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Published: October 6th 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 found me facing a relatively long day behind the wheel – MapQuest told me 245 miles and a little over 4 hours by using I-95 for about half the trip. Although the stretch of I-95 between Houlton ME and Howland ME is not marked as scenic in my atlas and is not as scenic as many, it is at least as scenic as some stretches so labeled and, regardless of the designation, is an enjoyable drive. The Troll Valley Campground in Farmington ME is a small campground about a mile from town and was sparsely populated even over Labor Day Weekend.
There were few attractions on my “to do” list other than three day-long (or at least the better part of a day) scenic drives. One of the two attractions was the Stanley Museum in Kingfield ME which commemorates the lives of native sons and twins Francis Edgar and Freelan Oscar Stanley - better known by their initials F.E. and F.O. The museum is housed in the Stanley School building which was built in 1903 (with Stanley funds) and subsequently named after the Stanley's in 1905. Most people have at least heard of the Stanley steam-driven
car of the early twentieth century, but the Stanley story begins before the steamer.
F.E. was an avid artist who became interested in photography. At the time, the wet plate was the standard and was, indeed, successful but had cumbersome disadvantages. First, the plate had to be used within ten minutes of preparation and, second, its photographic speed was slow - necessitating the subject’s statuesque pose for several minutes. And all this time I thought my ancestors suffered from depression! The preparation of the wet plate required numerous chemicals that had to be mixed in the dark and required a portable tent if the photographer was planning to work away from the studio. In 1886, they were granted a patent for a dry-plate coating machine and formed the Stanley Dry Plate Co. which was sold to George Eastman (Eastman Kodak).
They built their first steam-powered automobile in l897. By l899 they owned a factory and were producing l0 cars a day with orders backed up for months. They sold the car business for a quarter million dollars – quite a sum in the day; but the new owner failed so the Stanley brothers bought it back for a
fraction of the selling price. In l906, their Stanley Steamer, powered by a 35-pound, two-cylinder engine and weighing in at only 500 pounds, set a world's speed record of nearly l30 miles per hour.
At age 53, F.O. Stanley contracted tuberculosis and was told him he had one year to live. He moved to Colorado in 1903. He built the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park CO in 1909 and was responsible for establishing Rocky Mountain National Park. F.O. died in 1940 at the age of 91. In 1918, F.E. was killed when his 1918 Stanley Steamer slid off the road, rolled over and crushed him.
Their story is intriguing, but the museum celebrates more than the automobile. This remarkable pair was granted numerous patents, including one for what was to become the contemporary airbrush; and they made violins – a tradition carried on by nephew Carlton until 1953. The museum also highlights the work of sister Chansonetta Stanley Emmons who carried her composition skills as a painter into the medium of photography and also houses many writings and artifacts of members of the Stanley family.
During my visit, the museum was preparing for a fund-raising auction of
sundry automotive parts the following weekend and, understandably, was in quite a state of disarray. Nonetheless, the docent persevered and provided an enlightening and interesting tour. Let there be no mistake, this is not an automotive museum focusing on the Stanley Steamer. It is a museum about the multi-talented, multi-faceted Stanley family. I believe most would find the museum interesting to tour with a knowledgeable guide but might struggle through it on a self-guided tour.
On the way back to Farmington, I stopped by the Wire Bridge over the Carrabasset River near New Portland - one of the oldest vehicular suspension bridges in American. For my readers from northern Illinois, the bridge compares to the suspension bridge in the park in Belvidere IL except this bridge accommodates cars. It is bouncy and shaky like the Belvidere pedestrian bridge but to a much lesser extent – only 3-4 inches as vehicles pass across. I drove over and back and then stopped to get some photos. On my return to the truck, a hot rod crossed. Now, how “Happy Days” is that?
The second tourist attraction I had on my list was the Sandy River & Rangely Lakes Railroad (SRRL).
Compare The Track Scale To The People
Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad - Phillips MEAlthough I’ve visited a few railroads in my travels, I had not yet seen a narrow gauge railroad. Such was the nature of SRRL. The owners of the predecessor of the Maine Central Railroad had refused to build north of Farmington because they believed low demand would not cover the costs. The unusual 2-foot gauge (4’ 8-1/2” is standard which to me is an unusual number) was borrowed from Welsh quarry railroads and was chosen in an effort to build smaller and lighter to reduce costs. The operation began in 1879 as the Sandy River Railroad and ran between Farmington and Phillips. In 1908, the Sandy River Railroad merged with four other small railroads to form the SRRL.
Coal, general merchandise and wood harvesting machinery were inbound and forest products were outbound. Limited passenger service was offered, and the contract for mail delivery was a source of steady income. In the 1920s, business slowed as more roads became suited to all-weather use, and the depression dealt a death knell to the SRRL. A trickle of service remained until all service ceased in 1935, and the railroad – engines, cars, buildings and real estate – was sold for scrap. A
few cars remain that were bought from the scrapper for storage sheds or chicken coops and six buildings that were part of the original property have been reacquired; but all the locomotives were lost to the scrap heap.
The meat of this attraction is not the train ride but the story of the railroad and the property where the attraction is located. The conductor on my trip obviously was very dedicated to the museum and to the preservation of that piece of local history. The roundhouse and its story should be of interest to almost any history buff, and the story of the building of the museum from the scattered pieces of former railroad property should be of interest to most. For residents of the area interested in local history, I would suggest this attraction is a “must see.” For others, it is very much worthwhile.
Before I had even left the urban footprint on my first scenic drive, I found a man-made waterfall/cascade in Rumford ME and stopped to take a few photos. After a few minutes of listening to the roar of the water, I continued westward on US 2 to Newry and turned onto ME
26 that would take me into the White Mountains. I have learned that stopping at every babbling brook where a safe pullover is available would make reaching my destination before nightfall almost impossible. I do, however, pull over if a vista looks promising. Sometimes they’re good, and sometimes not so much; and I’m sure I have driven past some really good ones.
Generally speaking, if the state has marked a babbling brook or a waterfall and provided a parking area, the attraction either has visual appeal or has historic or geologic significance. Such was the case with Screw Auger Falls. At the end of the last Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago, glacial runoff carried tons of debris. Over thousands of years, torrents of debris-fortified water swirled in some places creating circular “potholes” in the granite riverbed. When the area was first settled by Europeans, Screw Auger Falls offered an opportunity to power a sawmill but provided the challenge of transferring that energy to the mill located 45 feet above. The mill operated for almost ten years before it burned. Hmmm - I wonder why it was never rebuilt! This stop was nice because walking out onto the boulders
was easy and made a good photo op.
The 600-foot-long gorge where Moose Cave is located was formed by the freezing, thawing and re-freezing of glacial runoff. This movement of huge blocks of granite caused by the expansion of the water when it froze prompted one of the chunks to fall into the gorge where, legend has it, a moose slipped and fell into the "cave" below. I looked real hard but saw no moose bones! The short hike to the cave was a good way to stretch the legs and to get the blood flowing again.
When I returned to the truck, a Maine State Parks employee had just pulled into the parking lot. He and I had been playing “You arrive, I’ll leave” for the last 3-4 stops I had made. I jokingly asked him if he was following me, and we started a conversation. His job is similar to what a friend of mine had some time back. He cleaned the vault toilets, replenished the toilet tissue, picked up large pieces of litter, etc. to keep the facility looking nice. In the winter, he grooms snow machine trails. He has about a month or two
off each spring and fall and really likes the break, but he is ready to go back to work by the time his “vacation” has run its course. He told me about a really interesting general store in Errol NH – a mile detour from the highway and my planned route.
The L. L. Cote Sport Center has everything from soup to nuts – it’s a convenience store, a hardware store, an auto parts store, a lawn and garden center, a sundry store, a sporting goods store and has a Subway. Need a riding lawn mower or some thumb tacks? They have it. Now, it doesn’t have the sporting goods of a Cabela’s, but it puts Wal-Mart to shame. The reason I stopped was the mounted specimens on display including an albino moose – without the blue eyes, but the taxidermy supply warehouse might have been plum outta blue moose eyes! There is a deer head mount with 15 points that I can see in my photo. For any outdoorsperson and for those who have never experienced a really large general store, this store is worth a one-mile detour.
The drive from Errol to Rangely ME meanders through
Serene! What Else Can I Say?
Rangeley Lake Overlook - Rangeley ME a dozen different species of trees. Sometimes a lake causes the turn – first the deer path turned; then the wagon trail; and, now, the asphalt. Periodically, a lake pops into view through a peek down a valley. For as remote as the location is, the road surface is quite good. It is peaceful and serene. Only chance encounters with other vehicles broke the isolation of my drive. I found myself surrounded by mountain peaks with names new to most non-Mainers (indeed, probably most Mainers) – East and West Kennebago Mountain, Deer Mountain, Elephant Mountain and Tumbledown Mountain.
Just after I had passed through the village of Rangeley ME, I stopped at the Rangeley Lake Overlook. A young woman was sitting on the stone wall, and we traded salutations as I passed. We agreed the setting was therapeutic. She told me this was her get-away close to home. Most are not so fortunate to have such serenity only minutes from home. I lingered for a spell and took a few photos before resuming the journey back to the RV park on ME Routes 4 and 149.
My second scenic drive found me returning to Rumford ME but turning
north on ME 17 towards Oquossoc ME. This time, I stayed on ME 16 through Rangeley to ME 27 in Stratton and headed north towards the Canadian border (with no thoughts of trying to pass through the border – LOL). Back in Stratton, I continued toward Kingfield on ME 16/27 where I turned on the autopilot. Irene, the GPS, always finds a way to save me 200 feet by taking a shortcut through some picturesque (at times) countryside and on some routes that test the limits of the definition of road (at times). Regardless, it usually takes me where I have never been before and never would have been were I navigating the old-fashioned way.
For my final scenic trip for this area, I headed northeast towards New Vineyard and North Anson to catch US 201 towards Canada. All three routes were scenic but this was a drivers dream. The road was very well maintained, the lanes were wide, the curves were gentle and there were no mailboxes or signposts inches from the roadway. Much of this route traversed a ridgeline instead of a valley making panoramas the special of the day. The opportunities to pull over and savor
Distant View Of Canada
Along US 201 Nearing The Canadian Border the view were fewer than most of the state highways, but each offered informational placards or kiosks.
The cluster at one wayside told the before and after stories of the damming of the rivers, the generation of hydroelectric power and the recreational uses the lakes provide. Another group told of the migrant workers who came to the United States to harvest hay in the summer and timber in the winter. What! &?%$ Am I back in New Mexico? Yes, indeed Bob! The Canadians were a part of the migratory agricultural work force in the early twentieth century. Another series of placards gave a good overview of moose. Hmmmm, now, if a goose becomes many geese I suppose a moose becomes several meese. You figure it out, English is too complicated for me. In that regard, I’m still getting used to seeing things written in English and French instead of English and Spanish and to hearing business transactions taking place in French instead of Spanish!
Yet another set of kiosks told the story of Joseph Attean. Attean's summer "day job" was that of log driver, but he also was a guide for Henry David Thoreau during a trip to
the Maine woods in 1853 and was governor of the Penobscot Tribe from 1862 until 1869. He drowned while working as a log driver in 1870 at age 40. He was so respected and admired in the logging community that his death was celebrated in a poem by Fannie Hardy Eckstrom titled “The Death of Thoreau's Guide.” She writes about his old pair of river-driver's boots that hung on an old pine tree for years as a memorial to "the Governor."
In Jackman ME, I turned onto ME 6/15 to head east and then south to Guilford ME and then ME 150 to Showbegan and US 2 back to Farmington. I spotted a veterans’ memorial in Abbot ME and stopped to pay my respects. I have seen dozens of memorials to Civil War veterans and just as many memorials to the veterans of all wars. My observation is that the former are dated and well worn whereas the latter appear to have been created and placed since the country came to realize how unjustly it had treated the Vietnam veterans. Had it not been for that mistreatment (and the resulting guilt), would the Vietnam vets have become just as
forgotten as were the veterans of WW I, WW II and Korea? It’s interesting to see how communities deal with veteran recognition differently.
West central Maine has some spectacular countryside. It definitely is not a destination for the jet-setters, but it’s a great place to get away from the rat race and to enjoy Mother Nature at her finest. Farmington is a commercial oasis for the surrounding communities and, although my camera and I were welcomed everywhere I went, does not cater to the tourist as does Kennebunkport and Bar Harbor. The area is a mecca for fishing, hiking, hunting, camping and canoeing. If you bring a book, a pair of binoculars and your hiking boots, I’m sure you’ll have a great time – that is unless your idea of roughing it is a Holiday Inn with an outdoor pool and no swim-up bar! Oh, by the way, I never did see a moose in all of my Maine travels! I guess that’s a good reason to return.
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Tom Hester
non-member comment
A Moose Interesting Account
I loved the story of the Stanleys and the portrait of a state very much like New Mexico in its rural, poor in money, rich in tradition life.