Cruising the County Festival-goers can uncover hidden gems in Aroostook

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I’ll admit it: I’m biased. I love Aroostook County. It’s clean. The people are nice. The fields and hills seem to roll on forever and air there smells sweet and green.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention potatoes.

Of course, potatoes are an important part of the region’s economy, but they aren’t the only thing that makes The County special. People who live in the area know this, but it seems other people can’t get past the whole potato thing.

I recently set off on a “County adventure,” a daylong tour of the Fort Fairfield area. My mission was simple: to find other things for people to do while they were up for the Potato Blossom Festival, which runs Friday through July 22. When I mentioned this to my friends, they looked at me with some skepticism.

The co-workers who hailed from the Greater Fort Fairfield area were the most smug. I won’t mention any names, but one Style Desk writer whose first name rhymes with snail just laughed when I told him my intentions. He bet that I wouldn’t find anything.

Unfortunately, there was no money involved, because I found plenty.

Cheryl Boulier, outgoing president of the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, agreed that there’s more to do in the area than most people think.

“There’s all kinds of stuff to see,” Boulier said when I stopped at the Chamber. “I just wish we could get more people to experience it.”

I experienced it all. OK, maybe not all, but enough, on the loop that goes from Fort Fairfield to Caribou, Presque Isle and Mars Hill, and back to Fort Fairfield.

If you go to the festival, be sure to stop at the Chamber on Main Street for a full schedule of events (see sidebar for highlights). If you wander a little on Main Street, you can check out the Blockhouse Museum, which served as a barrier to prevent an invasion from New Brunswick during the Aroostook War of 1839. It was closed the day I visited, but it should be open during the festival. You can’t miss it – it’s the only big, brown, fortlike structure on Main Street.

This year, local organizations will set up food booths at the festival to raise funds. If those don’t fill you up, you can head to the Village Restaurant, located at 202 Main St., which serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails.

While in Fort Fairfield, check out the Aroostook Valley Country Club, a truly unique golf course. The clubhouse and course are in New Brunswick and the pro shop and parking lot are in the United States. On holes 1 and 9, you really could hit a ball out of the country. At the time the club was founded, the United States was in the midst of Prohibition, which could have something to do with the clubhouse’s location on the Canadian side of the border.

If you’re in the mood for a side trip, you have a few options. First, you could hop on your bicycle and pedal around Fort Fairfield’s scenic bike path system, the Main Street section of which snakes along the Aroostook River. Or, you could pack up the car and head toward Caribou, but there are two ways to get there. If you cross the bridge over the river and take a left onto the North Caribou Road, you can check out the Rocking S Ranch, located a little more than 2 miles past the bridge. In addition to horse boarding and leasing, Rocking S offers horseback riding lessons. For information or to set up a lesson, call 472-4212 and ask for Fran.

On the other way to Caribou, Route 161, you’ll find everything but horses at Goughan’s Strawberry Farm. While you’re sipping on a thick strawberry shake or lapping a strawberry-rhubarb ice cream cone, you can check out the maple sugar shack, sit a spell under a small covered bridge or talk to the animals at the petting zoo. The zoo is free and fun even if you aren’t a kid. Be sure to buy a handful of cracked corn – the piglets will eat it out of your hand, and the chickens love it, too. There are woolly sheep, a bushel of baby bunnies, fat rabbits and a pair of peacocks – the male’s fan of iridescent feathers takes up nearly the whole pen. If you’re feeling industrious, you can pick your own strawberries there, too.

CaribouFest will take place in Caribou (see sidebar) from Friday to Sunday, so there will be things to do throughout the weekend. Be warned: Caribou is a little hard to navigate the first time you go – the downtown is like a big rotary. If you really want a side trip, stay on Route 161 and head to Eureka Hall in Stockholm. Turn off at the North Jemtland Road, which will bring you into the village, where you’ll find the most unusual restaurant in the area. The menu changes weekly, but on previous visits I’ve sampled everything from cobra to lamb, and it’s all delicious. For reservations (recommended), call 896-3196.

If you decide to stay in Caribou, stop for a sandwich at Bailey’s Delicatessen, the home of the stacked sandwich. Here, you’ll find homemade bread piled high with meat and veggies, along with salads, soups and fried chicken. Plus, the sandwiches have cool names, such as “Kranky Turkey,” which combines turkey, cream cheese and cranberry sauce, or “Angel on a Haystack,” a tasty combination of turkey, tomato, Swiss and sprouts. Bailey’s is located in a strip mall, at 159 Bennett Drive.

After Caribou, follow Route 1 to Presque Isle. The first thing you’ll see when you get there is the Aroostook Centre Mall. Along with the usual J.C. Penney and Payless, you’ll find a few unique stores, such as VanGogh’sEar, along with a gallery that recently opened showing and selling paintings by local artists. The selection varies, but the prices are reasonable. On Main Street in Presque Isle, you can stop in to Mother’s Cupboard, a natural foods store with fresh baked goods including soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies, along with locally made herbal remedies, bath salts and soaps. If you’re hungry for more than cookies, try the newly remodeled Sidewalk Caf? at the Northeastland Hotel, which serves a delicious Reuben, along with a large selection of sandwiches and entrees. Plus, they serve breakfast.

Presque Isle also has an extensive network of paved bike trails and several parks. Mantle Lake Park, located in a residential neighborhood, is the prettiest. You don’t want to swim here, but the manmade lake forms a backdrop for picnic tables, a playground and tennis courts and a field.

From Presque Isle, you have a few options. You can head to the airport, where you’ll find the Presque Isle Air Museum, which holds a collection of memorabilia from the airport’s previous lives: as the Presque Isle Army Air Field and later as the Presque Isle Air Force Base. Or, you can take Route 163 to Haystack Mountain in Castle Hill, halfway between Presque Isle and Ashland. The hike is short and rewarding, offering sweeping views of the blooming potato fields, nearby mountains and lakes.

If you feel like heading back to Fort Fairfield, Route 167 will take you there. On the way, you can play 18 holes at the Presque Isle Country Club or stop at Myrtle Tree, a garden center with greenhouses, display gardens (everything in the gardens is for sale), brightly colored Adirondack chairs, planters and birdhouses, and a cool little shop. On Sundays, Myrtle Tree offers herbal classes and afternoon tea.

If you want to keep going, follow Route 1 south to Mars Hill. To your right, the mountains in Aroostook State Park rise up like a sleeping camel’s back. The state park is located 5 miles off Route 1 (the turnoff is well-marked). There, you can hike the north and south peaks of Quoggy Jo Mountain (not the ski hill), swim, boat or fish for trout in Echo Lake (there’s a boat launch there), or camp overnight.

Keep going on Route 1 and you’ll see a bunch of barrels filled with brightly colored flowers on your left. That’s Dan Stewart and Family’s Potato and Vegetable Farm, which offers a huge selection of potato barrels, which Stewart makes in the winter, along with very affordable Micmac baskets and all the new potatoes you could possibly want.

Route 1 will lead you to Mars Hill, a small town with an Old West feel. It’s hard to miss the flashing red neon sign for Al’s Diner, which has been a Mars Hill standby since the 1920s. At Al’s, you’ll find standard diner fare served with a smile. You’ll also find orange vinyl booths, wood-paneled walls and a lunch counter loaded with baked goods.

Turn onto Route 1A, and you’ll see signs for the Mars Hill Country Club. The scenic 18-hole course is located at the base of Mars Hill Mountain. Nongolfers can take in the view and a meal at the clubhouse restaurant, where walls of windows frame the fields and foothills that spread out below.

After this decidedly potato-free tour, you can follow 1A back to Fort Fairfield. There, you can have all the potatoes you want.

Potato Blossom Festival Schedule

Friday, July 13

Queen’s Ball ? 7 p.m., Aroostook Valley Country Club, $10 per person, includes hors d’oeuvres.

Saturday, July 14

Junior. Miss Potato Blossom Pageant ? 7 p.m., Lawrence A. Gardener Gymnasium, $6 adults, $4 children 12 and under.

Monday, July 16

Little Miss Potato Blossom Pageant ? 7 p.m., Lawrence A. Gardener Gymnasium, $6 adults, $4 children 12 and under.

Tuesday, July 17

Household Pet Show ? 6 p.m., Fields Lane, to register call 472-4251.

Wednesday, July 18

Yankee Hitch ? 2:30 p.m., Loring Job Corps “Grandstand Show.”

Thursday, July 19

Fiesta Shows Extravaganza ? 6-11 p.m., Main Street.

Antique Farm Equipment Display ? 10 a.m.- 8 p.m., Growers Exchange parking lot, 764-1680.

Dave Mallett Concert ? singer-songwriter Carol Ayoob opens, 7 p.m., Fort Fairfield Armory, concert tickets $10 adults, $7 children 12 and under.

Friday, July 20

Antique Farm Equipment Display ? 10 a.m.- 8 p.m., Growers Exchange parking lot, 764-1680.

Northeast Trickstars inline skate and bike stunt team performance ? 6 p.m., Main Street.

Family Dance, featuring The Common People ? 8-11 p.m., Fort Fairfield Armory, $3 adults, $2 children 12 and under.

Street Dance with Hits on the Run DJ ? 8-11 p.m., Main Street.

Saturday, July 21

Horse Games at Rocking S. Ranch ? 9 a.m., cross bridge, turn left, 2 miles on North Caribou Road on left.

Festival Parade ? 1:30 p.m., (rain date July 23) to participate, call 472-3884.

Maine Potato Queen Scholarship Pageant ? 7:30 p.m., Lawrence A. Gardener Gymnasium, $7 adults, $4 children 12 and under.

Adult Dance featuring The Common People ? 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Fort Fairfield Armory, $6.

Sunday, July 22 ? Family Day

Classic Car Show ? 9 a.m., parking lot across from M&D Monogramming, Presque Isle Street, to register, call 764-6654.

25-Mile Bicycle Race ? 8:30 a.m. registration, Hillcrest Estates, race begins at 10 a.m., beginning at the Blockhouse, ends at Hillcrest Estates, $10 per rider.

Magic Mike’s Performance ? 3-4 p.m., Fields Lane.

The Gallagher Brothers Performance and Step Dance with Leslie Farquar ? 5-6 p.m., Fields Lane.

Fireworks ? 9:30 p.m., (rain date July 23), over the Aroostook River.