The following article is written by Guest Blogger Marshall MacFarlane, Author of Desert Rat.
“Go West, Young Man”
I was born and raised in New Brunswick, 15 minutes from the Maine border. In my twenties, I married a gal from Houlton, and moved across. I lived there for over five years. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t hold, but my love of Maine did. Although I have lived in Arizona for almost ten years, I consider myself a Mainer, more so than an Arizonan. I say that, knowing that I am not, nor would I ever have been, a real Mainer – or “Mainah”, depending on who you ask. It was made abundantly clear to me, in a nice way, that I could live in Maine for 50 years, but would always be “from away”. That’s OK – it doesn’t dampen my memories, nor my connection, to that great State.
I adored my wife’s family. Good people all the way around. To this day, I am sad that when the marriage ended, so did my connection to her family. Great folks, that treated me like one of their own. Even better, they were hunters and fisher-folks as well. They had a hunting camp in Haynesville, and a “cottage” on the lake near Danforth. I loved the lake cottage in the summer, and boy, did my father in law like to chase landlocked salmon in the spring. I remember a lot of hours sitting in the boat, trolling streamers in hopes that we’d soon be seeing a flash of silver. The best, though, was the camp in Haynesville. The deer camp. My father in law gave me free use of that camp, and I think I used it more than anybody. Summer or winter, spring or fall – it was the perfect place. Nestled along the banks of the Mattawamkeag, it was less than a 40-minute drive from home. It served as the base for deer camp every year, when for a week or two, it was filled to the gunwales with friends and family members. We even had a “ladies night” where a big feed was put on and we were joined by the wives and girlfriends. This camp was a one-room affair, with an outhouse not to far away. We drew water from a spring nearby – thankfully, in an opposite direction as the outhouse! I used that camp a lot. It was the perfect place to go crash for a day. Quiet and peaceful. A place to go and read, or a place to go and think. I remember that place like I was there yesterday.
Eventually, I rode out life’s twists and turns, and landed quite unexpectedly – in Arizona. I still have the Maine connection. Although my wife has been here long enough to consider herself an Arizonan, she hails from Lewiston, and all of her family is back in that part of the country. I still love to hunt, but boy, are things different here. First off, there are more species to hunt and fish here, than anyone “from away” could ever imagine.Elk, antelope, bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Coues deer, javelina, bear, mountain lion, and a bunch of small game species. Even waterfowl are hunted here. For fish, there is a tremendous diversity of species including northern pike, arctic grayling, striped bass, walleye, trout and more!
I have pretty much had to “re-learn” how to hunt. Whereas Maine is known for its “big woods”, Arizona has a lot of “big open”. Glassing is the name of the game here, and the hunters that don’t carry good optics are few and far between. Draws are a fact of life to the Arizona hunter. Over the counter tags are available for mountain lions, bears (in certain seasons) and archery deer. All of the remaining big game species have tags awarded on a “draw-only” basis, and the odds are getting lower and lower each year. Heat is an obvious challenge with many fall hunting days exceeding the hundred-degree mark, and even winter days topping out at 50-60 degrees. If you like a change of scenery, Arizona is a great state! The southern half is desert, and the northern half is forest, not too much different from Maine. They get snow too in the north, and lots of it! A 6-hour drive will have you cross more types of geography than you would ever dream of.
I think my biggest misconception was the “desert”. When people imagine the desert, they imagine the Sahara. The Sonoran desert is a vast, beautiful and interesting ecosystem. It is alive with flora and fauna. Sights and sounds and colors and smells that you would never imagine. I love roaming “the desert”. Everything is interesting, out there. I’m still learning, but certainly don’t regret my move here. I’m glad that it is “so different” from where I’m from.
Due to a variety of reasons, its been a long time since I ventured back to that part of the country. I do miss it though, and hope to retire “back there”. I’m not sure whether I will retire to Maine or New Brunswick – I just don’t know. Honestly, I am leaning Maine. Even if I’ll always be “from away”, I think it might be where I’d like to live out my last years. Enjoy what you have.
Haynesville (Maine) Buck – 1993
Bio – Marshall MacFarlane was born and raised in New Brunswick. He has also lived in Maine and Arizona. He’s a past columnist with the Maritime Sportsman, and past Asst Editor with the Arizona Outdoorsman. Marshall has been a freelance writer since 1984 and is a member of the Western Outdoor Writers (WOW). He lives in Queen Creek,AZ with his wife Karole and daughter Mikaela. He is a project manager with an Electrical Engineering and Testing firm.
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