Hittin' the road with the Coodys

Cobscook S.P. Near Eastport, ME.

A beautiful campground. $25. for out-of-staters but has a good shower for two bits. Mosquitos not too bad but you can get a few very cool, private walk-in tent sites. The mud flats are odd to us non-Mainers but low tide makes for some interesting topography. These are shots from the trail to our campsite and the surrounding views. John Archer down the way played a penny whistle flute that wafted through the pines. He digs Bulgarian folk music like I do and has a bouzouki as I once did. Small world. He is working within his small community to reduce the need for car trips through cell phone based ride sharing and cooperative errand running. He says climate change is understood pretty well here because of a college that focuses on the environment.

Note: from National Geo -Greenland ice is melting by 50 cubic miles a year. The locals are looking forward to being able to drill for oil. Ironic, yes? The Oblivion Express is accelerating.

…on Blueberry Hill This kitschy roadside attraction had good blubbery pie, scones, muffins, sodas, you name it, made with blueberries.

This is one of the best preserved towns we have seen. Its huge old churches are everywhere and the 19th century library is gorgeous. There was one large old building that is said to have rivaled the library but it burned down 10 years ago after a poorly aimed firework set it ablaze. It took the fire department 10 minutes to respond and by then it was too late. The fire department is across the street. The chain link fence on left is the hole left from the fire. Ouch.

The natural history museum (the dark terra cotta building) was built in late 19th century, as well. They must have had some money in the town back then. The architecture is outstanding. Every building looks like it tried to be the most outstanding. These days The focus is on cost cutting. A design life of 30 years is what we shoot for. We will not see buildings like these be built again. These buildings, and those like them, have to be preserved.

Damn! Of all the Indian food we’ve had, the Taste of India downtown was the hottest, by a long shot. It was great, but then, we like it hot. This is rated a strong buy.

We returned to check out the market. The downside: it occurs in a small parking lot so it lacks the character of Fayetteville’s. Also, the near absence of dogs was a curiosity. I asked if rules applied and I was told that dogs are allowed but people tend to not bring them out of “respect for others.” no one had a problem with much of anything.

Also, the vendors had a lot of variety we don’t have. I know rules are strict in the worlds of farmer’s markets, cities and states but sometimes we can “rule” our way out of some great stuff. The portable wood-fired pizza oven was a hit. No 3-compartment sink, hot water, enclosed prep area? Couldn’t happen in Arkansas. Neither could the Indian, African, or Parsi foods that added flavor to the event.

The similarity between Montpelier’s and Santa Rosa, CA. is pretty strong. Both have lots of unique prepared foods, few dogs, wood-fired pizza ovens, and little music. Fayetteville’s has the best music scene, by far. And the folks who come to ours, in large part, are coming too see their friends and chat as well as buy produce. We have seen many farmer’s markets from all over the country. Each had its own personality and purpose. Fayetteville’s is the best market when it comes to the social/community fabric aspect, but it’s interesting to see the strengths of others and how they have evolved. As good as ours is, there is always room for improvement. But that’s true of almost everything.

Well, thanks to Eric and Calli, we had a wonderful place to stay in a rustic cabin on Grand Isle in the middle of the lake.

The weather was great, the water was clear, the islanders were friendly. The area is agricultural with farm stands everywhere. Lots of dairy and maple syrup (get the “B” grade syrup–it tastes better).

The round barn with slate roof was converted to senior housing. The old rail line across the lake was constructed of blocks of marble (the salmon bas relief was quite good. Now THAT’S some good graffiti.) When the tracks were pulled up it made one way-cool bike trail. The turnstile bridge was removed to accommodate boat traffic so it is muy difficult to bike to the other side. So far, only Lance Armstrong has done it.

The rock ledges on the shore make for great swimming and the water was a comfortable 72 degrees. The water quality is generally good but agri-runoff causes algae blooms that are problematic. They just got $6.5 million of stimulus money to help address this.

Wally’s bagels was very good for a breakfast sandwich. The local winery has free concerts on Thursdays. What’s not to love? Winter.

Down the road was a very nice Vermont state park. It is manicured but not uptight. The tent sites are apart from each other and some are pretty isolated. And…they have a feature most parks don’t have–lean to shelters. They range from $25 to $27 per night depending on water view. They are perfect if you are concerned about rain or about anything else.

Beware! Some have the unfortunate feature of a chain link fence between you and the view. Most do not. Those that do not are worth the money, for sure. The views are very nice and the sites are relatively private. You can stay up to three weeks before they boot you, but for that you need to book a year out. Or, as we saw, you can drive up on a weekday and find a spot without too much trouble.

Imagine Eureka Springs, Arkansas with a population of 8,000 and being the state capital. That would be Montpelier. Very compact, wonderful old architecture, exceptionally eclectic with hippies, business suits, and hippies in business suits. The home of Howard Dean, our choice for Pres. instead of W. We enjoyed a cup of joe and a pastry at the Culinary Institute and a spicy samosa at a small curry shop downtown. I have to say, this town ranks with Jerome, Port Townsend, East Bay on Orcas Island, and Nelson, B.C. With a hip factor approaching 10, the Green Mountains cradle equal parts old traditions and and new ideas. Social arguments that are getting cranked up in other parts of the country were settled here 30 years ago. Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald’s. Vermont was the last state to get a Walmart.

A local music group played for a crowd on the lawn of the gold-domed statehouse and the foot traffic downtown was as dense as a busy larger city. Real estate prices are more down to Earth than other places and that tends to be a fair barometer in terms of lifestyle for mere mortals. When you have to be wealthy to live in a certain place the cross-section becomes very narrow and seems to lose something important. Montpelier has the authenticity and grit of a real, functioning town with a solid backbone of progressive counter-culture. This is a town that lodges in the grey matter.

Home to Keene State University. Beautifully manicured tree-lined streets, roundabouts that move traffic seamlessly through intersections. Roundabouts meld and move traffic seamlessly through intersections. The largest roundabout downtown surrounds a park with a gazebo that hosts concerts on Thursday evenings. Keene appears to be the center of protests in NH. The pot gets lighted at 4:20 in the downtown park, police practice “low priority” by ignoring it. They believe it’s a political issue. People wear guns on their hips to protest those who don’t. Women remove their tops to protest…well…I’m not sure what. Chris Brown, hot dog magnate, came here from Maine. He makes a good red hot. He watches the businesses come and go along the downtown thoroughfare. He told us some interesting places to hit in Maine. But first! Vermont!

Everyone we encounter seems to have the knack of preparing very good grub. The “oinkarama”, as Annie puts it, involved local produce from a few of the many small truck farms that are the backbone of the local economy.

Since I was a kid I have always wanted to see a trombonium, or valve trombone, but no one had ever heard of them. Well. I have finally seen the platypus of the musical instrument world. This horn is odd even in the rarified air of tromboniumville. Most have piston valves like a trumpet. This horn, made in Paris for a player in New York, has rotary valves like a French horn. Chuck Corman also plays bass and guitar in Celtic groups and has Baltic folk music in his veins. His cd’s are an expression of excellent musicianship and very interesting traditional songs.

And another thing…Chuck walked the entire Pacific Rim Trail from Mexico to Canada in five months. And we was in Fayetteville for two weeks for a dance workshop at the U. of A.