Weather: Sunny, happy clouds
Portages: 1
Tried paddling up a stream to the right of the public beach to get closer to the downtown. Had to take out in a family's backyard--asked permission to portage to road that led us to Ecopelagicon. Carried our gear across the main street to the outfitter. (Was a little closer than taking out at the boat landing.) Owner was very gracious and has met other paddlers, but she had a pretty aggressive terrier named Max that accompanied us across the yard, yipping and nipping.
Wildlife: MOOSE! (Cow and calf in South Bog, another pair along Hwy. 16 en route to Stratton), loons and mergansers
Since we once again were mooseless last night, but were told the South Bog was a great area for sightings, we got up at dawn and returned to the same area, about 1/2 mile from the campground. heavy fog and mists were rising from the still surface of the lake. A lone kayaker was heading toward the same area and was first to come across the cow and calf feeding near the outlet of South Bog Stream. We watched for about 15 minutes, then headed back to pack up the camp. Ran across a family of otters, probably the same group we saw last night. Made a breakfast of the remaining food and headed across a smooth Rangeley Lake whose personality had changed considerably since the previous day's roller coaster ride.
My car was being held at the Maine Roadhouse near Stratton, so we secured a ride through the folks at Ecopelagicon. I picked up the car, then headed back to pick up Joyce. Had lunch at the nearby Thai restaurant, stopped at the town's beautiful library, and since I now had my car, we drove the 5 miles out of Rangeley to visit the Wilheim Reich museum where we learned all about "orgone" energy. If you don't know what that is, join the club. When I read that local tourist publication two days earlier, while Joyce had slept in, I discovered this museum was nearby and knew Joyce would want to see it. It's quirky and interesting--exactly the kind of side trip that appealed to us. On the day we visited, the docents all appeared to be somewhat elderly ladies. Joyce and I constituted the last group of the day and we were ushered into a darkened side theatre to view the introductory movie (or the indoctrination as I started to believe.) The house and lab have been preserved in time, circa early 1950. I'm still not sure what exactly it was all about, but we had fun looking at the medical devices and hearing why the Food and Drug Administration attacked his work. Visit the web site to learn more!
Finished laundry, had dinner at the historic Pour House/Rangeley Inn and have decided to stay at the Maine Roadhouse for the next three nights, because as we learned when we arrived at Ecotopicon:
"The S. Branch of the Dead River is Dead."
We're going hiking tomorrow instead.
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| My affirmation to seek an alternative plan courtesy of Ecopelagicon's white board. |
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| Love the library! |
