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Closing up Camp in Greenville

October 30, 2007 - GREENVILLE - Sunday was the better of the weekend days, and it was the one that had me on the road to close the camp at Moosehead Lake with son-in-law Todd Ridlon. When we left the Midcoast early in the morning, the trees were still close to full color. As we traveled northward, the color slowly diminished and more and more trees were showing bare branches.

By the time we reached Greenville most of the color was gone, with the exception of some stubborn oak leaves and a few yellow aspen.

The camp chores took much less time to accomplish than the two-and-a-half hour drive up and the two-and-a-half hour drive back. When finished, the shutters were in place, the power turned off, the dock removed from the lake, and the outhouse was adequately limed to hopefully freshen it up by next spring.

It was a splendid day, with the noon temperature at 62 degrees. The sky was crystal clear. The islands and mountains were all clearly visible, with majestic Mount Katahdin towering over them all as we looked to the east.

After all the chores were done, Todd, who has young age on his side, went for a swim in the 58-degree water of the lake. He said it was bracing. I'll wait until next July before I take a dip in that lake.

Once finished, we locked the gate at the end of the camp road and headed home, with a planned stop in Greenville for a quick lunch.

Greenville, at the south end of the vast Moosehead Lake, was showing the tell-tale signs of the heavy rain and wind storm that had raced through the region a couple of days before. Small streams and feeder brooks were full of running water and the streets were coated in a blanket of wet, slippery leaves.

With the moose hunt over and the foliage past peak, Greenville was not all that busy. A few sightseers strolled along the sidewalks, and about half the stores were closed, with many businesses waiting for and hoping for a cold, snowy winter season to bring thousands snowmobilers and skiers back to the Northern Maine town.

The Indian Store in the center of town was busy as it usually is, attracting shoppers with its wide variety of merchandise that runs from the tacky to the valuable and rare. Of course, I was in awe of the tacky. Did you see ever see a farting ink pen?

While in town we stopped for lunch at the now-famous Black Frog Restaurant, home of the Skinny Dip Sandwich. This local eatery has received quite a bit of press lately because of this one $7.95 item on its menu.

There's a way to get the Skinny Dip Sandwich for free, however. If a patron strips down, runs down the gangplank onto the restaurant dock and jumps overboard, the meal is free. We took a seat overlooking the gangplank, but on this cool fall day there were no takers.

I was running a little low on cash, but I did manage to find enough money to pay for my sandwich. There was no need to spoil the panoramic view of the lake on such a beautiful day.

With full bellies and a hot cup of coffee for the road, we headed back to the coast listening to the New England Patriots cream the Miami Dolphins. It just doesn't get any better than that.

SOURCE: Waldo Village Soup

DATE: 10-26-2007


Lakes: Moosehead Lake
Regions: Moosehead


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