CVOA group
visits mid-coast, Tours
Isleboro by bicycle
By John McCatherin
There were no John Travolta sightings. Nor did Kirstie Allie make an appearance.
But a group of bicyclists from the Carrabassett Valley
Outdoor Association saw plenty of reasons recently why the mid-coast Maine
island of Islesboro has become a haven for the rich and famous like the two
parttime island residents and fulltime Hollywood stars.
In all, the CVOA team numbered 24 for the weekend that
included a stay at Tanglewood, a 4-H camp and outdoor-oriented learning center
operated by the University of Maine Extension Service. A couple of them took advantage of some of
the many other hiking, biking and kayaking opportunities that exist around the
900-acre camp property near Camden Hills State Park.
But the majority, 22 in all, caught the car and passenger
ferry, the Margaret Chase Smith, for the three-mile crossing to Islesboro and
its terminal next to the picturesque Grindle Lighthouse. Then it was off on the variety of roads that
criss-cross the 15-mile long island.
“I can understand why this place has become so popular
for the summer folk given its incredible scenery and beautiful seasonal homes
and saltwater farms,” according to John McCatherin of Carrabassett Valley, the
trip coordinator.
 “Even the main road provides dozens of wide-open views of
the surrounding islands and the hills and mountains of Camden and
Lincolnville,” he added.
From Pendleton Point on the south to Turtle Head on the
north, the slender island is seldom much wider than a half mile with several
narrows and lots of shoreside drives from which to view the scenery.
The CVOA outing, one of a couple dozen the organization
conducts every year, began Friday night with a lobster feed at Tanglewood. Dinner was followed by a campfire in the
camp’s Habitat Lodge area. While a few
took advantage of a large tenting area, most of the group bunked in some of the
many rustic cabins the camp maintains.
After the bike ride Saturday, the group reconvened at the
camp’s dining lodge, originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the
late ‘30s, for one of CVOA’s famous pot luck dinners. And after a pancake breakfast Sunday morning,
many of them took advantage of the area for more biking, hiking and kayaking.
Tanglewood has been operated as a nature-oriented,
educational center since 1982. The
University’s Extension Service also operates a smaller but similar camp at
Blueberry Cove in Tenants Harbor.
CVOA, founded in 1999, numbers about 600 members who take
part in its outdoor events and social functions and utilize the rifle, pistol
and trap-shooting facilities at the CVOA Range located on Rt. 27 in the north
end of Carrabassett Valley.
For information about CVOA, or to get an application,
visit www.carrabassettvalleyoutdoorassociation.com, or contact CVOA Secretary Sandy Jamison at cvoasecretary@tds.net or at 265-2397.
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