Goat bliss: Open Creamery Day at Painted Pepper Farm

Here’s a delicious activity for this weekend: Painted Pepper Farm, in Steuben (that’s north of the Schoodic Peninsula), is the source of what I think is to-die-for gelato (try the lemon zest topped with blueberries), made from Nigerian goat milk. Saturday  (that’s tomorrow) is Open Creamery Day, and the farm is welcoming visitors, especially families, with music, storytelling, dancing, a kids’ fun run, and face painting, along with the opportunity to visit the dairy and see the newborn goat kids.

Of course, the farm will be selling its delicious yogurts (honey ginger, mmmm), cheese, fudge, and gelato as well as its other treats. During the summer, you can also purchase the farm’s products at local farmers’ markets, as well as on site. Taste, and you’ll quickly understand why this small, family-run saltwater farm has won so many awards for its products.

Schoodic’s Ocean Wood Campground in Limbo

Oh this saddens me: I just talked with a friend in Prospect Harbor. Ocean Wood Campground, that wonderful eco-conscious, oceanfront campground near the tip of the peninsula that’s home to the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, is in trouble. It’s caught in a web comprising foreclosure, an auction without bidders, bankruptcy, and a lawsuit.Its future operation is up in the air. For details, go here.

For fans of few frills camping, this place is tops. It’s heavily wooded and private. A big plus: 17 walk-in wilderness sites, many oceanfront. Of the 70 total sites, only 20 had hookups. There are few other commercial campgrounds anything like it. The only I can think of in the area that comes close is Mainayr, in Steuben. UPDATE

Steuben Gems

First, let’s get the pronunciation right, it’s stewBEN. Next, let’s nail down its location: It straddles Route 1, wedged between Gouldsboro (Schoodic Peninsula) to the south and Milbridge to the north. Now, here’s why it’s worth noodling off Route 1 to find it.

Previously I posted about the Painted Pepper Farm, a family-owned organic farm raising Nigerian goats and making amazine yogurts, ice creams/gelattos, jams and other delicious products. That’s one reason.

Here’s another: Wildflour Bakery. It’s on the Village Rd., which loops off Route 1 on the ocean side. It’s only open 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It may open another day, but that’s not planned. Auto mechanic-turned baker Rich Chevalier turns out creative breads, muffins, English muffins and–you know I’m a chocolate-chip-cookie-aholic right?–some of the BEST chocolate-pecan cookies I’ve tasted. Of course, I did manage to get them right out of the oven, so they were all goey and melty.

Also on the Village Rd. is The Shaw Place Antiques, in the barn of the town’s second-oldest home. It’s filled with not only bona fide antiques, but also Jan Whelan’s hand-knitted sweaters, all made from magnificent yarns. Her ancestors were 15th-century British wool merchants, so she figures it runs in the family. Jan also know the region’s deep history, and delights in sharing it. Check out the guest register: Shoppers have included Robert Redford and Tom Selleck. Oh, by the way, these sweaters aren’t inexpensive.

Veer off the Village Rd. onto the Rogers Point Road to find the first of two woodworkers worth a visit. Arthur Smith is master of chainsaw carving. He’s a gifted folk artist who looks at tree, and instead of seeing firewood, sees an animal, perhaps an eagle or great blue heron or wolf. His wife, Marie, paints his works in realistic colors, and she also weaves baskets reflecting her Native American heritage.

Return to Route 1 and head down Pigeon Hill Rd. to find Ray Carbone, who is to fine woodworking as Arthur is to folk craft. He also crafts stone and bronze sculptures and birdbaths. Beautiful work.

Hungry? Country Charm is just down the road a piece. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside has, well, country charm. At least in the first dining room; the others are purely functional. The food is classic Down East family fare: inexpensive, big portions and damn good fish ‘n chips and chowders.

Walk it off in the Petit Manan section of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, at the end of the road. It’s renowned for birdwatching, but it’s simply a beautiful spot to take a walk, and from the tip, on a clear day there are fine views of Petit Manan Light.

Lemon Zest Ice Cream

You must try this. You simply must. It’s so clean, crisp, creamy and–surprise–it’s made from the milk of Nigerian goats.

I first tasted Painted Pepper Farm’s Nigerian goat yogurt while staying at a B&B in Bar Harbor, and it zinged me tastebuds to attention with its fresh tang. Then I found it at the Bar Harbor Farmer’s Market, and of course purchased the plain. Later, I found maple cream and honey ginger flavors at Royal River in Yarmouth.

Finally, I made it to the farm itself, in Steuben. A tiny self-serve farm store is stocked with all the farm’s products: more yogurts, granola, maple syrup, maple-roasted nuts, organic preserves, chevre and the ice cream, in mocha cream and lemon zest flavors. But I had no way to keep it cold.

The next day, armed with a cooler and ice, I headed to the Bar Harbor Farmers’ Market and purchased the lemon zest flavor. And fresh strawberries. Together, well let’s just say I’m salivating as I write this and planning a return to purchase more. Now this stuff isn’t cheap–Painted Pepper is a small family farm, and the products are organic, and the goats are rare–but for a special splurge, it’s a treat.