Mid Summer Belfast Bay Cruise

With a very light SW-rly breeze, an incoming tide and flat water, conditions were just about as good as they can get for a small boat on Penobscot Bay, a very small portion of which is considered Belfast Bay.  One advantage of small boating is that is can be done quicker than you can say "red on right returning" . A simple hookup to the trailer..a short hop to the boat ramp and soon you find yourself under Rt. 1 looking to Little River Dam...

 

Moving down shore we were soon abreast of the summer community of Bayside..

 

with the many upturned, small  boats looking much like sunning harbor seals...

 

As I said before, flat water, and that means a quick, full throttled hop to Islesboro and Grindle Point Lighthouse and base of operations for the Islesboro Ferry..

 

Working our way toward Broad Cove, there's no mistaking what this harbor is about (other than transporting flat-landers to their summer places on the island).. And for those of you flat-landery, touristy folks who don't know what this is..

 

Here are a couple of clues...

this..

 

and this..

 

We were soon back into Belfast for some observations of the busy goings on in our now bustling inner harbor.

I wonder if this is where the above is heading (the lobster not the lobsterman) for its  date with the cooker?

 

The inner harbor is packed with mostly pleasure craft of all sizes, types and shapes..

 

But fortunately Belfast still retains a portion of it's old, working harbor nature..we haven't given up the ghost totally to the Thurston Howell III types..yet..

 

And that's it..

Back to the ramp and quickly loading the boat back onto the trailer..

a great cruise was had by all... small boating at it's finest..

Roach River at Kokadjo.."Pop. Not Many"

Earlier this month and on the way to Spencer Pond, for a few days off the grid , we found ourselves in the "village" of Kokadjo.

 
Lying east of Moosehead Lake  and 18 miles north of Greenville, this tiny outpost's claim to fame is The Roach River. And along with Grand Lake Stream, the East Outlet, the West Branch, the Upper Dam pool and a few others, The Roach is one of Maine's premier fly fishing waters.

It begins at the outlet dam

 

at First Roach Pond

 

 which I hear is in itself a great spot to drag a Grey Ghost right after ice out. Check out the trophy fish hanging on the wall of The Kokadjo Trading Post, if you have doubts.

 

The  nearly 7 mile long river makes it way thru the Maine woods

 
eventually dumping into Moosehead Lake. (Another great story about fantastic Maine fishing spots..)

The Roach is fly fishing and catch and release only with a convenient starting point being the Dam and Dump Pools..

 

We found just two fly fishermen only at these popular spots testifying that the fishing pressure during the first week of July is a tad different than May or September.

Much of the fishing can be done by wading, accessing the different pools via bushwhacked trails along it's length. And while you're there,  be on the lookout for one of Maine's most sought after attractions..moose.

But be careful when driving as this sign warns..

 

This was a short 2 day family outing to the wilds of Maine. And on top of that we spent one of those days  hunkering down during  tropical storm Arthur's visit.  Consequently there was very little fishing done but that will change come September, on my next visit to Kokajdo.

.....population not many.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie...Camp Style

We were back at it..camp pie was our desert while spending the weekend..the Arthur weekend..at Spencer Pond Cabins, northeast of Lily Bay, Moosehead Lake..

Last summer we tried our hand and blueberry pie..on the shore in front of our cottage in Gouldsboro.  This year it was strawberry - rhubarb. The sweet and tangy combination that cries out ...summertime..

The first thing that is necessary is of course the cooking coals..Begin with separate piles , one which will be used underneath and on top of the cast iron dutch oven. The other pile is to be used as replacements for the ones that burn down as cooking progresses..

Once your ingredients are prepared, according to your favorite recipe, the pie is placed into the dutch oven on top of a strip of folded up aluminum foil which will be used as a hot pie extractor. Of course if you have more discipline than we do.. (more on that in a bit).. and let the pie cool inside the oven you'll be able to skip the foil extractor step altogether.

Next placement of coals..I'm sure there must be a formula correlating the number of coals to get the oven up to cooking temp. 6 underneath? 12 on the lid? More..less?  We don't know..we just wing it..

And of course we yield to temptation..lifting the lid ( a huge no-no) to check on the progress to get a whiff of the fusing, melting, sweet mass of bubbling goodness contained within...

And when it is deemed done..with golden crust and lava like behavior spilling out of the cracks in the crust (pie not earth), we'll set it aside to "simmer" a little longer..but not a lot longer..

Shortly..back into camp and then on the counter..to rest further?

I guess that's appropriate but...

(Here's where the lack of discipline comes in....)

We just can't do it...and so instead of a perfectly triangular shaped pie wedge with the fruit just barely oozing out of the open wound..our still hot mass of goodness sits like a blob on our plate..

but man..oh man..how good it is...