Moose welcomes BDN to permit lottery festival

A buddy of mine, who is also a journalist, has always told me that good stories fall into my lap.

He’s not saying that to be mean, and he swears he doesn’t intend to make it sound like I don’t work hard at my job (even if my job involves far too much hunting, fishing and tromping around outdoors).

It’s just that he thinks I’m very, very lucky.

Not lucky as in “fortunate.” Lucky as in “Hey John! Can you touch my lottery ticket before I pay for it? You’re lucky!”

That kind of lucky. For the record, I’ve always had that reputation. I remember going to the Bangor State Fair as a child and watching my mom play Bingo. Yes, she always asked me to touch the lucky card before the game began.

The moose stops by to say “Hi.”

Seeing as how others have told me that I’m lucky, and that stories fall into my lap, and seeing as how I’ve come to believe that I’m the law of averages doesn’t apply to me, I kind of expected I might end up with some blog fodder on the way to the Rangeley Lakes Region Moose Lottery Festival.

First, I stopped and took some cool pictures of Small’s Falls. Then, relying on a past trip to the region, I headed down State Park Road to a summer camp where the telephone poles are decorated with some pretty odd stuff. Those would make some good photos, too, I figured.

Then the welcoming committee showed up. Or, as my buddy used to say, “Then, a story fell in your lap.”

A moose makes its approach on State Park Road.

Not a hundred yards away, a small moose was walking alongside the road. A car was beside the moose, watching respectfully. Then the moose turned toward me (perhaps wondering why some bozo was snapping photos of a bunch of hats tacked to a telephone pole, when such a stunning creature — him — was posing so perfectly).

Then it started to walk. And trot.

I slowly slid back into my car, figuring that the moose might just stop by for a visit.

It did. First, it walked up to the front of my car. Then, it stepped over to the side, just missing the side mirror. Then it peered in the window at me, well within arm’s (or nose’s) reach.

Then the little critter walked away.

Today is setup day at the moose lottery festival, which is being held at Oquossoc Marine. Tomorrow at 4 p.m. the names of lucky moose hunters will begin being drawn.

Hello, moose

And seeing as how I received a special visit from the welcoming committee … and seeing as how I’m generally a lucky guy … I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my name pops out of the cyber-hopper.

I tried to ask the moose if it had any inside information, but it wasn’t talking.

Here’s what we do know: A total of 3,725 hunters will earn their permits on Saturday. Of those, 3,362 will be handed to Maine residents; 363 to non-residents.

The moose moseys on.

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.