Waterville's Finest

Waterville, Maine is a summertime town full of family businesses and outdoorsy folk. Girls in white dresses and John Deere Tractors? These are a few of my favorite things in Waterville:

1. Riverside Cafe: This cafe/bakery/wine shop is at its best during Sunday brunch. Live guitarists and fiddlers play throughout the morning and lobster eggs benedict, scallion and crab quiche, molasses cookies and berry gelato are just some of the tasty delights on the menu. Don't leave without picking up a bottle of wine (or two) from the adjacent shop.

2. Yard Sales: Just drive down any residential road in Waterville and you are sure to pass yard sales that last all summer. And when the summer is over, many cover the table with a tarp and open again when the snow melts off from the winter. Why? Because one's trash is another's treasure.

3. TJ's Pool Hall: At this family-owned joint, you can play on one of the 30 pool tables, choose music at the jukebox and enjoy a pitcher of beer. Look for Tyler, the nine-year-old daughter in wheely sneakers-she's a real pool shark.

4. Line Dancing at Coyote's: Get out your cowboy boots and cut a rug at Coyote's. The local bar offers country line dancing nights that are a hoot.

5. Early Bird Cafe: Don't go if you are on a diet-The Early Bird Cafe is the best greasy spoon in town. The grilled triple berry muffin and number five are highly recommended.

6. Railroad Square Cinemas: The movie theater plays the best current indy films and is a host of a major film festival during the summer. Go on Monday nights when tickets are discounted.

7. Bootleggers: Waterville's watering hole with a roof deck. Get your free popcorn snack on the way in and enjoy a pint under the stars.

8. Freedom Cafe: This dining establishment is owned by a Colby College professor and offers plenty of Southern comfort food. The prix fixe dinner menu includes a vegetable, side, meat and dessert and the mac and cheese has quite a following. Wash it all down with the sweet iced tea. Gospel brunch on Sunday.

9. The Green Spot: This specialty grocery store offers perfect picnic fare. From fine cheeses and baked goods to blueberry jam and fiddleheads, The Green Spot has the freshest ingredients to offer gourmands.

10. Gifford's: Everybody's favorite! Moosetracks, Maine Black Bear and Caribou Caramel are some of the unmatched ice cream flavors that this ice cream stand scoops everyday. Make an evening of it with a game of mini golf and some hits in the batting cages.

New Hampshire's Mt. Moosilauke, Flume Gorge and the Kangamangus Highway

When people visit New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest, they flock to Mt. Washington, the tallest peak, however, Mt. Moosilauke, situated in the Southern part of the forest, is another peak worth the trip.

To hike to the summit is an 11-mile return trip which gradually climbs about 2,000 feet. The mount is also part of the Appalachian Trail so during the autumn months, many through hikers pass on their way to Katahdin.



Our crew camped at Swain Brook campground located about 10 minutes from the trail head. The facility was private and clean with shower, ice and other amenities (including foosball) on site.





The hike remains beneath the tree line for about 90 percent of the trek and there are a couple different trails that lead hikers to the summit. The paths weave through the Maine woods, offering nature as it is described in the writing of Thoreau. Temperate weather and rushing brooks are part of the climb. All ages and types of people were at the summit of this majestic mountain.





After the hike, stop at the Mt. Moosilauke Lodge (located at the foot of the mountain) for coffee and muffins. The lodge is affiliated with Dartmouth College and offers sweeping views of the White Mountains. The great room houses a fireplace, piano, rows of picnic tables and an unexpected disco ball, and a porch is just outside for lounging.

Another treat is a dip in one of the area's many swimming holes. Keep your eyes peeled while driving along the rivers in the Mt. Moosilauke vicinity and you'll be sure to find a prime spot with rocks for sunning and clean streams for swimming.



If you decide not to cook over the campfire, stop at The Common Man's Boiler Room restaurant for hearty fare and a pint of the Common Man's Ale. The tasty burgers make for a satisfying feed at the end of a long day in the woods.



While in the area, visit Flume Gorge, a natural crevasse full of waterfalls and mossy plant life to discover. The two mile loop is a well paved tourist attraction that presents the gorge and surrounding grounds. The massive Flume Gorge, created by molten rock, was unknown until the early 1900's when a 93-year old woman discovered the natural wonder on a fishing trip.





The Kangamangus Highway which carves through the White Mountains is the most scenic way to tour the area. Just be sure to watch out for moose!

Smalls Falls

If you've got half a day, Smalls Fall is a peaceful outdoor spot for a picnic and a swim. Pack a cooler and eat on a rock or at a picnic table gazebo. Then walk along the trail parallel to the falls. The trip is best on a hot day when you can take advantage of the swimming holes. A few pools are even deep enough for cliff jumping-just be prepared for the cold water.

Havin' a Hangi

The hangi or earth oven is the best known traditional form of cooking for Maori. With so many Kiwi boys at camp, we thought it appropriate to celebrate a birthday with a hangi. As the smell of cooked food permeated the air, we knew we were in for more than our average BBQ.



















The following instructions are from www.MaoriFood.com:
1. SITE:
The selection of the site will depend on -
a) Access to water for soaking bags and cloths to create steam.
b) Tillage of soil for ease of digging the pit.
Arrange to dig your hole in a piece of land that can be utilised in another way when you have finished
making your hangi. Ashes make good compost.
For example a piece of land near the vegetable garden is always a good choice.
If the hole is to be dug in the lawn remove the top layer of grass and put it back afterwards.
c) Wind direction which could blow over the stack or endanger buildings. Keep a watchful eye on your fire
and make sure it is well away from buildings, trees or anything that which may catch a flying spark.
Make sure it is at least 3 metres away from the nearest object and nowhere near any overhead
obstructions.

2. MATERIALS :
All varieties of meat, poultry, vegetables and steamed puddings can be cooked in the hangi.
The preparation of the food is the same as preparing food to be cooked on an electric stove.
The food should be prepared and put in containers that should be placed within easy reach of the hangi.
Beef, lamb, pork, poultry, potatoes, kumara, pumpkin, can all be cooked in the hangi.
Green vegetables are better cooked in conventional ways.

3. Gear Check List : Stones
When heated the stones will supply the heat for cooking the food, so it is important to choose
stones that do not crumble in the heating or shatter too readily.
The best stones to use are those that have been tried by the local people.
Igneous (volcanic) are better than metamorphic or sedimentary (e.g. sandstone) rocks.
There are several types of rock suitable:
Auckland Blue - this is a type of hard, brittle, blue- metal rock and black rock.
Riverhead Rock - round loaf sized stones are best.
Volcanic Rock - this is the type of rock used during the depression to make stone walls.
It is good rock to use, heats quickly, doesn't throw out chips and is light to handle.
Choosing the rock takes some skill. Take a hammer with you and hit each rock, only those with a high
pitched ringing noise are suitable . Kawakawa Bay and Dargaville are both sites nearest to Auckland.
(some people today use fire bricks mixed with some of the stones mentioned above.)
The number of stones necessary will depend on the type of stone and size.
For up to a party of 25 persons, you will need sufficient to fill a hole approximately 0.5 metres deep.
Tapering from approximately 1 metre in diameter at the bottom (see below "making the hole").
The stones must be thoroughly dried out before use.

3. Gear Check List :Timber
A mixture of dry timber and slow burning logs is best for a hangi.
Hardwood timber is best for the fire because it gives out more heat.
A good choice is lighter timber underneath and hardwood on top.
You need about 45 pieces of wood about 1 metre long and 5 to 8 cm's wide.

4. Newspaper and Kindling :

5. Food Baskets:
Depending on what you serve and how many people you want to feed.
You will need about 3 food baskets or steamer type containers.
One for the meat, poultry and vegetables.
You can make the baskets from small mesh chicken netting by cutting a square and folding the corners up.
Remember to allow for good sides when you are working out the size of the baskets.
Good size baskets are one 25 - 30 cm's square and two smaller ones 15 - 20 cm's square.
(alternatively, steamer type containers can be used).
Local variations can range from elaborately welded perforated steel containers to bakers wire welded trays.

6. Preparation:
Hangi, takes a long time to prepare, so do everything possible, the day before.
Make the baskets.
Cut the wood.
Dig the hole. (cover if left overnight)
The size of the hole depends on the size of the food basket(s).
Place wood and stones by the hole, make sure they are covered if left over night.
Prepare the meat and vegetables.
If the food is to be prepared from a kitchen, have the meat, poultry and vegetables ready to be placed in the
baskets.
For special type food wrap in muslin cloth. (stuffing, steam puddings)

7. Covering:
Two types of covering are needed - mutton cloth and sacking.
Mutton cloth is used to the cover the food and the sides of the baskets before they are put in the hole.
A much heavier covering is needed to keep the soil from getting into the food once the food has been put
on the heated rocks.
You will need four to five pieces of sacking for this. One to lay over the food, three down the sides of the basket and one for each end of the holes.

8. Other Gear:
Long handled shovel, rake, hose.

9. Outset:
When all the preparation is done place the basket(s) on the ground and mark out the ground around the
basket.
Leave at least 4 inches of clearance around the outside edges of the basket(s).
Soak the sacks and white cloth in a bucket of cold water.
Crumple sheets of newspaper one at a time and put them in the hole, save one double piece and roll it up like
a wick.
Put it in the hole near one edge (you will need this to light the paper after you have put in the the wood and rocks).
Put the kindling in, then start building a pyre by putting the bigger wood on.
After the wood reaches ground level, it must be placed in a special way.
The pyre should be built over the pit by placing alternate layers of wood at right angles to the layer below it.
Lay the pieces of wood side by side across the top of the hole, leaving a half inch gap between each
piece until the hole is covered.
On top of this layer put another row, laying it in the opposite direction. As the pyre is being erected, the
stones should be placed in three or four layers at regular intervals throughout it in a pyramid shape.
Build the fire very solidly.
It has to burn for at least an hour or so without being replenished and must have plenty of body.
Light the newspaper wick. Keep a constant eye on your fire.
The rocks will begin to change colour when they are hot. (the volcanic rock will go white)
Before long the wood will burn down and the heated rocks fall into the hole. As the pyre burns down,
replenish it after the first hour with more wood and return any displaced stones to it. (don't forget the fire should burn for two to three hours)
Now is the time to fill the food baskets.
Place the baskets on a bench, arrange the seasoned meat on the bottom carefully, place poultry on top of
meat, place a smaller basket on top of bottom basket and put potato and kumara (sweet potato) inside,
place pumpkin and specialty food on top and cover with cabbage or watercress. Sprinkle salt over the food and cover with the white cotton cloth. Put the food baskets near the hole. Now check that the wet sacking is near the hole.
After 11/2 to 21/2 hours the pit should be covered in ashes and stones as the fire has burnt through.
At this stage clean the pit.
If the pit is not cleaned properly, the ash will spread through the hangi when the water is applied to create
steam.
Some people like the smokey taste of meat cooked with the embers left in the hole.
Remove all the unburn't pieces of wood, raking the hot rocks to one side of the hangi hole with a
long handled shovel.
Make a flat bed out of the rocks and throw about two handfuls of cold water on the rocks.
The jet of steam will carry the ash away. The stones should be left laying on the embers.
Place the baskets of food onto the hot rocks. Throw several quarts of water over the food and stones to produce clouds of steam.
MOVE FAST.
Make sure the the white cotton covering the food is wet.
Over the steam and food, place layers of wet mutton cloth or an old table cloth to keep the steam in.
It is essential to start from the base of the food pile and spread the cloth to ensure the soil does not come
into contact with the food. The cloth must cover all the food in the hangi. A layer of wet sacks are used to cover the cloth.
Again the sacks should be thoroughly soaked and again the covering should begin at the bottom of the
food pile, the sacks being put over, one piece each end and one in the centre, in that order.
Through out the covering process, water should be sprinkled to create steam.
MOVE FAST.
The sacks must not have contained chemicals.
The soil is then spread over the sacks forming a dome shaped mound.
Begin, again from the bottom and build towards the top.
Watch for any steam escaping and cover the cracks with soil.
The hangi will need to be checked at regular intervals just incase steam escapes from the soil.
The success of the hangi depends upon the speed in which the steps can be carried out.
It should take about 15 - 20 minutes and then you can take a well deserved liquid refreshment.
This is a good time to make a green salad, gravy and prepare to boil green veges, e.g peas.
Leave the hangi for 2- 3 hours before digging it out to serve.
Peel the soil off the hangi from the top to the bottom and do like wise with the sacks and cloths.
All eyes peer hungrily at the food as the smell of cooked food rises in the evening air.
Is it cooked?.
It is.
It can rarely be overcooked.
Let the hangi begin.

10. Service::
Slice meat and portion chicken have the green vegetables hot and ready to serve.
Place onto plates and serve.

SUCCESS or FAILURE.
If steam emerges from the hangi after the first spitful of soil is removed, the hangi will be successful.
If no steam appears, cover it up and buy fish and chips.

Rafting the Penobscot...Hold On!

I was lied to. "Just a little river...small rapids..." It was not until I was issued a paddle, helmet and an orange lifejacket that my guide informed me imminent death and Class Five rapids would be part of my Penobscot River rafting adventure. The Penobscot offers some of the biggest commercially rafted rapids, and with names like Exterminator and Guide Killer I knew I was in for quite a ride.

After an introductory warning/rules speech the crew was driven to the river. The bus driver had a lead foot and I was happy to be wearing a helmet during the ride on dirt roads. There were six of us: me and the dudes from camp as well as our explosive guide Bryan who used lingo including the words "bro," "dude," "gnarly" and "jammin."

With a short practice paddle under our belt, Bryan said it was time to "blow this popsicle stand" and off we went into Exterminator. "Left side forward. Stop. All ahead..." We crashed forward sinking into the holes and splashing water into the raft. One of our boys fell out and was briefly sandwichd between our raft and a rock. We pulled him back on and continued down the river.

Another Class Five rapid and a few Three's and Four's took us further along and I held tight to the raft, wedging my leg under the inflated roller until it was fully chafed and bruised. Then Bryan said it was time to surf. Surfing involves paddling the raft back into the bottom of a rapid so the rafters get tossed splashed and occasionally thrown out of the boat. I immediately thought of the "Dump Truck" our guide warned us about during the opening speech in which everyone gets dumped from the raft. Great. I say once you are at the bottom of the rapid you keep moving down the river, no need to turn around and try to get worked on the rocks, however, I was outvoted and we paddled toward the wall of water for a surf. It was a good thrill getting shaken and splashed with close friends but I was a bit concerned when our raft stood straight up on its end in the surf.

Once the raft floated into calmer waters I was able to take a dip in the cool river and float downstream with my toes out. The scenery was stunning as the Penobscot meanders near Baxter State Park offering various angles of Mt. Katahdin and forest terrain.

The folks from Moxie Adventures barbequed a hearty lunch on an eight foot-wide grill. We ate salmon, steak and chicken atop a pile of baked beans, stir fried rice, macaroni salad and cookies before continuing on the river.

During the trip we spotted several majestic bald eagles and herrons and took in the afternoon sun. As we neared the end of the river there was one final Class Five rapid to go. We listened to our guide and paddled along until chaos broke loose. As the raft hit a hole our guide was thrown forward and dislocated his shoulder. As he screamed, one of the boys fell out of the raft and no one was guiding the paddle strokes with half the rapid to go. Bryan the guide repeated "This is bad" and not knowing whether he was referring to his shoulder or our ride we thought we were in for carnage. Our crew managed to paddle down without guidance and was time to head home.

The rapids on the Penobscot were not the giant waterfalls I imagined during our guides introductry speech, and falling out of the raft is not in fact a huge deal if safety rules are followed. After a day on the river I was stoked from such wildlife, Northern Maine scenery, good company and thrilling rides in the rapids.