Loons, turtles Canadian Geese with chicks, an otter,
turtles, a myriad of birds, ducks, and a few sea planes greeted us on our paddle today. We put in at
the end of East Waterman Road in North Auburn – almost into Turner, and not far
from Twitchell Airport. The weather was perfect – clear blue sky and about 80
degrees with no wind until about 1 PM when a light breeze developed and offered
a bit of relief.
There were few houses or camps along the shoreline – amazing
for waterfront in Maine. Maybe because the textile and paper mills polluted the
river so badly that people never considered owning riverfront land. How ironic.
The pollution, in the end, saved the riverbanks form overpopulation.
We were happy to paddle without another boat in sight on
this pond (actually a lake) created by damming the river in Auburn years ago. Only in the early afternoon did we see two motor boats in the
distance.
We found some sandy spots to stop for lunch and a snack –
places where we could get out of our kayaks and stretch. I packed a lunch of Quinoa Salad with a bit of blue cheese thrown on top at the last minute. We had
home-made granola bars, apples, strawberries, and dried apricots.
