Cathy Cowette

[TheWatchman]

Going to the Phish concert this weekend?

I was in Maine all week and when I was talking with some of the locals in your neck of the woods, they told me about the traffic jams on the highways. Unbelievable. I drove 85 mph all the way to Houlton and saw very fews cars on the road with me. I can't imagine traffic being so backed up. The paper said 80 miles? Wow.

Went up through Presque Isle and ended up in Fort Kent. What a beautiful drive and part of the country that is. At one point I got out of my car and couldn't believe the silence. Very relaxing and soothing. You don't realize all the noise that us city dwellers live with each day until you visit the remote areas of Maine.

Some people that I was talking with got me paranoid about driving at night because of all the moose. I didn't realize so many people get killed from hitting them on the roads. It's a whole different way of life up there. So different than the coastal areas and even Bangor.

I guess as I write this the people are probably starting to flock in. Probably started last night I guess. Good luck!

[Auburn Annie]

When we were first married, my husband's family moved to Nova Scotia from Manitoba. Over the years we made several road trips to Herring Cove, Head of Jeddore and finally Musquodoboit Harbor by way of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and then New Brunswick en route to Halifax and beyond. And believe me, 20 years ago the road between Bangor and Calais (we crossed at St Stephen) was the most beautiful but desolate stretch of road I'd ever seen. It was one thing to drive it in high summer in daylight; I don't want to think about in winter darkness. At the time there was nothing but a handful of loggers' trails off one side or the other, and you'd better gas up before you headed out. Over the years they widened the road, added lanes and by now there's probably a 7-11 or (shudder) strip mall with WalMart on it. But at the time it was truly Stephen King territory.

[TheWatchman]

I've been to Maine 4 or 5 times within the last year and a half but never been that far east of Bangor. I bet I drove 220 miles or so north of Bangor to get to Fort Kent. Once you get past the 95 and 11 junction, you know you are a little spec in the middle of a wildneress. God forbid you break down at night because there is so little traffic and most places have no cellular service. You'd have to sleep in your car like Joel Fleischman did on Northern Exposure. Hopefully, the great chef and pathological liar, Adam would not find you!

I bet there are strip malls etc. on the way to Calais. It's really not all that far from Bangor and I am sure the population is significant along 9. Maybe not.

In Presque Isle, there is a nice little shopping area with a Wal-Mart and some other decent shopping available. But that's the exception, at least from what I have seen. Once you get west of 11, I bet you won't find much of anything at all except trees.

It's just a beatiful place to live your life and like a local to told me, "to live life as it was intended".

[Sheila Ann]

Watchman,

I drove from Calais to Bangor on 9 in October of 2001. It didn't seem very populated to me but the road was definitely under construction...additional lane being added. I remember thinking how odd it was to have big money being spent to widen a highway that had so little traffic. Of course, it was snowing heavily so maybe I was one of the few nuts on the road at that time. Or the locals knew alternative back roads to avoid the construction. There still didn't seem to be many road signs for 'turn right ahead' to go to such and such a town. I can't imagine such a huge invasion of people to any of those small towns in Maine...and for the most part they are all small!!!

The town I work in is a sleepy little rural village and it has a population of 1100. Once a year there is a big Civil War re-enactment...Battle of Cedar Creek (VA)..and the population swells twenty to thirty-fold. I know the impact that has on 'our town' so just can't imagine four times that many people in a little bitty town. Yuck!

SheilaB

[brink]

Watchman Glad to see there is qanother Northern Exposure fan out there. I loved that show and wish it was still on here. My favorite show was the fling with the body of Tulie.

[Cathy]

Hi Watchman,
I didn't bother going to the Phish concert, but both of my sons went and loved it.
Traffic was definitely a problem. Last time we hosted a Phish concert, traffic was split up in Mars Hill, sending half of them through Presque Isle and the other half through Fort Fairfield. The Presque Isle group entered the base through West Gate and the other bunch through East Gate, which cut the traffic problem in half, and pacified the folks in Presque Isle who were claiming they weren't reaping the benefits of having 60,000 fans stop for beer. This year, they routed the majority of the traffic up Rt. 1A, through Fort Fairfield. As you probably know, the Interstate stops about 60 miles south of Limestone, and our poor Rt1A, and also much of Rt. 1 through Caribou were totally crammed with Phishheads. It took many of them 12 hours to make the 60 mile drive, then another 4 or 5 hours to get to their campsites on base. The traffic jam started on Friday at 3AM and didn't let up until Saturday around noon.
I have to admit, though, these kids who follow Phish all over the place are a pretty nice bunch. There was no trouble at all, and they were polite to he locals. One kid asked me if I was Phishhead, and I replied, "No. I'm a Lighthead." He asked, "What's a Lighthead?" I answered, "Fans of Gordon Lightfoot." Kid, "Oh, cool, very cool. Gordon Lightfoot is cool. I love his music. Real cool." LOLOL. I was impressed that he even knew who Gordon Lightfoot was.

Moose are a problem up here. They generally stay in the woods during the day, but come out into the roadways at night to cool off. They aren't the brightest of animals and don't have the sense to get out of the road. They just stand there. If you hit one while driving 50 mph, you'll either die or be seriously injured. They're really a problem up here, so you're wise to use caution when driving at night. Late August and September are the worse months, as they are roaming around to herd up for the winter, and it's also rutting season. The male moose can become quite mean. They will actually charge a car if they get irritated enough. So if you see one staring you down, whatever you do, don't beep your horn or rev up your motor.

The area definitely has some nice scenery, especially when potato fields are blossomed. The areas you mentioned, between Van Buren and Fort Kent, and across the border into Canada were all settled by Acadians when they got booted out of the traditional Acadia by the British. They've managed to keep their language and traditions alive, which adds a lot to the local flavor. Acadians and Cajuns are from the same stock of people. Did you know that? If you listen to their music, you can hear a lot of similarities.
It's nice up here, and very peaceful, but it gets a little boring at times.

Cathy



[This message has been edited by Cathy (edited August 05, 2003).]

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by Auburn Annie:
When we were first married, my husband's family moved to Nova Scotia from Manitoba. Over the years we made several road trips to Herring Cove, Head of Jeddore and finally Musquodoboit Harbor by way of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and then New Brunswick en route to Halifax and beyond. And believe me, 20 years ago the road between Bangor and Calais (we crossed at St Stephen) was the most beautiful but desolate stretch of road I'd ever seen. It was one thing to drive it in high summer in daylight; I don't want to think about in winter darkness. At the time there was nothing but a handful of loggers' trails off one side or the other, and you'd better gas up before you headed out. Over the years they widened the road, added lanes and by now there's probably a 7-11 or (shudder) strip mall with WalMart on it. But at the time it was truly Stephen King territory.

The road conditions are better, but it really hasn't changed all that much. It's still very local and desolate. Songs have been written about these long, desolate stretches of Maine road. One that comes to mind is Tombstone Every Mile, by Dick Curtis. He was raised in Fort Fairfield and had some national success as a country singer.

Cathy

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
I've been to Maine 4 or 5 times within the last year and a half but never been that far east of Bangor. I bet I drove 220 miles or so north of Bangor to get to Fort Kent. Once you get past the 95 and 11 junction, you know you are a little spec in the middle of a wildneress. God forbid you break down at night because there is so little traffic and most places have no cellular service. You'd have to sleep in your car like Joel Fleischman did on Northern Exposure. Hopefully, the great chef and pathological liar, Adam would not find you!

I bet there are strip malls etc. on the way to Calais. It's really not all that far from Bangor and I am sure the population is significant along 9. Maybe not.

In Presque Isle, there is a nice little shopping area with a Wal-Mart and some other decent shopping available. But that's the exception, at least from what I have seen. Once you get west of 11, I bet you won't find much of anything at all except trees.

It's just a beatiful place to live your life and like a local to told me, "to live life as it was intended".

Oh, you took Rt. 11. That's a scenic highway. I assumed you went straight up Rt. 1 or Rt. 1A. Rt. 1A is also a nice drive, along the St. John River and right on the border of New Brunswick and Canada.

Presque Isle is truly the only urban area in Northern Maine. To us, it's a city, but in actuality, it's really Small Town America. About 12,000 people, I think. They do have a nice mall and even Walmart. Walmart has been a bit of a controversity, though. It's a Super Walmart, so they sell just about everything you'd ever need. A lot of our smaller businesses can't compete and have gone out of business, which kind of ruins the small town charm.
Caribou, Madawask and Houlton are the only other towns with populations over 5000. Limestone, where I live, has a population of only 2200.

Our motto is: Maine... The way life should be.
I don't always agree with that, especially when I have to drive 9 or 10 hours to see a Lightfoot concert. Even driving to Portland to see him was a long drive, about 6 hours.

Cathy

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by Sheila Ann:
Watchman,

I drove from Calais to Bangor on 9 in October of 2001. It didn't seem very populated to me but the road was definitely under construction...additional lane being added. I remember thinking how odd it was to have big money being spent to widen a highway that had so little traffic. Of course, it was snowing heavily so maybe I was one of the few nuts on the road at that time. Or the locals knew alternative back roads to avoid the construction. There still didn't seem to be many road signs for 'turn right ahead' to go to such and such a town. I can't imagine such a huge invasion of people to any of those small towns in Maine...and for the most part they are all small!!!

The town I work in is a sleepy little rural village and it has a population of 1100. Once a year there is a big Civil War re-enactment...Battle of Cedar Creek (VA)..and the population swells twenty to thirty-fold. I know the impact that has on 'our town' so just can't imagine four times that many people in a little bitty town. Yuck!

SheilaB

Traffic during summer months is much heavier, Sheila. The Maine coast gets a lot of tourists, as does southern New Brunswick. Many people use that route as a beginning to their coastal Maine drive, or to cross over into Canada.
In the winter months, there is very little traffic, mostly just local people and tourists who travel up here to go snowmobiling.

Cathy



[This message has been edited by Cathy (edited August 05, 2003).]

[vlmagee]

quote:Originally posted by Cathy:

Our motto is: Maine... The way life should be.
I don't always agree with that, especially when I have to drive 9 or 10 hours to see a Lightfoot concert. Even driving to Portland to see him was a long drive, about 6 hours.

Cathy



Uh, Cathy. That isn't how I remember it at all. It didn't take you 6 hours to get to Portland to see Lightfoot. It took you more than 20 ... first you drove right through Portland and on to Saratoga so you could drive with me to Burlington, VT, and then in a caravan with two other cars to Orono, ME, before finally ending up in Portland. After which you had to ride back with me to Saratoga so you could get your car and go back home. Of course, had you driven your own car to Burlington, for the first concert, we would have been four cars going to Orono ...


------------------
Valerie Magee

Visit my GL web site at gordonlightfoot.com and Cathy Cowette's site at cathycowette.com

[TheWatchman]

quote:Originally posted by Cathy:

Acadians and Cajuns are from the same stock of people. Did you know that? If you listen to their music, you can hear a lot of similarities.
It's nice up here, and very peaceful, but it gets a little boring at times.

Cathy



I really never knew what people settled in that area. I notice a huge difference in the accent from the typical New England and Boston talk though. I assume the accent that you hear in Maine (especially inland)is Acadian. In some parts it is very thick.

On my way to Fort Kent I took Rt. 1 up to Presque Isle and then jumped on 163 which took me to Rt. 11. On the way back, I stayed on Rt. 11 until around Houlton and then got on I-95. Many of the potato fields were blossomed when I was there.

I was more paranoid of the logging trucks (than the moose) passing me on 11 going 75-80 mph. I swear when they go down those big hills they must hit 100 mph. They fly right past you like you are crawling. Following them up the hills is really bad. I think they give it all they got just to get up some of those hills because of all the weight from the logs. I pulled over a couple of times to let them pass because they were right on my bumper and I knew with all that weight, if I had to stop quick, they would have rammed me something horrible.

I bet in can get a little boring at times. I must admit that I was a little tempted to stay the night near Fort Kent or some little town in between but decided against it. It is so far from the coast that it would have really limited my work the next day. It was so quiet and beautiful up there that all I wanted to do was sit outside and listen to the silence, wildlife and enjoy the scenery. No music, cell phones, computers, sirens etc. I almost got a room but when it started to storm in Fort Kent, I said the heck with it. Once I got back closer to Bangor, it was sunny and nice again.

Maine is something that I think everybody should experience at least once. Not just the coast, which is very similar to northern Boston, but inland and the far nothern reaches.

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by vlmagee:
Uh, Cathy. That isn't how I remember it at all. It didn't take you 6 hours to get to Portland to see Lightfoot. It took you more than 20 ... first you drove right through Portland and on to Saratoga so you could drive with me to Burlington, VT, and then in a caravan with two other cars to Orono, ME, before finally ending up in Portland. After which you had to ride back with me to Saratoga so you could get your car and go back home. Of course, had you driven your own car to Burlington, for the first concert, we would have been four cars going to Orono ...




Yes, you're right. But I did that only so you wouldn't get lost in the wilds of Maine and end up in Newfoundland. Those Newfies. I just love them. Really, I do.

Cathy

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
I really never knew what people settled in that area. I notice a huge difference in the accent from the typical New England and Boston talk though. I assume the accent that you hear in Maine (especially inland)is Acadian. In some parts it is very thick.



At one time, the area was called The Republic of Madawaska, part of Canada. It was a crescent shape, encompassing much of Northern Maine, parts of New Brunswick and parts of Eastern Quebec. It was all part of Acadia. The further north you go, the more Acadian it gets. I notice a difference just between here and Van Buren, 20 miles to the north. Few people here in Limestone speak French, although many of them have Acadian ancestors. For some reason, we didn't keep the culture alive too well. But just 20 miles north, most people speak both languages and have kept Acadian customs intact. The further north you go, the more Acadian it becomes.
As far as other accents, Maine has a diversity of them. French in the north, Downeast along the coast, Bostonian in the Portland area. I'm not sure what you'd call the accent to the west of us. But it's definitely different than ours, maybe more influenced by their logging history. Dad always called those guys Stump Jumpers, quite possible something he made up.

Al, did you get a chance to see potato blossoms when the moonlight is hitting them? It's beautiful, almost spooky. The moon reflects off the white blossoms and makes a whitish glow. You see dark patches of woods and grass, then all of the sudden a big patch of white.

Logging is big business in Northern Maine. Most people live along the St. John and Aroostook river valleys, the farming belt. But if you drive just 30 or 40 miles to the west, you are in one of the biggest forests left standing in the continental US, all the way to the western border of Maine, and into Quebec. This is where the Allagash Waterway is located. It's very well known for canoeing and white water rafting. Gord once told me he had always intended on canoeing the waterway, but never got around to it. Imagine, if he had, the Allagash River probably would have made an appearance in Canary Yellow Canoe.

Cathy

[gwen snyder]

Cathy,
Cool, I only remember that area from jumping around in a big 707. But, as I have mentioned to you on other sights...it is beautiful (I mean, minus the pine sprigs I had stuck up my...well, you know, when i landed at Loring. When I landed at Pease (is it still there?) back a long time ago We taxied in to the terminal area and the snow was higher than my wing tips and there was so much they only cleared maybe 10 feet farther than my wing tips. Talk about claustrophobic. People were sitting in snowbanks tanning??? I couldn't figure it out. We left there and landed in Zaragosa Spain and I cranked the cargo door open to a balmy 70 degree evening...thought I had died and gone to paradise. I can not understand the language of the folks arounf Saco (sp)Maine. It sounds to me like they might have a mouth full of marbles when they are talking... what gives? But, we are supposed to come up that way this winter to go downhill skiing at Mount Marie (not quite sure where or if that is the whole name of the place), I am not Buck-nut crazy about downhill skiing (I prefer cross-country any day). I am anxious to see this part of the world in the snow again. I have never seen potato blooms in the moonlight...

Val, don't ever ask me to travel with the long winded kind of trip you had Cathy do, poor thing. What kind of narcotics did you catch her trippin' on to talk her into such a lengthy event???????????????????
Val, please e-mail.
Gwen

[gwen snyder]

Cathy,
My husband took a college class last fall in music and the teacher had localmusicians talented in different music styles come on Sundays to concerts (that students had to attend). One bassist, who performed had travelled extensively to many different areas to practice and perform with other local type musicians, spoke of the area you talk about he also was buck-nut crazy over Cape Breton music and he and his wife performed numerous numbers of this type they also played Cuban style music that has influenced much of our music as well...wonder how much Gord was really influenced by Bahama music? As well as the regions mentioned previously?

[TheWatchman]

Pease International Tradeport in NH is still alive and kicking. Road signs to it kept screwing me up when I was looking for signs to Manchester International.

I did not get a chance to see the potato blossoms in the moonlight. Sounds like something I will for sure check out when I return next summer. I will be back in the spring but obviously wouldn't see them then. I left Ft. Kent about 3 in the afternoon and wanted to make sure I was off the road before the moose came out!

I didn't go 30-40 miles west of 1, much less 11. There are no roads listed on the map! All I had was 1 oz. of beef jerky and some roasted soynuts and there was no way I was going to get lost for the night. I am sure I could have rigged up a snare to catch a raccoon to eat if I had to though. I guess I could have stole some potatoes if I got really desperate. I hope I spelled potatoes correctly. Ever since Dan Quale misspelled it in front of that class I always have to think about it.

I love to just take off and explore, but only when I plan for it. Maine is no place to go anywhere unprepared. Especially a city boy like me.

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by gwen snyder:

...Val, don't ever ask me to travel with the long winded kind of trip you had Cathy do, poor thing. What kind of narcotics did you catch her trippin' on to talk her into such a lengthy event???????????????????
Val, please e-mail.
Gwen


Actually, it was a very fun trip, and I love road trips, so all the traveling wasn't too bad. I originally drove to Saratoga Springs, a 9 hour drive. I parked the car, jumped in with Val and drove to Burlington, VT, where we met up with Jenney and another couple. We went to Lightfoot's concert, then caravaned across Rt. 2, through the beautiful White Mountains, to Bangor and saw Lightfoot again in Orono. The next day we all drove down I-95 to Portland (you guessed it... to see Lightfoot again). I didn't mind it at all, as I was the passenger and got to take in all the scenery.
We did the same thing a week or two later. I drove down again and we all met up to go to the Red Bank, NJ show, then took in the Glenside PA show the next night.

When we do this, Val always does the driving and I do the navigating, which probably explains why we are constantly getting lost. For instance, the short trip from Red Bank to Glenside took over four hours. We even got lost in Torrington, CT, and that time we had Jenney to guide us. We were driving along the Interstate, following Jenney's tail lights. I looked up and said, "Where did Jenney's tail lights go?" I started frantically looking around and spotted Jenney off to the side of us on an exit ramp. No big deal, I thought. We'll get off at the next exit and backtrack. Wrong....
We got lost and had to ask for directions.
One other time we got lost just trying to find our way out of a hotel parking lot. We started laughing uncontrollably and I said, "Let's just go back to the beginning, where we were parked, and start over. I just hope we don't run into Jenney. She'll think we're both crazy." We pulled into our parking space, and there was Jenney, standing there with her arms crossed, giving us that funny look. We were laughing so hard that we both had tears streaming out of our eyes. Jenney said, "What's going on? Don't tell me. You got lost." We tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come out, just too much laughter.
Oh, those were the days. So much fun.

Cathy

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
I didn't go 30-40 miles west of 1, much less 11. There are no roads listed on the map! All I had was 1 oz. of beef jerky and some roasted soynuts and there was no way I was going to get lost for the night. I am sure I could have rigged up a snare to catch a raccoon to eat if I had to though. I guess I could have stole some potatoes if I got really desperate. I hope I spelled potatoes correctly. Ever since Dan Quale misspelled it in front of that class I always have to think about it.

I love to just take off and explore, but only when I plan for it. Maine is no place to go anywhere unprepared. Especially a city boy like me.

If you were on Rt. 11, you were skirting the forest, and in some places were driving right through it, as you also do on the northern protion of I-95. As far as maps go, they probably would not have done you any good. The forests have a few roads, but they are privately owned by the logging and paper companies. They don't usually have a problem with people using them. If you ever take off on one of those, you'd better have a guide, because it's very easy to get lost.

Cathy