RVing with Jim and Chris 2013: Leaving Bangor

Paul Bunyan in Bangor, ME

In Bangor, the 31-foot statue of legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan still stands tall over what was once the “Lumber Capital of the World.” In the 1830s, the city was home to more than 300 sawmills, and the Federal-style mansions constructed during the lumber boom still stand in the Broadway region. Nearby is the Maine Forest and Logging Museum, an authentic reconstruction of a logging and milling community, which preserves the area’s rich lumbering heritage. We did not make it to the Museum which will be interesting to see next year if we are assigned to Maine, but we did see Paul Bunyan. He is huge and now stands in front of a brand new civic center and auditorium.

Nice looking guy...

Jim at 6' 2" is dwarfed by three story tall Paul!

Chris is only as tall as the base at 5' 7" as you can see.

Horror novelist Stephen King resides in this neighborhood as well and many scenes from his books and movies were taken from actual sites in Bangor-a reputation that has led to the nickname "Transylmainia" for the town of Bangor. I will have to see if he has written anything that is less on the horror side as that genre doesn't do much for me normally. Any suggestions?

Stephen King's house on Cedar St. in Bangor, ME.

Gargoyles adorn the entry gates.

Gates with gargoyles and wrought iron fencing surround the King property.

Friday we travel westerly again to the Katahdin Area. Proponents claim is one of the best-kept secrets in all of New England: “Home of Baxter State Park, this region offers exciting wilderness adventures no matter what time of year you visit.”

Mt. Katahdin from the Interstate.

The history of the Katahdin Region is older than the state of Maine itself. For centuries, the Penobscot Tribes hunted and fished this land in harmony with the seasons. The first colonial settlers arrived in the mid-1700’s, establishing frontier outposts along the major rivers in the area.

Lumber was the driving force behind much of the development of the state in the 19^th century. The seemingly endless forest was of enormous value to an expanding America. Mills, foundries and other subsidiary industries soon developed in the wake of the logging boom, helping the area towns flourish. Now it seems many of these same towns languish with abandoned or foreclosed homes and empty storefronts. It is a sad commentary on the current state of our country. Again, I am further inclined to only support "Made in U.S.A." products-one small thing I can do to help my country. (OK, I know I am back on my soapbox, but seeing dying towns makes me sad.)

Henry David Thoreau’s journey through the Katahdin Area in 1846, 1853 and 1857 were the inspiration for his revered expeditionary journals. The journals offer a memorable portrait of a robust industrial and agrarian economy emerging at that time on the doorstep of the wilderness. Visiting here inspires me to search for his writings to download to my Kindle to read. Experiencing this area makes me curious about what it was like in its beginnings with so much of history evident in its buildings alone.

Today, the Katahdin Area claims this is where “wildlife observers get the chance to see deer, moose, and black bears, so come prepared!” (I’ll believe it if we see our elusive moose!) Interestingly our neighbor camper who pulled in with a 42 foot Holiday Rambler Scepter (think luxury coach) saw a moose on his way here today and showed us his movie of the moose grazing right by the road. Mount Katahdin is the state’s highest point at 5,267 feet and is the highlight of Baxter State Park. The mountain sits where the northern end of the Appalachian Trail ends. The park alone covers more than 200,000 acres of mountains, lakes, streams, and forests loved by hikers, canoeists and kayakers.