After exploring the Mactaquac Headpond in New Brunswick, Tom and I crossed the US border from New Brunswick to Maine.
In New Brunswick, we drove west on Route 2 to Route 95 which led us across the US border through Houlton, Maine. We continued south on Interstate 95, with slight detours to Millinocket, Old Town, and Skowhegan before making a beeline for home.
Driving from Dumfries, New Brunswick to Sherman, Maine
Tom and I were happy to make it across the US Border without incident. They never even asked about Aly or to see her papers. This was our first border crossing where nothing was confiscated! Of couse, it's probably due to the fact that we have very little food because our refrigerator isn't working well.
We got a late start leaving New Brunswick so Tom and I didn't get far into Maine before stopping for the night. We had an uneventful night boondocking at an Irving station along the highway.
You can view a few photos of our drive on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
Driving from Sherman to Old Town, Maine
Tom and I were spoiled by all the free dump stations across Canada. They're harder to find in Maine. We took a slight detour off I-95 to use a dumpstation in Millinocket. It wasn't free ($15) but it was the only one we could find anywhere near our route. Our friends in New Brunswick had suggested a good pizza place in Millinocket which sounded great! Unfortunately we were there in the morning and didn't want to hang out until lunch.
Tom and I had some time to kill before meeting friends for the weekend in Western Maine. We had considered spending a few days in Acadia National Park but the campgrounds were full. Plus it looks too beautiful to rush and it would be easier, on a future trip, with our Jeep to get around.
We'd been going almost nonstop since we left home two months ago so we decided to enjoy a day of rest in Old Town, Maine where we found a nice Elks Lodge. We walked the streets of downtown, which didn't take long, then had a drink in the lodge where we made friends with some local members.
You can view a few photos of our drive on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
Driving from Old Town to Skowhegan, Maine
Tom and I had one more night to kill before connecting with friends in Maine. We didn't want to drive too far out of our way since we had a very long drive ahead of us un our way from Maine to Colorado. We found a beautiful brewery on our Harvest Host app, not far from where we were headed in Maine. We arrived at the brewery in the heat of the afternoon. Fortunately it was very dog-friendlly. Aly joined us as we moved from location to location in and around the brewery trying to find shade, a breeze or anything that could help us get through the heat of the afternoon that went well into the evening. The beer helped but not nearly as much as the sun finally hiding behind some clouds.
It happened to be trivia night at the brewery and it seemed that the entire community showed up. And they take it seriously as they learn the categories ahead of time and STUDY! Tom and I were invited to join the owner's team. We thought it was because one of the categories that evening happened to be "Colorado". We contributed a few answers but not nearly as many as her elderly mother and brother with their pages of prewritten notes about the various categories!
When Tom and I went to bet that night, we didn't realize we were at the start of another heat wave. We quickly realized in the next morning as temperatures approached 80 degrees soon after sunrize. We only had one more hot day to get through before visiting our friends that night. Tom and I could find shops or restaurants to hang out in all day. But, without shore power to run our AC, it would be virtually impossible to keep Aly cool enough. So, after killing time in Maine for two days, we decided to postpone seeing our frieinds until the end of summer when we've all returned to cool Colorado Rockies. Tom and I closed up the camper, cranked up the cab's AC and made a beeline for home!
You can view a few photos of our drive on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
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