how to live, travel and explore the world from your van

Rangeley Lake area of Maine on $20 a day
with Haines Landing, Oquossoc, Wilson’s Mills, and Upton

This is part of an 18 week, 7,532 mile, Vanabode road trip detailed in the book from Amazon
titled Big City Wild Country East Coast Road Trip on $20 a Day for just $2.99
See East Coast Road Trip for more pictures, itinerary, maps and trip overview.

rangeley state park area of maine

Above: A teenage boy runs out on the bridge, climbs down on the bottom supporting struts, and plunges three stories down feet first into the cold raging white water. Without a sound he drifts under the bridge and disappears. We never see him or anyone else at this location again.

curriers flying service maine with barn

This joint was set up near Greenville Junction, don't know which came first the barn or the plane? They fit together failry tightly so somebody either planned it out good or got real lucky.

rangeley maine area with railroad tracks

We roll through twenty small towns and roadside parks on our way to Rangeley State Park. At thirty-five miles per hour, even with the drizzle, the sights are clear. Raging rapids, rivers, and lakes border one side of the road. Run down houses, derelict businesses, and occasional gas station tourist stores line the other side of the road.

vanabode sleep and camp waterfront

Above: This is the kind of place we like to sleep when traveling on $20 a day. Free, fun, great views, no crowds, and quiet. In Rangeley we watch rednecks launch a few illegal fireworks from the city pier park on Rangeley Lake. A scruffy bearded burly local tells me, “Last year there were close to a thousand people on this waterfront for fireworks.” This year I only see twelve, including us. The city cancelled the pyrotechnics because of the rain.

pretty girl in van

Above: Another example of WHY we use a Vanabode as opposed to other vehicles to travel affordably long term. Here the sliding door on side and double back doors allow easy views and the high winds do not blow the sliding door shut on us.

Above: Half way to Rangeley we startle and almost hit a moose. He towers over the road, then turns and trots back into the woods. We watch and photograph the dark beast for thirty minutes. Others pull up, park too close, spook him, and he disappears for the night.

rangeley lake waterfront camping

The next day the sun and the rain run off together, so though it’s cloudy, it’s dry. We coast at thirty miles an hour through Rangeley, Haines Landing, Oquossoc, Wilson’s Mills, and Upton. We stop in each town’s local stores and tourist shops, though there are few. We pull off and watch from the bridges as hardy souls raft the white water below us.

hydroelectric plant in maine

Above: There is a lot to see here, as we explore a hydroelectric power plant dam, calm flat lakes, fast moving rivers, small city parks, and my personal favorite: the ever interesting, always active, docks, marinas, boatyards, and waterfront parks.

hiking in maine along the water

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Rangeley Lake area of Maine on $20 a day with Haines Landing, Oquossoc, Wilson’s Mills, and Upton

Rangeley Lake area of Maine on $20 a day
with Haines Landing, Oquossoc, Wilson’s Mills, and Upton