Tracking Moose in Maine

By Sandra Scott

Any trip to Maine has to include looking for moose. Wild Moose, of course. But how about chocolate mousse and a 1,700-pound chocolate moose? I tracked—and found—them all!

While on a Moose Safari with Dana from North Country Rivers I bounced along old logging roads while Dana shared his historical perspective on logging and the ecology of the area. When his eagle eye spotted a moose I’d jump out, take a picture, and hop back into the van ready to learn more about the area and continue moose searching

“There’s another! Right up there on the road,” Dana would exclaim. I’d hop out of the van again and slowly walk up the road trying to get a better look. At one point, while photographing one moose posing in a swamp, I heard a crashing and splashing that announced the arrival of another moose. All in all, I saw seven moose, a season record for North Country Rivers, an all-season resort that offers everything from river rafting to snowmobile riding

A few days later, I headed south arriving in Belgrade Lakes in time for a mail boat ride on Great Pond with Norm. Great Pond is one of the bodies of water that makes up Belgrade Lakes. Norm is one of only a few mailmen approved by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail by boat. But he is more than a mailman, he is a storyteller who shares tales about the area’s famous residents, including pointing out where Ernest Thompson, author of On Golden Pond, was inspired to write his play. At the end of the boat ride, I walked uphill to Wings Hill Inn for a gourmet dinner prepared by CIA-trained Christopher Anderson. At the end of an exquisite meal, I couldn’t pass on the Double Chocolate-Lemon Cheese Cake Mousse with a Dark Chocolate Cup. A delectable “moose!” I ended the day on a sweet note.  At Wings Hill Inn I’d found my favorite kind of “moose!”

The next day, still looking for more moose, I stopped in Scarborough where I heard there was a very special moose. At Len Libby Handmade Candies I met the world’s sweetest moose, Lenny, made from 1700 pounds of chocolate.  Lenny was sculpted on site in four weeks and unveiled in 1997. He proudly stands in a “pool” of tinted white chocolate complete with lily pads and frogs. All chocolate, of course!

After seeing big, gangly moose in the wild, enjoying the mouth-watering mousse for dessert, and gazing at the chocolate moose, it is easy to understand why Maine is famous for its moose all kinds, real and chocolate.

For more information check: www.northcountryrivers.com, www.wingshillinn.com, and www.lenlibby.com.

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