm is an experience in itself. The European-style breads, handcrafted from organic flour (whole grain from Aroostook County, Maine, white from Quebec) and made from a sourdough starter, are baked in a hand-built, wood-fired oven. They’re crusty, fire-burnished, dense, and chewy. Flavors include a French batard made from white flour, as well as whole spelt, Maine grain, and rye. It’s a self-service, honor-bar-style operation. Go early for the best choices, whether that be to the farm or a market.

Buck’s Harbor Market spreads: With a name like Artichoke-Parmesan-Truffle spread, how could I not purchase it? It combined three flavor that I find irresistible. Chef Jonathan Chase, who operates the market and the cafe out back (and co-wrote the wonderful Saltwater Seasonings cookbook highlighting local purveyors way back in 1992), is the genius behind this cream cheese-based spread. The flavor is strong, so a little bit goes a long way. While freezing isn’t recommended, I’ve found it keeps quite well in the fridge, as the packaging is air tight. My favorite use so far? On homemade pizza…swoon worthy!

Nervous Nellie’s Jams and Jellies: Who doesn’t enjoy a good jam or jelly, chutney or marmalade? These are beyond good, especially the Sunshine Road Marmalade, a rough-cut marmalade made with navel oranges, lemons, and pink grapefruit (named after Nervous Nellie’s location on the Sunshine Road, in Deer Isle). Of course Nervous Nellie’s makes Wild Maine Blueberry Preserves, but it also makes a sibling product with a twist, Blueberry Ginger Conserve, made with wild Maine blueberries, peaches, cane sugar, fruit pectin, ginger, and organic lemon juice. Years ago, Nervous Nellie’s supplied some of the country’s top specialty food markets. It was growing too fast. Instead of expanding and enlarging, they opted to downsize their wholesale operation and concentrate on mail order and onsite purchases, instead. I’ve previously written about what a treat Nervous Nellie’s is. Go if you can. If not, order online. You won’t be disappointed.

Maine Needhams: It was love at first bite when I tasted a Maine Needham left as a welcome treat in my room at a former inn in Prospect Harbor. Needhams are a traditional Maine candy made with mashed potatoes and shredded coconut enrobed in dark chocolate. According to legend, they originated in Portland in 1872, and were named after local evangelical preacher George S. Needham. Heavenly treat in hand, I ran to innkeeper Megan Moshier and demanded to know where she found it. Turns out, Ellsworth. Owners Debbie and Timothy Jones cut and dip every piece by hand, using a recipe they developed and refuse to share with anyone, even their own kids! Because they refuse to use preservatives, they don’t produce their Maine Needhams during the summer months. Maine Needhams are available in the original flavor, as well as in blueberry, maple, raspberry, almond, and mint. I’ve only had the original; can’t see how it can be improved. You can order online.

Smith Family Farm yogurt: This small farm in Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert Island, is no secret. Martha Stewart has been singing its praises for years, and its wonderful, organic dairy products are widely available in the state. I’m passionate about the yogurt, first introduced to me at the Ullikana Bed & Breakfast, in Bar Harbor. I use it in place of milk when making muffins and biscuits, drizzle it in soups, and pair it with Lucy’s Granola for breakfast.

Grindstone Neck of Maine smoked blue cheese: Grindstone Neck is best known for its smoked seafoods—salmon, shellfish, finfish—but it also smokes a blue cheese. If you love smoked foods and you love blue cheese, this is a perfect marriage. I had my first nibble at Fisherman’s Inn, the Johnson family-owned restaurant in Winter Harbor, on Maine’s Schoodic Peninsula. The cheese is rich, creamy and has bite and zing. A little bit goes a long, long way. I like it on salads and burgers, and I’m thinking of experimenting with in a few soups. It’s available at the store in Winter Harbor or via online order (and don’t miss the other tasty products and samplers).

Maine’s South Solon Meeting House: Wow!

Hilary Nangle

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November 15, 2011

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Open the door to Maine’s South Solon Meeting House and Wow! Neither the classically influenced colonial, white-clapboard architecture nor the serene location on a rural crossroads hint about what’s inside.

Built in 1842, and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the South Solon Meeting House retains its original podium, box pews, choir loft, windows, and steeple. But, inside it’s been completely frescoed, floor to ceiling, with interdenominational religious scenes.

Panoramic view from the choir loft inside the South Solon Meeting House in south Solon, Maine. ©Hilary Nangle

A visual awakening

Juried artists frescoed the scenes on the South Solon Meeting House walls and celing in the mid 1950s. Tom Nangle photo — The Last Supper is just one of the scenes frescoed on the meeting house walls . ©Tom Nangle

The first time I visited, I walked around gape-mouthed, trying to make sense of the jarring disconnect between prim exterior and racy interior, primitive design and contemporary decor, all while taking in the equally disconnected scenes vying for attention.

I didn’t know where to look first: The Last Supper, a parade of angelic musicians, shepherds, fishermen, church-going families. Walls, ceiling, choir loft, entry, every available space preached.

But, why?

Let’s start at the beginning. The open-minded founders of the South Solon Meeting House stipulated: “the house [be] opened freely on weekdays, when requested, for conference meetings and for lectures and addresses on all religious benevolent, moral and scientific subjects.” So, the building never was purely a house of God.

It's hard to know where to look first, when entering . Hilary Nangle photo — Primitive pews are juxtaposed against contemporary frescoes inside the South Solon Meeting House. © Hilary Nangle

Salvation: Imagination & interpretation

As with many such buildings, it deteriorated over the years. In the 1930s, Helen and Williard Cummings of Skowhegan lead a community effort to save it.

In 1946, Willard, a portrait artist, together with Henry Varnum Poor and Sidney Simon, founded the nearby Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, a summer artist residency program that specialized in frescoes (and still does).

It’s certainly thought provoking, and it invites lingering a little longer, if not in contemplative prayer than in wide-eyed wonder.

Artists were encouraged to take inspiration from the Old and New Testament, but there were no rules on what was to be depicted in the scenes frescoed on the walls of Maine's South Solon Meeting House. Tom Nangle photo/ — Detail from one of the frescoes . ©Tom Nangle

In the 1950s, student Margaret Day Blake took a shine to the meeting house. With the school’s support, she offered 13 fellowships to young, professional artists, selected from three national juried competitions, to paint the interior.

The winners: Sigmund Abeles, Alfred Blaustein, Edwin Brooks, Ashley Bryan, Williard Cummings, Sidney Hurwitz, William King, Tom Mikkelson, Anne Poor, Henry Varnum Poor, Judith Shuman, Sidney Simon and John Wallace.

The only instruction provided to these artists:

“There shall be no limitation of subject matter; however, bearing in mind the religious character of the building, which has been non-sectarian from its inception, it’s suggested that the New and Old Testaments offer rich and suitable subject matter. This material should be interpreted in imaginative terms which allow complete freedom to develop symbols, associations, or legends.”

The dizzying riot of color and art followed.

Walk all around the meeting house to view all the frescoes from different angles. Hilary Nangle photo — Mural on the back wall. ©Hilary Nangle

Securing the future of the South Solon Meeting House

Now some people might think the result isn’t proper for a meeting house, but I believe the founders of the South Solon Meeting House would have approved of this odd juxtaposition of color and image on their colonial building. It’s certainly thought provoking, and it invites lingering a little longer, if not in contemplative prayer than in wide-eyed wonder.

Since 1956, The South Solon Historical Society has cared for the meeting house. Preservation and maintenance is an ongoing struggle. While the Board seeks to further promote use of the building for cultural events and community life, the most pressing concern at this time is the need to repair the damage and deterioration wrought by the passage of time and weather, and create an endowment for future maintenance.

When you visit, leave a donation to help preserve this building and its frescoes for future generations.

The meeting house is located on the corner of the South Solon and Meetinghouse Roads, north of Route 43 and east of Route 201.

And a few more images…

Inside the south solon meeting house — One of the murals frescoed on the meeting house walls. ©Hilary Nangle

The ceiling, walls, choir loft, and entry — Painters from the nearby Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture have frescoed every wall and even the ceiling of the meeting house. ©Hilary Nangle

Save money by skiing & snowboarding at Maine’s family-sized alpine areas

Hilary Nangle

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November 13, 2011

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Save money by skiing & snowboarding at Maine’s family-sized alpine areas

Maine’s big resorts get most of the attention, but for young families or anyone on a budget, smaller areas provide not only a fun experience, but also a good value. Perhaps the vertical isn’t as grand, but really, how often do you ski 2,000 feet without stopping? All of these little guys have night skiing, most have tubing parks, and some have Nordic trails, too. If you’re searching for areas with soul, for friendly faces, and places where kids matter, try these un-resorts.

Lost Valley is a vest-pocket ski area secreted in the barely rolling countryside outside Auburn, Maine. Don’t be deceived by the hill’s diminutive size. Although the vertical drop is only 240 feet, it was enough to produce four Olympians: Karl Anderson and Anna, Julie, and Rob Parisien. This is an especially family-friendly area; the base lodge doubles as the local baby-sitting service–parents just naturally watch out for one another’s kids. According to Julie Parisien, who grew up skiing here, you may be able to make only 10 turns from top to bottom, but that’s 10 good turns. And that’s what matters.

Maine’s oldest ski area is Pleasant Mountain, an especially popular destination given its proximity to Portland (45 miles). I have a soft spot for the area where I spent my youth–bring your family, and you’ll likely understand why. The setting is rural, and the mountain appears to rise out of Moose Pond. The views, which take in Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, are calming, almost inspirational. It’s one of the largest night-skiing facility, acreage-wise, in New England. Arrive at night, and you’ll notice that the trails spell out the word LOV in 1960s-block-style lettering. The mountain skis bigger than its 1,300-foot vertical indicates, as it has two faces, with open slopes on one and squiggly trails ribboning the other.

For anyone weak in the wallet or overawed by megaresorts, Mt. Abram is the solution. This longtime family favorite is something of a sleeper. Most folks drive right by on their way to glitzy Sunday River, just up the road. A savvy few turn off Route 26 in Locke Mills, drawn by this resort’s commitment to family skiing and a decent 1,150-foot vertical. The segregated learning area, tubing park, night lights, cross-country loop, low-key atmosphere, and lack of crowds make it a real gem.

A real success story is Black Mountain of Maine, where prices are low and spirit is high. It’s owned and operated by the Maine Winter Sports Center, which is committed to reestablishing skiing as part of the local lifestyle. MWSC has invested heavily in the 1,150-foot vertical hill, putting in new lifts, cutting new trails, adding snowmaking and night skiing, and making it smoke free. Another plus is the Nordic trail system, designed by two-time Olympian Chummy Broomhall.

The Farmington Ski Club operates Titcomb Mountain Ski Area, an all-volunteer operation with a modest 340-foot vertical. It’s the hill where two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott played as a youth. In addition to the alpine terrain, there are nine miles of groomed trails for cross-countryskiing and snowboarding (a potential solution for mixed marriages or partnerships). The operating schedule coincides with school hours, so it’s open late afternoon and evenings, weekends, and daily during vacation weeks. Yes, it’s a club, but nonmembers are welcomed.

When a Nor’easter roars up the East Coast, the place to be is Camden Snow Bowl, in coastal Camden, a town better known among yachtsmen than skiers. The reward for riding the pokey chair or creaky T-bars a is cruising down nautically named trails that ebb and flow down Ragged Mountain’s 950-foot vertical and deliver glimpses of island-salted Penobscot Bay. The town-owned four-season recreation area has alpine trails, night skiing and riding, a tubing park, Nordic trail, ice skating on Hosmer Pond, and a 400-foot toboggan chute that’s home to the annual National Toboggan Championships, held during the first weekend of February. The area exists in a time warp, with a vintage A-frame base lodge and retro food and ticket prices. All that, however, will change. A $6.5 million redevelopment plan includes a new four-season lodge, improved road and trail access, parking, new lifts, an expanded beginner area, and additional snow making.

At a friend’s suggestion, I’m adding Baker Mountain, in Moscow, to the list. It’s small, an open slope with five runs serviced by a T-bar, but it’s a non-profit community love fest. One of Maine’s older ski areas, dating from 1937, it’s now operated by its passholders, members of the Baker Mountain Ski Tow Club, which owns it. Baker operates on weekends and during February school breaks, and it even has night skiing and a vacation week ski school. Tickets are dirt cheap, smiles are huge. If you’re searching of skiing the way it used to be, Baker is the place for you.