the harbor at Isle au Haut, Maine
Doryman’s Big Adventure
Michael Bogoger, The Doryman
Speaking of boats . . .
Back in January, at the end of the Epic Cross Country Road Trip, there was a fun little bonus waiting: A chance meeting with longtime boatbuilder and maritime blogger known as Doryman.
Archival Film of Skipjacks
Gavin Atkin over the pond at intheboatshed recently dug up some archival footage from the 1960’s. Most of it was filmed on and around Deal Island, Maryland, where we spent several days on the Chesapeake Float this year.
The film was shot forty years ago, but it’s amazing how little has changed. Captain Art Daniels is still racing his skipjack, or was until very recently. The churches I photographed are still there, though the one is under repair. Wenona harbor looks much the same, just fewer boats. That and They had enough watermen then to field a softball team.
The sail loft that served the skipjacks was still in operation then, though it’s been closed for several years now. And there are far fewer skipjacks now than there were even then.
Pretty cool to watch
Hour long feature film on Skipjacks of Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Float ~ Deal Island
Deal Island Skipjack in Wenona Harbor
It’s only 10 miles from Crisfield to Deal by water, but it will take most of an hour to drive there. The edges of the shore are deeply frayed. Water and land trade places back and forth so often it’s hard to tell which is which. To get around the ingresses of water, you have to go miles inland all the way to 13, make a short jog north, then one turn and head back out again. On the way, you cross over broad expanses of beautiful open marshes, places not quite land and not quite water.
The place names here have a curious history of their own. On the way to Deal Island is Dames Quarter, where we’ll launch later today. The original name was Damned Quarter or Quarter of the Damned. Deal Island, not far beyond, was originally Devil’s Island. The grim names allude to a time when they were havens for some very rough characters who preyed on shipping up and down the Bay. Appropriately enough, the only thing separating The Devil from The Damned is a place called Chance.
Epic Road Trip ~ Hood River
The Columbia River Gorge
Emily is up before dawn. The car, she’s relieved, is intact, but she’s out in the rain in pajamas feeding the parking meter. This so we don’t get ticketed or towed before breakfast. And we do want breakfast. And coffee.
One last leg, just a couple of hours driving, backtracking a bit up the Columbia to Hood River, will finish the trip. We’ve been in Oregon less than 24 hours, and by end of this day she needs to get moved in and somewhat settled, because at 1pm tomorrow she has a staff meeting for the new job.
Epic Road Trip ~ On to Portland
into the Columbia River Valley
So, let’s review:
- We left Virginia in warm sunshine.
- Had snow in the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies.
- Passed a toxic waste spill contaminating a river in West Virginia.
- Polar Vortex deep freeze and broken pipes in St. Louis.
- Snow storm in Missouri.
- Winds near hurricane force and Ground Blizzard in Wyoming.
- Train wreck in Utah.
- Rainbows and more snow in Idaho.
If you’ve been following along for the past several months, and have been keeping count, you realize this all just in three days. We left at noon on the 8th. It’s now the afternoon of the 11th. By the end of this day we’ll be in Portland.
We still have a long way to go. We need to cross all of Oregon.
Epic Road Trip ~ into Oregon
Oregon, finally.
Suddenly we’re in Oregon.
It’s the high country, and there’s snow everywhere. The air smells like onions. No wonder. It’s the Ore-Ida plant. Ore-Ida (for Oregon and Idaho) is based at the border in the town of Ontario, and the largest producer of frozen potatoes and onions in the US at 600 million pounds a year.
We take a few selfies, send some promised texts and photos to friends and family, then we’re on the road again. We still have a full day of driving ahead of us.