Upta Camp at Webb Lake

The Edwards' Old Town canoe

Beach from Edward's Camp to Byron Notch in distance

Little Camp on left with boys stacking wood

Upta Camp at Webb Lake (brother Rich's translation from the Maine vernacular says this means: Up to Camp at Webb Lake) on the morning of 20 July after shopping for groceries at Hannaford's in Rumford. Over the 22 miles to Camp; I wave to Cousin Heather wading in the lake with several grandchildren. You can walk out to the jet-ski on a sandy bottom and still be in shallow water just above your knees. The raft and Fred's boat are in water 5' deep. 





The beach stretches from the Little Camp (left) past the Burt (right) and Ogilvie Camps to the Edward's Camp where I will stay. Next to us and further down the beach is Keller Camp.

This venerable Pine tree next to the Ogilvie Camp will have to come down as it was weakened by a lightning strike.

Intense heat from the flash boiled the sap causing the bark to burst off in a spiral ring  from the base to its 80 foot top .

Don't "misunderestimate"* the force of a Webb Lake thunderstorm.

After dinner chat at Kent Camp

Fred, Anna, Rich & Cousin Ian at Kent Camp

Camp is a mile down Fire Lane 8

Weld sunsets offer great photo opportunities.

Bowley Brook meets the lake

Bowley Brook winds into the lake on the east and south sides of the property purchased in 1927 by F. Allen and Leila Shaw Burt of Brookline MA, my grandparents. Each of their 3 daughters, my mother Barbara b. 1913 being the eldest, summered here. The Kent Camp which backs up to the brook on the east side was built in 1942, the year I was born.


Anna was scheduled to fly to BOS on July 31. Expecting to meet her after her 2 hour bus-ride from Logan Airport to Lewiston, which is situated about 45 miles south of Camp, I drove to Lewiston early to have dinner at one of the old Bates (Bates College was endowed by Benjamin Bates) fabric factories now repurposed into office spaces and restaurants.

 Fine dinner at Fish Bones in Lewiston.  As I ate my Atlantic Cod, a text from Anna said "My flight to BOS landed instead in Manchester NH to refuel and wait out the Boston storm." She would miss the last bus.

I don't know but what (more Maine vernacular) I'll drive the 150 miles further to Boston to recover her from another terrible flying experience. Picked Anna up in time to return to Camp around 1 AM. Things looked a lot better in the morning.

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The weekend of August 3 and 4 we drove to Trenton on the Maine coast close to Bar Harbor, the highlight of our annual trip.  Ken & Bev were to recite their vows as witnessed by our family and hers, and officiated by, you guessed it, brother Rich. The event was to be hosted by Ken's son and wife Denny and Jen Trevett in their oceanside home in Trenton, Maine.

Rich is a Red Sox fan; I like the A's. We parked side-by-side in front of the garage. Early in the morning I hung my Oakland A's blanket on Richard's new campervan. Baseball fandom can easily become a harmless proxy for teasing or settling old grudges. Richard took the insult well enough I thought.




Rob & Anne overlooking Mt. Desert Island in the distance, watching the tide come in.

Denny & Jenifer Trevett built their summer home on the water in Trenton. She grew up in Bar Harbor, knew the people and the property.

The exchanging of vows and the dinner following were both magical, and for me a very emotional experience. Ritual is accomplished in liminal space and experienced by everyone in their own way. It's protected space and for me it was a joy to see Ken and Bev together with many of her family and his.

Click here to start the jazz guitar serenade, then return here

The Kent boys with Ken.

Rich, Rob, Fred, Allen & Ken

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Back at the Lake in Weld, ME

I first met 15 year-old Felipe "Jose" Ytuarte, son of a Tapachula, Mexico physician, in September 1985 when as an exchange student he studied at Rumford High School and played soccer for brother Rich who taught English and coached both skiing and soccer. Thanks to Richard and Felipe our families have exchanged visits many times. Daughter Jeanine and I went to the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato in late October 2002. We visited Felipe, Noemi and 18 month-old Sophia in Leon during that memorable trip.

In 2015 Felipe invited us to hold our annual Kent Open family golf tournament at his golf and tennis club. We were treated royally, including golf for brothers Rob, Fred, bro-in-law Ken Trevett and I, a tequila party and dinner at his restaurant, Sato, and travel to San Miguel de Allende all due to Richard and his student exchange program, and to Felipe & Noemi's welcoming generosity. Anna was lucky enough got to play tennis with Sophia after her workout.


One year Felipe's brother Miguel brought his children to Weld, and the Ytuarte's have watched sunsets at Weld several times. They are wise enough to come in the summer!

We knew on our return to Weld that Felipe, Noemi and their children Sophia and Felipe would arrive for a visit in two days. They came and we celebrated with a lobster feast.

Sophia at 15 years old was a ranked tennis player in Mexico. Last year at 16 she attended Rafa Nadal's tennis camp in Majorca. Felipe and I played during their last visit to Weld in 2014 (?) he won (6-0, 6-0). This time I was determined to get all of us out on the clay courts in the village of Weld which we did. Young Felipe now 9 joined his dad & sister together with Anna and me to play a round robin for nearly 2 hours. Most impressive were the two Ytuarte children. We hope to visit them in Leon next year.

Anna rolls the tape clean

There are other friendships developed because of Richard. He has hosted exchange students for 35 years. In 1984-1985 school year my son Allen Jr spent the year with Richard. During the 1985-86 visit of Felipe Ytuarte, young Allen remained with Rich for the school year as well. Later in 1998-1999 Yvon Bourbotte of Antony, France, a suburb of Paris, was an exchange student with Rich. Toward the end of the school year in April 1999, my daughter Julia and I travelled to France, and we stayed with the Bourbotte's briefly on our trip to Nice. I am forever grateful to Richard for helping us in a difficult time for Young Allen.

Felipe & Sophia groom the court

Webb Lake is a place for sunsets and everyone gathers on the beach each evening wondering whether this will be a good one. No matter what, they all are good ones.


Swimming, boating, hiking and mountain biking occupy a lot of  time each day. For me: reading and making pizza and a solo canoe ride is just about perfect.

Brother Fred and I paddle out to his boat to get ready for water skiing, tubing and a tour of the lake. Both of us like to steer the canoe. Unable to decide we appear unclear on the concept.














Made the beachfront fire pit around 2008 and since improved by many, consists of river rocks I repurposed from the Houghton stream which one crosses to go upta the village of Weld.

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For many years I cooked pizza using a dry yeast starter.  In 2005 I switched to a sourdough starter* and voila' people like it better.  With the sourdough crust one can bypass a tomato-based marinara sauce, and instead feature the more subtle flavors of a variety of cheeses, veggies, and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Caputo 00 Pizza Flour (I now use Caputo 00 Whole Foods bulk from a bin) 
• 3 cups King Arthur unbleached all purpose Flour
• 2.75 cups warm water
• Sourdough starter* - 1- cup
• Salt - 3-4 tablespoons
• Mozzarella - Ciliegine - small brined balls of fresh cheese. I also like Bufala, Taleggio, Feta and others.
• Garlic infused Organic Olive Oil - to baste the crust during baking and after
• 1- medium yellow onion chopped, not too finely, a small amount as a base on most pizzas
• Basil pesto with fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, olive oil, garlic, and a bit of lemon juice
• Parmesan Cheese 

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*Jane's Sourdough Starter 

Provenance: Origin unknown.  This sourdough starter is a mix of a California frontline pizzeria & cheese collective starter paired with an Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter said to have traveled Oregon Trail 1840's, California 1900's, Sonoma, Bay Area today. Kept active for the most recent 54 years by Joanne T.* who once a week cooked sourdough waffles for her husband. She fed it weekly with equal amounts of evaporated milk and warm water, mixed with unbleached all-purpose flour.

Care & Feeding: I use a 24 oz. jar. Dissolve 1/2 cup of starter into 1/4 cup of warm water. Add 3-4 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour and stir. You seek a thickened mixture but one easy enough to stir. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of warm water; too sloppy, add a little flour. If you are baking in the next day or so, leave it out; otherwise cover and refrigerate after feeding.

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Prep

Pour both flours (6 cups or a multiple of everything as this recipe is scalable) into a bowl and mix together while adding  the salt.  Then by hand combine the flour with 2 cups warm water mixed with 1 cup of the sourdough starter. If it's too shaggy add a little flour; too dry add a little warm water. Just combine it, then cover in plastic wrap and set aside until it just begins to rise. Then put it in fridge for overnight, or two, or even three nights (proofing).

Remove from fridge two days before baking day. Still covered put the dough in a warm place for 5-6 hours and let it continue to rise.  When it has increased in size by a half, lay the dough out on top of parchment paper, lightly flour-dusted  and push the dough to a thick, flat rectangular shape. Then stretching out one end, fold in half, rotate and fold south over north. Do the same  for east and west, then cover
with plastic wrap,  return to a bowl.
Again allow the rising to begin. I put it in a warm oven overnight. On a flour dusted countertop divide into 6 equal dough balls and cover midday before you bake your pizza.

Risen dough

BAKE YOUR PIZZA

Onion, mozzarella, pesto;
after cooking: Olive Oil/Parmesan

On a lightly floured marble/granite counter top, press out a dough ball from center carefully avoiding the edges which should form a rounded, elevated ring around the thin, flat bottom.  Stretch and, if you like, fist open (or rolling pin if dough is too elastic) the dough to about 12 to 15 inches in diameter, adding very small amounts of flour, more to the bottom than to the top to avoid stickiness.  Place pie on a peel.

Roast and remove seeds from a Poblano pepper;
add feta late in cooking cycle.

Travis & I got the cook to try this dough
in the wood fired oven
at Parlour on 19th
in Oakland

Slather on a couple tablespoons of pesto covering around the base of the raise crust.  (I now prefer to cook the pesto.) Sprinkle on a handful of chopped onion, and space apart 6-8 slices of ripened tomatoes, then cover their center each with a small fresh mozzarella ball.  Slide pie onto stone. Crumble up some Feta and distribute it during the cooking,  and cook altogether for about 7 minutes presuming a 550 degree common kitchen oven.  Remove from oven and paint the crust with the garlic-infused olive oil, toss on some Parmesan, and garnish as desired.  Cut into 16 slices and open a good Pinot Noir. 

​This recipe make less mess than others I've tried.  I make one 12" pizza per person for a party and serve them as one would hors d'oeuvres but with a Groundhog Day touch, that is over and over again, one pizza after the next.



*Joanne T. and I played bridge together several times. One Friday morning the subject of baking came into the conversation. I said I bake pizza using a sourdough starter I borrowed from a California pizzeria and cheese collective in 2005. She got hers, 54 year ago with a fascinating story. This was a sourdough starter she received from an Oregon woman who herself had kept it active for 50 years after receiving it from another baker who claimed it had crossed the Oregon Trail in the 1840's  We agreed to swap a sample which we did. I combined the two and shared it with several relatives and friends, so if I neglect mine too long and it perishes, I can always get by with a little help from my friends. If you keep in fridge, take it out and feed every 30 days, or so. Just stir in the alcohol that forms at the top. To use it for baking remove from fridge and feed for 2-3 days on the counter. You need a mature and active starter for the dough to rise properly.

​

We built a ramp to the steps into the Edward's Camp to replace the section of an old dock that had seen too many winters. The old ramp lies beneath the new 2 X 4's which we cut to length.

Bill and Lonna Keller and Bill's cousin Katherine now own the Camp next to Edward's Camp where we stay. It belonged to friends of my grand-parents, F. Allen & Leila Burt, Laurence & Florence Goodspeed of Wilton, ME who built it from a kit sometime between 1930 and 1940, Later Dave and Libby Van Buskirk purchased it.

Bill rigged the Sunfish and took his visiting friend and political science Professor Louis "Lou" Pauly for a sail under the watchful eye of the babyface we know as Tumbledown Mountain which lies on the north side of Byron Notch.

Sunset 2019 Webb Lake, Weld, Maine

Fort Ticonderoga, NY to Burlington VT

Here I have skipped a couple days and find myself closer to Burlington, and in a much better mood.

Driving through the Adirondack Mountains I came upon a sign announcing the turn to Fort Ticonderoga. This was compelling news for the winding road seemed never to end.

Fort Ticonderoga, even now a remote redoubt in the middle of nowhere, figured significantly in the American Revolutionary War. How could that be? Like Bunker Hill and "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" it served as an iconic moment in that storied era.  Patriot Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys aided by Col. Benedict Arnold captured the Fort from a small garrison of British soldiers on May 10, 1775. It marked the first victory of the Patriots over the British, and boosted morale. The huge cannons were dragged to Boston and deployed in the successful siege of Boston which forced General Howe the British commander to retreat to Halifax, a British stronghold..

Overlooking the waters below Lake Champlain.

Preferring the drive along Lake Champlain, I remained on the New York side, took the bridge from Fort Crown Point into Vermont.

Here's some detail on Fort Crown Point:

"Crown Point State Historic Site is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the ruins of two fortifications from the colonial wars between the British and French. Long before the American Revolution these colonial powers both laid claim to the Champlain Valley and this strategically important peninsula known as Crown Point. The French built Fort St. Frederic here between 1734 and 1737 and used it as a base for raids on British settlements in New York and New England. Read More"


I previously arranged a visit with friends Margo White and Ken Axelson who once lived on a sailboat in the nearby waters of San Francisco Bay, but now for many year have lived in Burlington, Vermont. Margo's family of the Belfast, Maine coastal town was "adopted" by Anna in her early college years. Here's Margo, the Swank Tank, and their very comfortable upstairs porch. We are on our way to hear a concert at the Lakeside Park.

Click this photo to hear the band

Ken & Margo at the concert

Feeling a bit barn sour, I decided to leave for brother Richard's home in Rumford. I called and he said he'd still be up, so after a nice Japanese dinner in Burlington, I shipped out  on the 177 mile drive over to Rich's home arriving around 10:30 pm. We finished off a bottle of wine and chatted into the night.



The following day, upta Camp, I felt I’d arrived.

Omaha - Union IL

Left Omaha by way of the Zoo heading East. Terry called saying my Passport* had just arrived. I returned to Omaha and departed for the second time heading to Union IL. 

RON Kellogg IA

When I woke the morning of July 13 I encountered a dozen or more strange looking beetles. The fields around this entire park were green with tall and mature crops. Not corn, but I was unable to identify as I could seen no vegetables or melons. Searching my iPhone for insect-identifying apps. Insect ID was the best one. Take a picture of it, and it gives you the detail including the degree of certainty and a high-quality image as seen here below. The app says this critter doesn't bite and is one of many Ladybugs.

* At this point my plan was to reach Maine via a trip through Toronto and Montreal. I realized I'd left my Passport at home. Texted Anna to ask her to send it to Randy's home in Omaha.

 Diesel  Coralville IA

Resting at the Illinois Welcoming Center on Interstate 80 with a view back to the west overlooking the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi. Fred, a Davenport IA US Congressman, had led the charge for the Interstate Highway Act of 1956.

Kickapoo Slu a return trip in late August

In more of a hurry driving east than I thought. Compare for instance the Green (East-bound) path zooming thru to Chicago, to the return trip (Blue West-bound) in late August when I spent the night at the Kickapoo Slu. Drove all around Rock Island, crossed the bridge into Davenport and spent the afternoon at the Figge Art Museum.

Arrive: Union IL

A very pleasant overnight and welcoming visit with Anna's cousin Paul Psilos who lives in Union IL just outside of Chicago. A former college professor and a man of wide interests in the arts, politics and he likes baking bread as do I. We chatted over several beers. In the morning I cooked a breakfast I'd learned from Rod Bell: Caramelize a medium thinly sliced onion in olive oil & butter (very little oil & butter and very low heat: forever), add and brown up 2-3 sliced potatoes and when done, a bit of Gruyere; cook over low-med heat, then on top of all that add 4 raw eggs and cover till they are done. Sticks to your ribs.

Paul's home

Back in the truck in the morning after Paul had left for work, I drove thru Chicago down toward Valpariso Indiana and Route 30, the Lincoln Highway.

Headed to Fort Wayne and without a plan would go till I stopped. I ended my day and remained overnight (RON) in Defiance, Ohio. 


Not a very pleasant drive along Rte 30 nevertheless I persisted. It got worse. Even the Lowe's posted a sign "NO OVERNIGHT PARKING" so I moved on. I grew more bummed and in a defiant manner betook myself to a chick-wings-type-sports-bar, ate two orders of wings, drank one beer too many, lost a hearing-aid and slept by 9PM.  

Anna sent me an email with the above image: Be Strong! The morning found me in low spirits, plus a dilemma. I had no planned stops until reaching Burlington, Vermont. I thought, OK I'll got to Chautauqua! Checking the webpage I found that no plays were running, Darn it! I'd already missed the Ottawa National Wildlife and State Park, a fine stop along Lake Erie where we'd stayed during our 2011 crossing for my 50th high school reunion. I diagnosed myself as slightly bummed...after so very many pleasant visits with old friends.
There was no option to stay where I was. I drove to Cleveland, had lunch and decided to go to Buffalo then Canada crossing at Niagra Falls. That sounded OK even though it would be a 5 hour drive. 

               Next Stop - ???                

Omaha, NE - Randy & Terry - Ann after 50 years

Arrived Omaha late morning anticipating my visit with Randy & Terry Ferlic. As you saw on the previous post, Randy sailed with us as Ship's Surgeon on the USS Forrestal CVA-59 for the 11 month cruise to the Mediterranean Sea, the fabled waters of Odysseus and others.

I'll setup this chapter by briefly returning 50 years to 1969 and the ending of our 11 month Med cruise. Here’s a photo of my fellow shipmates around late July, 1968 as we crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and entered the Med. I’m still in touch with many of these guys today.

VF-11 aboard USS Forrestal CVA-59

Allen's Fighter Pilot Costume

After 11 eventful months, we headed home. As the carrier approached Norfolk, VA we flew all the aircraft off the ship to Naval Air Station (NAS) VA Beach, Virginia  the home-base of VF-11. After a couple weeks, I was tasked to fly Randy to the San Francisco Bay Area so he could take his Surgery Boards at UCSF, and so we did. It was a 3 legged flight for the F-4J Phantom, eventually landing at NAS Alameda, Alameda California. Randy and I cabbed to the Hilton in San Francisco where I stayed for 4 days. Those 4 days made me wish to move my family to the Bay Area which we did after I left the Navy in 1971.  On our return trip to VA Beach we stopped at Duluth AFB to enable Randy to see his family. We drove to St. Paul where I met Terry and their eight year-old daughter Ann. It was a short over-night stay. We flew the short leg back to VA Beach NAS the next day where my wife and son were. I never gave it much thought, but Randy had been away from his family for months!

Back to the present day in Omaha:

Terry had setup a dinner for us at their golf club, and Ann met us there. She’s an attorney, a healthcare leader and a human relations professional and last summer she threw her hat into the ring to seek the US Congressional seat in Nebraska's 2nd District. She and her husband Brad Ashford, a former US Congressman, raised three children in Omaha and are devoted to that city. I so enjoyed chatting with Ann who had very clear recollection of the night 50 years ago, and in a very charming way thanked me for “bringing my father home”. Dinner of Walleye was delicious and several of Randy and Terry’s friends stopped by our table to say hello. Randy and I share an interest in poetry and literature and we chatted late into the evening, renewing an old friendship.


Terry is a confirmed artist.  Below is a small sample of  her work.

               Next Stop - Omaha crossing to Union IL           

Destination Omaha. Exploring along the South Fork of the Platte - Detour to Broken Bow, back to the Platte; Grand Island

Evening drive to Lowe's near Brighton, CO on Rte 76 (24/7 Wifi) heading to Omaha, having contacted my US Navy friend Randy Ferlic. He and Terry live in Omaha. Randy was Ship's Surgeon aboard the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier during our 11 month Mediterranean cruise (1968-1969). A pilot himself, he was immediately welcomed by the squadrons. More on this later...

Nebraska can be a long drive.  

Sunday July 7th visit Fort Morgan, Colorado so named by Civil War General Pope after his attache' Colonel Christopher Morgan who'd recently died of suffocation while sleeping in a room served by a gas heater when the flame blew out but the gas flowed on.* The fort served to protect immigrants moving along the South fork of the Platte River toward Denver.  I drove North to Ogallala, Nebraska. The Platte, arising from snow melt in the Rockies flows through Ogallala, is 'yuuuuge' in the development of the West according to a known grifter. The North Platte, once a mile wide in places, is now muddy and shallow due to irrigation demands.

* If, like me, you suffer from bouts of nostalgia for the Old West, or the "way things were", please realize today it's safer and you live longer, especially if you play tennis and drink red wine.

Lincoln Highway Rte. 30

I'm low on water, got dirty laundry and need to dump my tanks. Seeking an RV campground near Ogallala. Brother Rich's recommended iOS/Android app: RVParky. The Sleepy Sunflower campground was everything I needed. In the morning I headed to Broken Bow. Again I'm on the fabled Lincoln Highway running just north of I-80 from Ogallala to North Platte. This old highway is, well, old and past its glory days of wanting wear except occasionally between towns, presumably less traveled by. 

 Leaving town of North Platte (the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers) where the Platte begins its run to the Missouri, I was soon captive of corn fields, interrogating farm equipment and shooting decaying barns. The barns are beautiful. Amidst today's hi-tech devotion to Ethanol there would often be found an old barn of ancestral days preserved like an antique but useless in the current scheme. Still sacred like a great-grandfather's ashes in an urn on the piano.

Anyone? Know what this is?

Broken Bow's Museum sports a "fine collection of Indian arrowheads" according to Jack Nicholson in his 2002 film About Schmidt**, but I missed it. I did find an otherwise well-stocked grocery, but no Cornichon pickles, essential for my lunch of tuna fish on sourdough, lettuce and potato chips with Izzy my new favorite drink.

Main Str. Broken Bow, NE

** Missed it until Rod Bell put me on to this sad but ultimately redeeming film on getting older. Thanks for that my friend. My own getting older is alternately joyful, sad and redeeming; so long as I remember why I have walked downstairs to arrive in the kitchen, it's fine.

Grand Island, Nebraska: Visited the Stuhr Museum. Definitely worth a visit.

The Stuhr Museum -  art gallery

Taking some time out here to push my personal interest in taking and viewing stereograms. Below is a section of an old (1690's) lighthouse in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The photo is actually a Photoshop joining of two shots side-by-side taken only a short distance apart laterally. 

To view this stereoscopically (in 3D): 

While looking at the towers cross your eyes until the nearly identical images of the blue "keys" (in the lower center of each tower) appear to overlap one another. Focus on the middle image of the key moving your head along the longitudinal axis to perfect the overlap. Once the overlap is achieved move your head and focus along the lateral and vertical axes until the entire structure appears in 3D.  Be patient and you are in for a pleasant surprise. 

 Stuhr Museum pioneer's cabin stereogramed:

South of the Stuhr is Hall County Park campground with minimal RV services but what a great Park. Spent the night July 8, 2019

 Charles Joachin Clark Dutton is one month into life with daughter Jeanine and Travis Dutton. Having no post card handy I produced this. Later down the road I found some real post cards.


               Next Stop - Omaha