Stacey

                               

Bailey's at Sharon's for 3 days while I drive The Rig over to Mount Desert Island to attend the funeral of Stacey Gray, my niece Kim's husband. Stacey's been ill with kidney disease for years and he battled like crazy. Kim even donated a kidney to him, but no luck. Over the past decade he lost his job, both legs, and his beloved pick-up truck. He kept his sense of humor and humility, his love of dogs and his good-man moniker. He also had a wife who loved and admired him dearly. 

I visited Stacey in a Bangor hospital one late evening after his second leg amputation. High on morphine, or another medication, he talked about his life. He was depressed and who couldn't understand that. During the evening, I told him he had a right to be sad... but also talked about his dogs, his friends, and Kim. 

Throughout the evening, Stacey asked good questions. We laughed about this-n-that. He was kind to his nurses. 

The first time Stacey came to visit the Kent family at camp with Kim and the boys, he drove a huge pick-up truck and never came down to the beach. He spent his time in the Kent camp cleaning the porch windows--he might have done some painting, too. He also waxed his shiny truck. Stacey worked for the Bar Harbor Town Garage as a mechanic and snowplow driver. His stepson Jordan landed his job when Stacey went out on disability. When I told him that Jordan made more money than I did as a professor, he smiled. He liked that.   

When I picture Stacey cleaning up camp and polishing his truck, I think about these words from Kahlil Gibran's book The Prophet: "Work is love made visible." 

That's Stacey Gray.  

Kim and Stacey at Mark's wedding. 

Driving Denny's tractor. 

Black/White Trail on Black Mountain

Ski area summit. Click photos to enlarge

Bailey's feeling his age, so today, for my hike of Black Mountain, I left him at home. After hikes on Whitecap, he tends to limp favoring his left leg. A couple of times before packing for a hike, I noticed him limping up to me. Thing is, I'm pretty sure he's faking it because just before he'd been prancing around the yard. I suspect he has arthritis or tendonitis, but even when we hike straight up Whitecap's Yellow trail, he powers on. My gut says he's uncomfortable but not injured. I'll keep an eye on it and may get him some anti-inflamatories.  

On this hike, I worried about bugs and especially ticks in the high grass on the ski slopes. They never materialized. I think the dry conditions have killed off these creatures for the time being. The Black/White trail is grown over in places, but it's in pretty good shape otherwise. As you'll see from the map below, I summited the ski area and then headed down one of the ski slopes. A good day... and when I got home after 2 hours away, Bailey whined and cried as he bounced around. I took him down to the Swift River park for a 20 minute walk with all of its glorious smells.  

First section of switchbacks

View of the town/mill from a ski trail

Carins on a ski trail

Good trail about half way up.

New wind towers in Roxbury's farm

Carins marking the Black/White trail

Looking south west

Heading down a ski slope

AllTrails cover

AllTrails map of the hike. 

Hikes 91, 92, 93: Step Falls, Joe Pond Trails, Whitecap

From Whitecap Mountain
Click on photo to enlarge

I have driven by Step Falls, just before Screw Auger falls, many times over the years. Often, the parking lot is jam packed. This weekday, 3 other cars dotted the parking lot, so in I went. The water is so low there are few falls, but I could imagine the river in spring time or after heavy rains. We also stopped off at Screw Auger Falls, Moose Cave, and Mother Walker Falls––tourist spots, but fun, nonetheless.     

Joe Pond Trail off Isthmus Road near the ski area is a series of back-country roads that summit at a friend's cabin. The views of Whitecap, White Mountains, and Sunday River are fun. I used to run, hike, or bike from my house to Joe Pond and these roads. It might take 40 minutes to run to the pong from Prospect Avenue. 

Shakedown Cruises

 

"Where to now?"

How do you and your old dog move from a 14-room house to a one-room van? Practice. 

At first, packing up and traveling are just a plain old hassle. Especially in the rain. And the dog treats stink and permeate the van. Yesterday, he ate a long skiing fish stick treat from Bark Box. I hate fish and doubly hate the smell. I also worry about Bailey getting hot spots and being uncomfortable while traveling. Finally, I'm concerned about laundry, though that worry seems just plain silly.  Every little town has a laundry, so why does this get to me?  

Just the other day in the driveway, I tried out the propane stove units for the first time. Slick. Yet, except for heating up stuff in the microwave, I haven't cooked anything in the van. Normally, I pack cold cuts, cheese, a salad, a Diet Coke, and a treat for me. I've also been known to buy a Subway sandwich and eat half for lunch and half for dinner. But when I head out for longer periods, I really need to have a couple of eggs once in a while along with chicken and a bit of read meat. It should't be that hard. But, add in a curious old dog who's always hungry and whose big nose pokes at everything...? 

I'm not convinced that Bailey loves traveling in the van. He sits up front and watches the road for a while and then lies down as seen above. When he's had his fill of that, he climbs down, has a drink of water, and then reclines between the front seats on the floor. Yesterday on our way back from Sugarloaf, he looked relaxed on the floor. We'd just climbed up a mile of steeps up to the snow on the mountain, so he may have been pooped.  

So this past week we've done day trips to Errol NH up toward Canaan VT; the Mahoosucs; the Height of Land in Rangeley; and Sugarloaf. I definitely felt more comfortable--now we need to do a 3- to 4-day trip out to New York. We'll see. 

Usually Bailey faces forward to watch the road. 

Information turnoff just outside Grafton Notch SP

Sugarloaf parking lot after our hike

Outside Grafton Notch SP

Sugarloaf parking lot

Old Speck, Grafton Notch SP

One happy dog on Sugarloaf

There are several large patches of snow left
on the mountain. Usually, they're on steep downs
or in transitions where the snow settles in. 

The Bigelow Preserve. 

Trail signs. 

More of the Bigelow Preserves. 

Rest area near Sugarloaf. 

Dinner at the Height of Land

Never-ever gets old

Sugarloaf in the winter time. 

Random picture of me. 

  

Celebrating Indy

 

Road Skiing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 
May 1978

Celebrating Today’s Indianapolis 500 

The Indianapolis 500 is upon us and my claim to fame as a ski racer is that I roller skied the Motor Speedway in early May of 1977. Here’s the story. 

Forty-five years ago, I moved from Rumford, Maine, to the flatlands of Indianapolis for work. For those who know Rumford, I skied for Chummy Broomhall and Herb Adams; later I became Rumford’s coach. 

For exercise after work, I road skied the straight, flat streets of Indy. Everyone stared. Some flagged me down and asked questions; others pointed and laughed. On a rural road just beyond the suburbs, a carload of teenagers drove up behind me, blared the car horn and screamed out the windows—I went ass over tea kettle into the soft shoulder. 

During the winter of ’78, we had a wicked blizzard in Indiana. Everything in the city shut down for nearly a week—except me. I corked in Special Blue and had a blast. 

The next summer I wrote an article about my skiing experience in Indianapolis. With a photographer friend in tow, I skied the city streets and then snuck onto the Speedway. As I cruised down the straightaway toward the yard of bricks—going the wrong way—a metallic voice blasted over the speakers: “Now there’s something you don’t see at Indy every day.” Tourists pointed and car mechanics looked away from the cars… and I didn't get arrested. Soon after, I moved back to Maine.