Reading about the legal and bureaucratic jockeying regarding the state's Androscoggin River cleanup plan in today's paper was a stressful experience. So a friend and I grabbed our paddles, popped my canoe atop my Subaru and did a no-stress afternoon on the Andro.

Anne Tarbell of South Portland has paddled many miles on the Androscoggin River
Scott Andrews photos

Anne brought along her favorite paddle, marked with a few of her prior trips

Anne Tarbell, of South Portland, and I have paddled the Andro many times before. Yesterday we chose the 11-mile section between Livermore Falls and Twin Bridges in Turner.

Anne and I enjoyed a no-stress afternoon on the Androscoggin on Thursday

We were the only humans on the river. Saw three eagles, innumerable ducks and far too many Canada geese.

Our little canoeing adventure was exceptionally pleasant. Just wish those bureaucrats, greenies and lawyers did more paddling and less squabbling.

Seems to me that the state's 10-year plan to improve the water quality ought to be a rallying point for everybody concerned -- rather than the launching point for a flotilla of lawsuits.

Read the story.

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