Baxter State Park

I had the honor of going up to Baxter with Pastor Nielsen last week, and, although it was wet, windy, and cold, it was still a blast, as we got to see wildlife, do some good walking, and discuss the future of the youth group program at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. For those of you who dont know about Baxter State Park, the phrase used to sum it up in one word would be "Wild." Years ago, Governor Baxter gave the park to the state of Maine, on the condition that it would stay "forever wild." The park is hundreds of thousands of acres big (look on a map on Maine....it is near Millinocket Dad!) and there is no hunting or trapping. There is very little evidence of human progress or civilization: No paved roads (just old tote-logging roads), no facilities, no gift shop, NO DRINKING WATER, etc. It is truly a wilderness park. And it is stunning. Here are some pictures.

On Tuesday night Pastor and I went for a short hike around Sandy Stream pond where we were entranced by this:


a baby moose and its mom eating and drinking from the lake! For all the time I've spent in Maine and NH, this is only the second moose sighting I've had. Interestingly, the other time I saw a moose was at Grace pond, and it was also a cow and her calf. The light coloring of this baby moose means that it is about 2 months old....Here, it posed for us....
Below is a picture of mom, taken from afar, with South Turner Mtn. in the background. The summit of S. Turner kind of reminds me of the side of Cannon Mtn in NH, where the old man used to live before he fell seaworthy. Pastor and I ALMOST climbed South Turner that night, but then, when we realized it was 7:30, we thought it might not be a good idea to attempt an almost 4k foot mountain....
Here is a better shot of mom, enjoying some delicious aquatic plant-life.
A good shot Pastor got of me (not because I am in it...but because you can see Pamola peak and Katahdin in the background. Not the rocky, perilous looking ridges connecting the taller peaks. They are, as I hear, as breathtaking and scary as they look. If you blow this picture up, you can see the blob of brown (the moose) behind me......


Above is me standing at "Blueberry Knoll," which is a great "lookout" sort of cliff overlooking the Great Basin and Hamlin Ridge, which connects to Katahdin. After hiking into Chimney pond (the true "basecamp" of Katahdin) and realizing the weather was too perilous to continue (look at my shorts), we took a side-trip to the knoll, to at least see something. Even the knoll, which was still pretty far below the treeline altitude, was RIPPING with wind gusts. I cannot even imagine being above treeline on a narrow ridge and summit! I never thought I really understood the allure of Kathadin until I saw it in person; it is NOT your average mountain. There really is something mystical, unique, and intriguing about it. I NEED to climb this mountain.....

Meanderings 62-Just a few

Knife Edge Trail on Katahdin (more to come on this trip later, when Pastor sends me the pictures he took...since I forgot my camera). NOTE: We did not make it to the Knife Edge, since the rain, wind, and cold kept us down....

We did, however, hike in to the remote Chimney pond, which is shown below, from the summit of Katahdin. Does that make sense? Even Chimney pond is still at an elevation of about 3100 feet!

1. Why are most tarps blue? There has to be a reason for this.

2. Consider "dental floss." At this point, do we really need the "dental" in front of floss? If they took the dental part off, would people be confused that it was perhaps a different type of floss? ARE there different types of floss? Besides the kind women from NJ wear under their jeans, I mean.

3. Next time you read a book, look at all the useless pages leading up to the first line of the actual story. I just read THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy, and there were SIX pages (that is right...six) of blank white space with nothing but some combination of "The Road" or "The Road: By Cormac McCarthy" or, simply, nothing at all. I am totally being honest about this. THE ROAD is a best seller....so let us just say there are two million copies in print. Two million times six equals a LOT of freakin dead trees. And the funny thing is that most of the people who read these artsy fartsy books are the liberal hippies who dont want you to cut a tree down to heat your house.

4. ALSO, look at the page at the beginning of a book that has all the publishing information, the Library of Congress number, etc. Usually, at the bottom of the page, there's a number sequence that looks like this:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

What the hell is with that??

5. It seems that famous black people with handicaps come in pairs, and I think this is kind of interesting--a sort of "what are the odds of that" kind of thing. I've mentioned before about Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder--two blind black piano and songwriter virtuosos who were themselves contemporaries of each other. But also consider Gary Coleman and Emmanuel Lewis: How coincidental that two young black midget actors would both hit it big at the same time with shows like "Different Strokes" and "Webster." I wonder which one came first...let's say it was Different Strokes. I wonder if the eventual think-tank creators of Webster panicked, saying "Oh my gosh...we need to find a black midget show too if we want to compete with ABC!!" Good times

6. Winslow, Waterville, and Fairfied police are really cracking down on enforcing the Maine seat belt law, which means you can get pulled over and summonsed if you are driving without a seat belt. ABSOLUTE CRAP!! This is so twisted on so many levels. Look, I am all for public safety and people taking care of themselves, but if I choose to not wear a seat belt in the privacy of my own car, then that is MY right and my right alone. The most obvious joke with this policy is that, in Maine, motorcyclists dont have to wear helmets. But I find it embarrassing that we live in a country where it is perfectly legal for irresponsible and morally depraved mothers to walk into abortion clinics and kill a baby....but the police are going to give me a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. Naturally, I have a solution to this problem: Let everyone do whatever they want. Hopefully, people will be smart enough to wear a seat belt anyway, All cars come equipped with a sensor that records if a person is wearing a seat belt or not (we have the technology). If, after a car accident, the sensor shows no seatbelt was worn, this person automatically is disqualified from being able to use health insurance to pay for their injuries. Simple. Fair. Equitable.

Happy Father's Day to me....

This past weekend was awesome, and I know it is only a harbinger of how fantastic the summer is going to be--having Amanda working part time means that every weekend is a long weekend, and every Wednesday is more time we can spend together as a family.

This past Saturday, I went to the men's breakfast at church in the morning, only to come home to be told to get ready for a surprise father's day trip: Amanda got Callum and I "father and son" fishing rods, and she purchased a season pass to Lake George Park in Canaan. It is a beautiful lake for swimming, fishing, canoeing, picnicking, and hiking, Also, she packed a picnic lunch for us to enjoy. We spent a good part of the day there eating and relaxing; I took Callum swimming while Amanda read one of her junky mysteries under a shady pine tree....

I cannot believe this kid has half of my genetic makeup. Look how skinny and small he is!


The water was a bit chilly, but very refreshing, as it was a HOT weekend. A very clear and clean lake....
After the lake, we trekked home, and Callum fell asleep. Since he was sleeping, I took the "long" way home, following what I know to be the route for the Trek Across Maine (which, obviously, I didnt ride this year). We caught up with some trekkers, and followed them almost to Colby.

Later that afternoon, after Callum got up, Amanda and Callum made their way over to Colby College--stop #2 for the Trek--to meet up with Uncle Jon and the rest of his "Charlie's Big Wheels" team (Charlies is a HUGE mega-car mall in Augusta). Callum immediately gravitated toward the "big wheel" they had on the quad.....look at the aggression in his face. He is ready to ride.... (for some reason I am now seeing that the picture is not here...I will work on getting it back)

Callum had a great time, and, below, can be seen summoning people to play catch with him....


Callum and Uncle Jon having fun....
Still later (as if our day wasnt full enough already) mee mee and grampy babysat so Sally and I could head into Freeport to LL Bean so we could get new hiking boots (I need them for my Katahdin trip tomorrow, since my old ones kept making me fall on Franconia....which I didnt even blog about). Also, we bought a new tent--the King Pine Dome tent. Check it out on line. It has a screen house, even!

Now I am off to rest up. Pastor Nielsen and I are headed up to Baxter State Park tomorrow and we are taking Katahdin (or Katahdin is taking us) on Wednesday.

Callum turns 2!!

I am a bit behind on the blogs yes, yes? I have been away out in the great White Mountains on a hiking trip, but now I am back and I am ready to get back on track. It is summer vacation and I have no excuse for not keeping up this blog.

Last weekend was Callum's second birthday party, and he had all his family up and over to celebrate! It was quite a busy time, as Dad, Babs, and the Favrys came Friday, Saturday was the party, Nannie and Upbob came on Sunday, and then on Monday I had my last day of school and left immediately for Franconia. Quite a whirlwind. But I'll--for the most part--just let the pictures do the talking.....

Amanda stops amid her busy day to get a big wet Jewish kiss from Papa........


Uncle Shon (as Callum pronounces it), Kelsey, and 'Ampy sit and enjoy some beer and burgers. Papa and I basically raided Joseph's on Saturday morning, getting burgers, hot dogs, homemade sausages, cole slaw, potato salad, and marinated muppet to enjoy for the food festivities.....
Amanda and I got Callum his first bike for a present! Dave, our friend at Mathieu's cycle in Oakland, found this great Trek kids bike for Callum. And, even though the Goldsmiths having a Trek bike in our garage is akin to having a Yankees hat on our coat rack (we are a Specialized family!) it is still an awesome bike and Callum can totally reach the pedals. Good times are ahead for sure!
Nannie and Upbob came up on Sunday for a visit. Nannie is obviously nervous about something Callum is doing below. I cant remember what was going on. But Amanda, I think, finds it funny!
Mee-Mee and 'Ampy came by to enjoy some of Sunday with us. Here, we are having cake and ice cream, but we spent most of the day outside while Callum entertained us with his new sandbox/water activity table!! He likes to do activities.
I got to enjoy seeing my little nephew Jackson, who likes me the best out of anyone in the world, obviously. The boys have fun seeing each other, and they played trains, ran around the yard, sat at the picnic table and drank juice, etc etc. ...
Perhaps the greatest (or worst) trait Callum inherits from me is his hammish personality. He is into making faces, doing impressions, and making funny noises. He LOVES to laugh and be crazy. Amanda told him before taking this picture: "Callum do your funny face!" Here is one of them....
Amanda is an awesome baker and (seriously) a professional cake decorator--she used to do this as a summer job at Hanaford. She made a choo-choo cake for Callum this year. I think it came out great!!
Mommy and the birthday boy enjoying his cake....
Uncle and Auntie KK got Callum a toy BBQ grill for his birthday. Now Callum always wants to cook dinner. But they also got him the apron and chefs hat that go with the BBQ. Callum enjoys wearing this apron around most of the time now....
Happy Birthday Callum!!!!!!

600th Post!!!

Can you believe it? 600 volumes of Goldsmith5? Quite a milestone I think. I realize the blog has taken a backseat lately, but we would really like to change that up. We've been enjoying looking at old posts, and we would be remiss if we didnt keep this up as much as we can....if only to go back and reminisce!

This weekend coming up is Callum's "birthday weekend," as he is going to be two on Monday, and his Papa, Babs, Nannie, Upbob, Auntie and Uncle KK, and Jackson are all coming up from CT or MA to help him celebrate. Also on Saturday, we'll have Mee Mee, Ampy, Ba-Ba, Uncle Jon and Kelsey over share in the fun. Callum got a couple of "early" presents, one of which was the famous "Thomas the Train" table. Papa sent it up a few weeks ago, but only last week did we finally put it together. This kid has been on cloud 9 ever since!

(notice how volvo kitty sits in the center?)


Amanda's boss David was cleaning out his house and gave Callum a bunch of old Brio trains and pieces of track for the table, so Callum and I were quick to lay the track, set up the Brio, and put Thomas, Diesel, Duck, Toby, Caboose, Percy, and Elizabeth on the layout (we cant find Bertie the Bus anywhere!)

Now, every afternoon, our little guy asks us to "play trains." How can you say no to this guy!? By the way Favrys, Nannies, Papas, et al: Be prepared to "play trains."
The second gift he got early was a little picnic table and umbrella set so he can enjoy the lovely weather we've been having, and relax outside with his milk, goldfish, and sandwiches!
He also likes to color at his table. Here's Mumma and Amanda relaxing outside before going in to watch M*A*S*H. Did I mention that is Callum's new favorite show? I am totally serious.
The other day Ba-Ba came over to pick up some cat-urine infused old carpet I tore up from Thomas's old room (long story....) and Callum was quick to enlist his great grampy to "play trains." Taking this picture was all Callum's idea, which makes this even funnier!
In other news, last night was Winslow High School's 108th commencement, and I was there on stage, for the 6th year in a row, performing an original song for the class of 2010. It is an honor and privilege each and every year, and my only prayer is that I am around to be able to do it for another 20 years. By that time I should be halfway to retirement age....

Fiber Frolic 2010

Hi everyone. Amanda here. Last Saturday Mom and I went to the Fiber Frolic which is held at the Windsor Fairgrounds in the beginning of June each year. This is something we look forward to all year long. It's our girls day out -- no guys, no kids -- just us and animals and fiber and good fair food. Oh, and friends that we only get to see during fiber festivities. This year was kind of up in the air as far as the weather was concerned. Talking to Mom in the morning I read her the weather forecast. It said to expect heavy winds and damaging hail in the afternoon. Great. We had pretty much decided not to go, but then Mom called me back and said, 'We're going'. That was that. And we're glad we did. It actually turned out to be a pretty nice day weather wise. And it didn't rain a drop while we were there!

The above picture is of the food area. And below is our lunch.

I got a falafel and mom got a sausage with onions and green peppers. We shared the fries and each had a cup of fresh squeezed lemonade. I hadn't had falafel since graduating from UNH so I was pretty happy. Trivia questions: What was the name of the little place that sold falafel in Durham, NH? AND, where was it first located?

Here is a picture of Mom and I before we ate lunch. Aren't we cute?

This little guy was REALLY into his hay. He kept shoving his head into the hay bale and then he would get all this hay stuck on his face. It was so cute watching him try to get the hay off his face. He would toss his head from side to side trying to shake it off, then he would eventually give up and go in for some more hay.

Here are some of the vendors in one of the barns. I love it -- yarn far as the eye can see. I was really good this year and only bought three skeins. Don't ask me what they're for. Actually, you can. They're all for socks. Don't say ONE WORD, Daddy Henry!!!

There were a lot of vendors this year. In fact, Mom and I closed the place down. This is the first year that we stayed right up until closing time at 4 pm! We had the best time. Thanks, Mom! I love spending the day with you!

Oh, Hi Callum!

32

Franconia Ridge Trail (read below....)
The helmet Callum and Amanda bought me for my birthday.....

I turned 32 yesterday, and it was lots of fun. Interestingly, no one took pictures of ME blowing out MY birthday cake. But, nevertheless, it was a great weekend all around; Amanda and I left Callum with the grandwillards, and we went down to cousin Lauren's wedding...where we forgot our camera. After a visit with mom and Bob, and then a visit (and lunch at Fresh Catch) with Dad and Babs, we made our way back to Maine. For my birthday, I was given furlough to go on a nice bike ride around the Upper Ridge road section of Fairfield, where the elevation was pretty high and I got a fantastic view of the C-130 jet flying over Fairfield and Winslow for the Memorial Day parades. Then, I got to take a great nap with Callum, only to awake and have Jon, Kelsey, and Ba-Ba sitting in my living room, waiting for the party to begin. George made his famous burritos, and it was good to visit.

I love this time of year, both for the absolute insanity it brings...and then the sudden and forceful respite that occurs instantaneously after June 9--when my seniors graduate. This week, I am trying to correct my students' term papers (each one takes 15-20 minutes and there are 58 of them), rehearse for my concert tomorrow night at school, finish writing a graduation song, and prepare for my triathlon this coming Sunday. So busy!!

But, immediately after school gets out, I have some cool stuff ahead. First of all, the DAY school gets out, I am leaving with MET and Hargrove FROM SCHOOL to head over to the White Mts to do the Franconia Ridge trail and camp for a couple of nights. Then, the following week, Pastor Nielsen and I are camping up in Baxter State Park, and we are going to take Mt Kathadin. Amanda is "making" me go, because she thinks I need to get in the woods and get away for a while. It is like a vacation for both of us! Haha

No pictures today....I just realized I havent taken any pictures since Amanda's birthday. So, I just picked some random crap off the web. Ta....