Time marches on!  #47

 When was the last time you heard the words, “Time passes too quickly?” Do you remember who it was that said it, and where you were when you last heard it? Did you acknowledge those words and what did it make you think of? Here’s another way to look at it. When was the last time that you had something scheduled and you really were looking forward to the day it came? After it had passed, did you find yourself saying that was really great, but where did the time go? I ask these questions, because it seems clear that every time I have an event, or I am looking forward to someone coming with me in the woods, it comes fast and when it is over, I can’t seem to understand where the time went.

Take for example my latest trip into the North Maine Woods. Almost a year ago and just after our 2012 bird hunting trip, I had a couple of my friends on that trip tell me that they wanted to come back in 2013. We decided to do it again and to use Chandler Lake Camps as our waypoint. We spoke with Jason and Sherry there at the camps and booked the date. During the time leading up to the trip, we swapped emails and decided how we were going to get there and what we were going to bring. At some point, I decided that it would be good for me to have my dad join us and an invite went out to him. He accepted and we finalized the plans. October 4 came very quickly and we all met and jumped into our vehicles and off to the woods we went. There was Lance and Jon and Steve and my dad, Bill. We decided that that first day was going to go like this. Dad and I would ride together. Lance and Jon would drive their truck in and then join up with Steve. We also agreed that we would meet around noon time at a predetermined location and have a hot lunch. I had brought my portable grill and some food in preparation for the noontime meal.

Now this trip was particularly exciting for me because Dad, who used to be a Maine Game Warden, had first begun his career on the Maine/Quebec border. His district consisted of some of the areas I planned to cover during our trip. He told me that he had not seen some of them in many years and was anxious to go back.

Over the next two days, we covered a lot of ground. In particular, we drove about 175 miles each day. Our travels took us to Clayton Lake where Dad brought me up to date on the changes there since his last visit as well as some of the things that remained the same. We visited Churchill Dam and we walked around, and took in the museum there. I could tell that just seeing the artifacts and photos as well as the new dam brought back memories to him. See, the dam was wood when he last knew of it and now it was all cement. We made our way to the Umsaskis Lake Warden Camp that he had not seen in years. His memories of that area were very interesting to listen to. He let me know that he helped build that camp. Unfortunately, it was locked and he was not able to go inside, but he spent a few minutes peeping through the windows to see the inside. He was quick to tell me that they had changed the roof but the inside was as it was the last time he had been there. He took me down the path at the warden camp to the shore of the lake and pointed out where the old David D Daigle camp had been situated and had been torn down. He even walked through the brush in an attempt to find anything he could in the old lot that would bring back some memories of that camp. Then we pressed on and eventually stopped and had lunch at the ranger station between Umsaskis and Long Lake.

At the end of each day, we would go back to Chandler Camps and meet up with the other three in our party to compare notes. During our two days, none of us broke any records for our limit of birds, but there were a number of stories shared about the day’s events. When Sunday came, we all knew that it was time to pack up, say our goodbyes and go back to our daily lives. We drove out of the North Maine Woods again very satisfied with the time spent there, the accommodations at Chandler Lake and the company we had kept during our trip. Yes, I could hear myself saying” Where did the time go.” It seemed like just yesterday that we had all met and were on our drive in. Time had not stood still and it was up to us to spend it wisely. You can never take away the times you have that you remember the most and the time spent with my dad learning about his adventures while a warden in that country during the late 50’s and early 60’s were priceless. I know that as I drive through these areas again, I will always recall the stories he told me.  He also shared his stories during the evening with the group and I was reminded that they thoroughly enjoyed his story time each night. As you could imagine, we took lots of photos, and they will all serve as a reminder of our trip, but one resonated with me more than the others. It was a photo taken by Lance of my dad standing up behind the supper table holding the back of the chair in front of him. When Lance sent the photo to me, he had already captioned it with the simple words “Story time.”  And his email that had the photo attached said, I could listen to him over and over. There was even some talk that he should consider writing a book about his trials and tribulations, but knowing dad, that will never happen. He is content to just share his stories with those around him. It’s kind of like a private viewing to those fortunate folks there at the time of his thirty six years in a warden uniform. Yes, the time went fast, but it was time I will never forget.

Jason & Sherry at Chandler Lake Camps preparing a gourmet meal.