Day #51
Sunday September 30, 2007
Farmington, ME to Madawaska, ME
302 miles today (24,592 – 24,894)
10,327 miles total
0 new states today, BUT ANOTHER CORNER!
28 states total
I left Farmington at 6:45 AM after knocking the ICE off of the bike cover and trailer cover. Yes, ICE! Not just frost, but thicker heavier ice. I went to breakfast at the same truck stop, about ½ mile down the road, that I had dinner at last night. On my way in, 3 couples (“Mainers” they called themselves) asked about my license plate on the trailer (Day #50). After a little visiting they invited me to join them for breakfast. I don’t remember all the details, but they were there in Farmington for an annual reunion. Arnold and his wife live in Ashland. Dick and his wife, and then John and Beth all lived up in northern Maine. Another lady, Deanne, showed up to join them. We had a good time just talking about my trip. I hope to hear from them in the days ahead. Again, kind strangers. How do I find them??
I left Farmington very bundled up. I wore my long underwear underneath my jeans and chaps this day! I stayed east bound on US 2 until Newport where I stopped for gas and coffee at the junction of I-95. I finally saw my first moose. Some hunter had bagged it and it was hanging off a small utility trailer. It wasn’t quite as big as I had expected. From here I jumped on I-95 and headed north until Sherman Mills, where I gassed up again and moved to US 11. Now this was Maine for sure; hills and curves, hills and curves. A couple of the hills were like roller coaster rides, causing my stomach to jump up into my throat a couple of times. And then of course, there were the trees. The leaves are in all stages of changing. I think the best pictures were left untaken. Many places I just couldn’t pull off as the trees were on a curve or as I topped a hill. But I made several pictures. My little Sony camera just does NOT do the views justice. They are MUCH more striking than my camera can record.
I reached Madawaska, Maine at 3:20 PM with 24, 885 on the odometer. This is nearly 10,400 miles after Corner #1 in Blaine, WA. Guess I took the scenic route! I should've known though, on a nice day on the bike it can take me 2 hours to go to the corner market for milk and bread! Those of you that ride, YOU understand! Key West should not be nearly as long.
0 new states today, BUT ANOTHER CORNER!
28 states total
I left Farmington at 6:45 AM after knocking the ICE off of the bike cover and trailer cover. Yes, ICE! Not just frost, but thicker heavier ice. I went to breakfast at the same truck stop, about ½ mile down the road, that I had dinner at last night. On my way in, 3 couples (“Mainers” they called themselves) asked about my license plate on the trailer (Day #50). After a little visiting they invited me to join them for breakfast. I don’t remember all the details, but they were there in Farmington for an annual reunion. Arnold and his wife live in Ashland. Dick and his wife, and then John and Beth all lived up in northern Maine. Another lady, Deanne, showed up to join them. We had a good time just talking about my trip. I hope to hear from them in the days ahead. Again, kind strangers. How do I find them??
I left Farmington very bundled up. I wore my long underwear underneath my jeans and chaps this day! I stayed east bound on US 2 until Newport where I stopped for gas and coffee at the junction of I-95. I finally saw my first moose. Some hunter had bagged it and it was hanging off a small utility trailer. It wasn’t quite as big as I had expected. From here I jumped on I-95 and headed north until Sherman Mills, where I gassed up again and moved to US 11. Now this was Maine for sure; hills and curves, hills and curves. A couple of the hills were like roller coaster rides, causing my stomach to jump up into my throat a couple of times. And then of course, there were the trees. The leaves are in all stages of changing. I think the best pictures were left untaken. Many places I just couldn’t pull off as the trees were on a curve or as I topped a hill. But I made several pictures. My little Sony camera just does NOT do the views justice. They are MUCH more striking than my camera can record.
I reached Madawaska, Maine at 3:20 PM with 24, 885 on the odometer. This is nearly 10,400 miles after Corner #1 in Blaine, WA. Guess I took the scenic route! I should've known though, on a nice day on the bike it can take me 2 hours to go to the corner market for milk and bread! Those of you that ride, YOU understand! Key West should not be nearly as long.
The air temp was about 50 degrees, the sky was clear, and I was cold. I’d been riding since about 8:30 with no stops except for gas, and my only coffee break was early in Newport.
Madawaska is a little tiny town. The border crossing to Edmundston and a paper mill are the big things. I really needed to do laundry, but the only Laundromat in town was a dive! It was NASTY! The washers, some of them, were full of dirty, nasty water, the change machine wouldn’t operate, the place was dark and secluded. I passed on doing laundry here.
I had dinner at the motel restaurant, covered up the bike before dark and settled in for the night. Feels good to be inside where I can get warm. (See tomorrow's notes for special comment on the HEAT!)
Madawaska is a little tiny town. The border crossing to Edmundston and a paper mill are the big things. I really needed to do laundry, but the only Laundromat in town was a dive! It was NASTY! The washers, some of them, were full of dirty, nasty water, the change machine wouldn’t operate, the place was dark and secluded. I passed on doing laundry here.
I had dinner at the motel restaurant, covered up the bike before dark and settled in for the night. Feels good to be inside where I can get warm. (See tomorrow's notes for special comment on the HEAT!)
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