Frost Pond Camps and Ripogenus Dam 2008 July Journal

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2008

"What happened in these here parts of Maine"

Read about Maine, Cabins, Campsites, Hunting, Fishing, Relaxing, Vacationing, Moose, Deer, Bear, Partridge, and everything else in the Maine woods! If it happens in the north Maine woods, chances are I will be writing something about it at some point!

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July 2008

July 25th, 2008
   What a day yesterday. I had to make a trip to Bangor, which is a couple of hours away. This is where we go from up here to pick up supplies and make purchases that we cannot find local. I had left here at 6:00am to be able to get there and then get back at a respectable time. (Jed is now old enough to man the camps while I am away for a bit and what a help that is)
   I had just about gotten to Bangor when the local radio station "blinked" out. When it came back on the air they were saying that there had been a lightening strike or something that had knocked them off the air.
   My first stop found the doors closed and folks standing around outside. (This was one of the "large" national chains) My next stop was to a large local store. This place was open, but very dark. Everyone was running around with flashlights trying to figure out how to operate without electricity.
   I managed to pick up my order by paying the old tried and true "cash". (Of course I had to have the exact amount as they could not find the key to open the cash register) The card processing equipment just does not work without the electrons coming into the building, and I had managed to forget the checkbook!
   Traffic was moving pretty good considering the fact that there were not any traffic lights working. (A problem we do not have in this part of the world as we just do not have traffic lights and very few stop signs)
   The next several scheduled stops were rearranged due to the fact that there was not much sense of trying to get in to the stores without power for them to operate. This just amazes me, take away their power and even worse their computerized cash registers and they are just plain out of luck.
I talked with one place about a return that I needed to take care of and they assured me that this was just not possible, the computers were down and that was that. I mentioned that why not "write" the information down and enter it when the power came back on. You would have thought that I had asked them to put the moon in the back of my pickup! We have a generation of people who cannot think beyond what they know will work. (Not all of them, just they ones I have to deal with)
   I am always trying things that may or may not work, but the only way I can find out is to try it. Being of an age where I can remember the cash registers that had the big keys with the dollar amounts printed on them, if they even had a register at all, this just does not make sense to me.
   Now I will be the first to admit that without my computer I would have to rethink how I get some of the things done, but if it does not work then you find a different way to do it. (As I do this journal entry I cannot actually get online as my satellite connection is down, but I can at least do the writing and if it comes back up I will post it live then)
   If it does not come back online today, I will take the information with me the next trip to town and get it on down there! (Assuming that they have power in town, or at least where the server is sitting)
   Yes, electricity sure is something that one takes for granted these days, until when you flip the switch and nothing happens.
   We do not have quite the same problem with electricity up here. We use it to run water pumps, the freezer and yes, the computer. But by making our own, we have it when we need it and then shut it down when we do not need it. It works well for us, but it is not for everyone.
   My biggest duty these days is trying to keep the humming birds happy! They are emptying the feeders almost twice a week right now. We have a good number of the little birds here. Each year the number just seems to keep growing. I guess that as they raise offspring the youngsters come back to raise families here as well. They are fun to watch and the guests enjoy them as well.
   The green drakes have been hatching on the pond and I have been down to the dock a few times to try my luck at catching fish. Jed will race down to try to catch the first fish ahead of me. He sure likes to compete with Dad!
   Jed and I went out to the dam fishing the other day. We wanted to catch some white perch for supper. He managed to catch the first two fish and the largest fish at that. The darn kid is sure lucky when it comes to fishing. (It must be the fact that he had a fantastic teacher, me!)
   The camping has been pretty good for our guests this summer. We have had some rain, but many of the days when it rains it is just a shower in the afternoon. We did have some heavy rain last night, but everyone had managed to get their tents set up before it arrived. Just a part of camping, and today the sun is out to dry everything out and make it all better! The forecast is for a great weekend so I am sure that everyone will be having a ball.
GT

July 8th, 2008
   I bet you thought I had forgot how to type again! Well actually, I did not forget, but I have been busy around here. With the summer season upon us and folks coming and going it has been a bit hectic.
   Trying to keep ahead of cabins coming in and getting them cleaned for the next group sure does keep one hopping.
   For the folks wonder about the loons in the pond, they are still there serenading folks with their nightly songs. We have had guests seeing moose on the road into camp and even the occasional bear out towards the dam. The frogs have been croaking and peeping at night, totally ignoring our quiet time guidelines. The stars are making their nightly rounds and everyone is enjoying the night sky.
   We have been having pretty good weather with a minimum of rain. It has been a little warm during the day lately, but the evenings cool down so one can get a good nights sleep.
   Today it was over 90 degrees according to my thermometer. Then late this afternoon the sky opened and the water all fell out! It only lasted for a few minutes, but the rain drops were large and lots of them. After the brief storm, the sun returned and the temps went right back up. It got a bit on the steamy side for awhile, but all in all it was not too bad and could have been much worse. (It could still be raining now)
   The fishing in the pond has been pretty good, with folks catching lots of fish and some of them were pretty nice fish at that. Jed has been going out to try his luck and brought one in for his Mom to eat the other day. His goal is to keep Mom supplied with a fish whenever she wants one. Some days it works out well and other days he does not have the patience to keep at it.
   I think his mind gets to wandering about other things that he enjoys doing and if the fish are not biting to his satisfaction, then off it is to the next project!
   He met the son of one of our guests and they spent a week hanging out together. I know that he had fun and I am sure that for the guest, finding someone to hang out with for the week was an enjoyment as well.
   I had one guest that went home a night early a short time ago. He informed me that nothing was wrong, other than the fact that he and his son were just plain worn out from catching so many fish in the river! He said that it was the very best fishing that he had ever seen, but his arm was so tired that he figured he had better save his strength! I have included some pictures of their trip that he emailed me after going home.