When you head pretty much due north and head toward Canada, it's usually a pretty straightforward shot. Up the highway, across the clearly marked border crossing, and into the land of mystery known as Canada. But, there's a town that's in Maine, but you can't access it from Maine. You actually have to cross the border into Canada to do it.

Estcourt Station is at the very tippy-top of the state, right on the northern point. Up further than Allagash, even. You start off driving into Fort Kent, but then have to cross the border at the smallest little border station you've ever seen, into a tiny slice of New Brunswick. Then it's a series of dirt logging roads and tiny towns til you get to Estcourt Station.

When you decide you want to come back, you'll have to take cross the border back into Canada to a town called Pohénégamook. I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce that, but luckily, you can pronounce it any way you want in your head as you read this. And in addition to the regular border crossing, there is an international foot bridge spanning the St. Francis River that you can cross on foot. Just adding to the bizarre border crossing scenarios. Here's a photo:

Photo: Google Street View
Photo: Google Street View
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The weirder part of this story, is that the border crosses through here so oddly, that some houses are literally split down the middle, with some rooms being in the U.S., and others being in Canada. Do you need to check with Customs when going from the kitchen to the bathroom? That could make for a really long wait for the potty. Even weirder, Estcourt Station has a New Brunswick area code, but gets mail delivered by the USPS. Go figure.

If you need to run errands on either side of the border, you literally have to go through customs. So there's quick trip to get groceries, or whatnot. It's up to the citizens to know which side of the border to be on, and violations have occurred. One man once spent 35 days in jail for crossing over for gas. Crazy!!

So why not take a trip up and see what it's all about. Yes, you may have to be a bit more careful so you don't make an illegal border crossing, but hey...half the fun is the danger. Who doesn't love to live on the edge? Or in this case, on the border?

 

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