rumford, maine

I guess this blog is turning out to be about some of the travels I take, both for work and for fun. I was in Maine for a couple of days for work this week. I specifically went to Rumford, Maine. Haven't heard of it? It's right next to Mexico...I even took a photo of the map at the little visitor's center they have. Ok, I'm pretty sure you still don't know where this is, it's about an hour and 45 minutes from Portland.

I have no idea why they have towns in Maine named Mexico and Peru. I always have thought that was funny. Rumford is a town that is built around the paper mill. I'm not sure how long the mill has been there, but I'm sure it's has been a long time. Their center of town is right across the river from the mill. This shot is looking down into town with the mill in the background.

I guess this waterfall is their visitor attraction. I've actually never stopped to look at it before. I think they also have snowmobiling, hunting, and hiking. There is a ski resort that is about 30-40 minutes further down the road, too. (In case anyone is interesting in going here on vacation.) The second waterfall is actually a lot bigger, but I didn't get a very good shot.

I think the main attraction must be this guy:You can see snow in most of these pictures and there is still tons of it up there. The mill people that I was meeting with told me this had been a record-setting year for snowfall. The day I was there was actually nice, around 54 deg. I have been in Rumford in January twice and both of those times it was lower than 30 below with the windchill for the lows. Those were painful trips. This trip was pretty boring, I can't even think of any good stories to tell. I will always remember this town because I was here for one of my birthdays (for work, not by choice) a few years ago and a man passed away in the hotel room next to mine during the night. I decided not to stay at that hotel this time. That was sad. Actually I spent two birthdays in Rumford. The other one was a long time ago and our local sales rep was up there at the same time. This sales rep has got to be close to 70, now and I remember that during this trip when we were at dinner, he had asked me if I still lived at home with my parents. I couldn't believe he asked me that, since I had been working at my job for a couple of years. Anyway, he just always treats me like I'm a little kid because he's not all that smart. To end that evening, he was leaving the next day and our receptionist had told him that my birthday was the next day, so he wished me a happy birthday and then kissed me on the cheek! I was like, thanks Grandpa. Ughhhh, that salesman drives me crazy and luckily he wasn't able to make it to Rumford this time around.

I thought I would take a picture of what most all the houses look like around this area. It's not centered because I stopped in the road to take a quick one. They don't even have snow in front, but most of the other houses had it up to their windows still.

This combine in the snow field was on the way out of town.

I stayed in Auburn (pronounced ah-burn) and only mention it because of the place I ate. It's called Gritty's and I guess they have two other locations in Maine. It's a little brewery/restaraunt. Since I seem to talk about food in all my posts, I had to mention my favorite part of this trip....fried sweet pototatoes at Gritty's. I ended up eating there twice and having the sweet potatoes each time. They are so good. I need to find a place in Seattle that has good ones. The only other place I love eating them in is Decatur, Alabama. I know, random, but there's another paper mill by that town that I've been to a lot.