Fireflies, beer and chips
along highway 1. plus a candlelight concert, gummi bear picnic and special offer.
The sky looked as if it was going to swallow us whole. My heart was pounding as we cruised along Highway 1 in Presque Isle watching the sky shift from dark blues to heavy blacks, threatening to erupt at any second. As we slowed passing Saturn, the fourth planet installment in the 40 Miles of the Solar System heading north on Highway 1, we heard the first boom of thunder.
The Maine Solar System Model recreates the respective distances between the sun and planets along a stretch of Highway 1 in Aroostook County. Constructed by the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 2000, it’s the fourth largest scale model solar system in the world. Some of the planets, like Pluto and Mercury, are placed inside information centers or stationed on University of Maine Presque Isle’s campus, making them impossible to spot from the road during an impending thunderstorm. However, I had bookmarked Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to use as distractions to keep my daughter, Harper, entertained as we drove through the rolling landscape of Northern Maine right beside the border of Canada.
Upon reaching Jupiter, located 5.3 miles from the Sun, a light drizzle began to hit our windshield. Even from the road and rain kissed windows, this giant gas planet’s trademark red and orange strokes were visible. An impressive amount of artistic detail is visible from the road.
Don’t blink (especially in a thunderstorm) or you’ll miss Mars. Located directly next to the Presque Isle ‘Welcome’ sign, it’s 1.5 miles from the sun. After a quick squint from the side of the road to view the second smallest planet in our solar system, a massive lightning bolt lit up the sky to our left. And then the rain began pelting our car.
I pulled off to the side of the road, unable to see even a foot in front of us. A rush of thunder echoed throughout the expansive fields to our right and the ground seemingly shook our car. I did my best to comfort our scared little one in the backseat, but frankly, I was scared too. We only had three miles to go to reach our AirBnB, and with the rain letting up slightly, my husband, Andrew, took over the driving while I took some big breaths in the passenger seat. Cracked, fallen trees were scattered along the road with lit up police cars surrounding the wreckage. Broken fences and belongings cluttered people’s yards. It looked like a tornado had whipped through The County.
We fumbled with the security box but managed to open the AirBnB’s front door before getting too soaked. Once inside, I promptly poured myself a gigantic glass of red wine and set up shop on the couch. The rain eventually subsided, but with nerves shot, we weren’t going anywhere tonight. With a full day ahead of us tomorrow, I went to bed shortly after Harper.
I felt a gentle pat around 11PM that night. I shot up, clearly still anxious from hours prior, to find Andrew motioning for me to go outside. Resolved to find a tree on top of our car, or a broken window, I hurried to take a look. “You have to see this,” he said, as I exited the house.
A bright blanket of innumerable stars lit up the sky along with thousands of fireflies twinkling in the sunflower fields and blossoming potato fields surrounding us. Aroostook County is so lightly populated, considerably more free of artificial light from towering buildings, street lights and cars than other parts of Maine, that when you look up at the night sky it’s as if you are in your own personal planetarium. I tilted my head to the stars, twirling my body around and around, watching stars flicker in and out while tracing the big and little dipper with my fingers. From the ground up, we were in a sparkly wonderland.
“I wish Harper was awake to see this,” Andrew said. We caught eyes, bee-lined to her bedroom and grabbed a big blanket to wrap her in. As we exited the house, her head resting on her Dad’s shoulders, she rubbed her sleepy eyes awake and caught her first glimpse of the lightning bugs floating around her. If she had ever seen them before, which I don’t recall, she had certainly never seen them in these numbers. She woke up to a type of magic that she only reads about in her favorite, fantasy-filled bedtime books.
Tucked in tightly to Andrew, she was mostly silent as we twirled, taking in the night. Just before heading back inside, I watched her eyes widen, remembering something.
“Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are up there,” she said.
I wrote this mini essay in the summer of 2022 and it sits in one of the last sections of my book. Soooo: why am I sharing it today?
Well, for one - I’m packing for vacation and an archival post was necessary. And two: since the book’s release, the number one question I continue to get asked is: so, what was your favorite adventure in the book?
I usually stumble when answering because it wasn’t just one adventure - it was a truncated time filled with a few little adventures. Undoubtedly, it was the few days I spent in Aroostook County, about 4.5 hours from home.
If you never get up to The County, you should at least know what you’re missing. Beyond the clear skies, fields filled with fireflies (+ potatoes) and some of the best snowmobiling in the state - you’ll also find some of the kindest, most hard-working folks.
For a birds eye view into just how hard-working: I highly encourage you to watch this video of the yearly Potato Harvest!
We were able to take a tour of Fox Family Chips and meet owner, Rhett Fox. You know the chips, right - the silver bag with the hand drawn fox logo? That was drawn by Rhett’s kiddo and despite nudging from peers to adopt a more “professional” logo, he never wavered. He gave us three gigantic bags of piping hot chips (that I had to later pry from my daughter’s hands) and walked us through the facility. He’s worked at the chip plant for over 20 years - day in, day out and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
We also got a private tour of The Maine Malt House from Caleb Buck, one of the four brothers running the operation. The idea to provide locally malted barley for our ever-evolving craft beer scene only materialized out of necessity. Once it became clear that Caleb’s family's farm could no longer support the next generation with work unless there was an expansion in products, they began strategizing. The brothers became entirely self taught - perfecting and honing systems - and are now able to offer a long list of local breweries malt sourced in-state. Whenever I visit a brewery now, I try to peak to see if I can spot a bag from Maine Malt House.
Caleb was in the middle of a work day - but he spent hours with us. We met his Grandmother (who welcomed us like family) and we lingered longer than planned.
I didn’t initially leave The County registering the impact it had on me and my family. But those meetups, interviews, fireflies and chips have become core memories for us. We talk about them often - more so than any elaborate trip I’ve planned or fine dining meal we’ve devoured. There’s a stickiness with these memories - simple moments stitched together by other people’s triumphs, passions, and kindness.
The next time you enjoy a beer from Allagash, or the perfect salt and pepper chip alongside your favorite deli sandwich, you should feel good about it. I certainly do.