Our Second Maine Event

Our Second Maine Event

Our trip to Maine last November whetted our appetite for more of this state, and so shortly after we returned to Ohio, Max got busy and made two more reservations for us this year, one in June and one in September. Our June trip promised to give us significantly more time in Acadia National Park since we were staying in Bass Harbor, which is adjacent to the south edge of the park instead of the 90 minute drive we had last November, and also because the sun sets late in June instead of the 4:15 sunsets we experienced in November. This trip also gave Max and I the opportunity to visit our 45th state, Rhode Island. For more on this see:   Rhode Island: our 45th State. Max found a beautiful old Victorian Air BnB for our night’s stay in Providence.

After a delightful breakfast we left for Maine. Max had been looking forward to this trip since we planned it and had been working hard to build up her endurance and strength for our planned hiking in the park. She was exercising daily and had started some serious yoga classes. Then tragedy happened just before Memorial Day and after a challenging yoga class. Max’s knees revolted and the resulting osteoarthritis of two knee surgeries from 4 decades earlier hobbled her. Walking in our house was difficult and we knew that hiking on the trails of the mountains of Acadia was out of the question. We considered just not going and defaulting on our paid for trip that was not refundable. After much discussion we decided to ask Matthew and Sarah to join us.  See Max's Musings:  Not quite the trip I'd dreamed for her account.  In her post Max did mention a quiet stream by which she sat and read but given her limited ability to walk she couldn't get down to a place to take a good picture.  Here is a picture of that stream.

The four of us were all together for breakfast  and dinner every day, but Matthew, Sarah and I hiked the vistas of Acadia and Max religiously did her physical therapy and found her own new adventures that didn't require the difficult hiking Acadia provided.  The following is a photo record of the three of us hiking the trails of Acadia and the evening sunsets we all shared together.

On our first hike we took the Gorham Mountain trail to the top using the spur route along the Cadillac Cliffs.  The picture below shows how rocky this route is as it skirts along the cliffs.

The view from the top at an elevation of 525 feet gives a great panorama of the Atlantic and the Cranberry Islands.

We came down the mountain to the park loop road and walked along the rugged shore line on Ocean Path back to our car.

Our second day we hiked up Acadia Mountain at 681 feet and then dropped down the other side to Somes Sound which is Acadia's version of a fjord and then back up to the top of San Sauveur Mountain at 679 feet.  Parts of this trail were more climbing than hiking, but the views from the top made the effort well worth it.

The third day we took an easier route and hiked the Great Head.  This is a hike that Max and I took on  our earlier trip and had a much more reasonable hiking trail, but still too difficult for Max's knees.  Right off the side of the trail we heard some noise and saw this Pileated Woodpecker tearing up a rotting birch tree.

The Great Head trail circles out and around a short peninsula with views of the rocky cliffs that go down to the Atlantic.

And the return trail gave us great views of the ridge line of Gorham Mountain that we hiked on our first day.

On our last day we hiked up to the Beech Mountain fire watch tower, then took a long loop down to the Valley trail and back up to the Beech Cliff trail.  The views and the flora were spectacular.

The next three are from the fire tower.

These pics were taken during our walk back up the valley trail

I never did find the name of these flowers, but they were all along this valley trail.

The ferns were thick and lush and in some places were clinging to and hanging over the large boulders that lined the valley.

On the Beech Cliffs trail we had a wonderful view of Echo Lake.

And on  our way back to our cabin, we stopped at a field of Lupines.  There were fields of these flowers all through the park

But we didn't just hike during our stay.  We drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain to watch the sun set one night.

And we caught another glorious sunset after dinner one night at Bass Harbor

And of course, a visit to the Maine coast is not complete without at least one picture of a lighthouse.  This one is the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.

And on our last day we did get a group photo with Bass Harbor in the background.

Our next trip will be in September and will take us to the interior of Maine to a cabin on Sebec Lake.  Max is recovering and we are hoping that we will be able to do some less mountainous hiking in the woods of Maine.

The Maine Event

Max and I have been discussing a car trip across the northern states to Seattle, down the coast through Oregon and back through northern California to eventually cross the plains and arrive back home.  This has been a proposed plan beginning with our 5th wedding anniversary.  At first it was a train trip, but with the desire to ramble and explore, it was obvious this needed to be done by car.  We think it will take about 3 weeks, so our current estimate is maybe in 3 years when I might not be working.  Some of our children believe this will never happen, but we have faith that it will.  While discussing this long trip we also began discussing the possibility of a shorter one week trip, just by ourselves to the coast of Maine.  We could certainly do that and suggested maybe 2016 would work.  But given that we will begin our 68th year on this rock in February, we also thought, why not now?  And so we did what some think is unthinkable, a road trip to Maine the first week in November.

Max went online and found an AirBnB near Danbury in Connecticut, a state which Max had not visited, and which would be our first destination and after a  long leg of 750 miles crossing Ohio, Pennsylvania and southern New York.  It was an amazing place with a delightful host.  The house was off the road almost a quarter of a mile in a wooded area near a small lake.

 We had a very private room and bath with a library that took up most of one side of the house.  Our host also indicated we were free to fix breakfast in her kitchen while she ran some morning errands and provided fresh eggs from the hens in her back yard.

The next morning we headed east to I-95 and then north across Massachusetts and the southeast edge of New Hampshire and then into Maine.  New Hampshire provided some interest in that the only rest stop on the turnpike is a New Hampshire State Liquor store which is well advertised.  We didn't stop.

One of the aspects of our trip that we had not considered is that when you are this far north and east in November, the sun sets at about 4:15.  Consequently, we found our way to our rental house at night and parked in the driveway.

The house was in Thomaston, MA on Spruce Head Island, an actual island, but only a short bridge away from the mainland.  One thing I have to say about Maine is that it is very rocky.  What looks like our driveway in the picture above is really just rock that is the surface of the island.  In fact the "patio" in the back is also made of granite.

This all became very much apparent when I tried to back out of our "driveway" the next morning and found that the street was actually about 15 inches below our "driveway".  I was lucky to be able to get our new all wheel drive car off the rock and into the street with a little help from a neighbor.  The actual driveway I realized was off to the side.

Our first day was a bit windy, but temps were nicely in the 50's, so we decided to explore our island.  Here is the view from the front of our house.

These pictures were taken down by the water where the lobster boats were moored.

We next drove south to the Pamaquid Point lighthouse which was about an hours drive away.  Once again the rocky terrain of Maine was very visible with these alternating layers of sedimentary and igneous rock that has been turned on its side over the eons of time and then eroded by the sea.

 The picture below offers more perspective given that you can see Max at the bottom of the picture.  The tides along this coast are between 9 and 11 feet and these pictures were taken a low tide.

Next we drove north to the village of Camden where we had a dinner of seafood chowder.  On the drive home as we crossed the bridge to our island, the tide was low and the sun was sitting, producing another photo op.

The next two days were forecast to be sunny, low winds and temps in the 50's so we headed north to Acadia National Park.  One nice aspect of being at Acadia in November is that the park is almost empty of humans.  I understand that in July and August, the park is packed with people.  We wanted to do some hiking and found the Gohram Mountain trail that was listed as moderate and about 3.5 miles round trip.  I think I mentioned that Maine is rocky, and Acadia emphasized that fact.  The trail up the mountain rose just over 500 feet in 1.8 miles, but the trail was essentially made of rock.

We did make it to the top and found a few more rocks to sit on.

We finished the day driving the road around the rest of the island and checking out hikes for the next day.  We made plans for another hike and then a gentle walk.

The next day's hike took us around and over a small peninsula called Guest Head, another 3.5 hike, but a climb of only 350 feet.  From the top of the hill we had spectacular views of the coast and some of the islands further out in the Atlantic.  It was another rocky climb but the views were worth it.  The sun was so bright that my pictures got rather washed out.  I think I'll ask Santa for a polarizing lens for my camera this year.

 The picture below is Gorham Mountain that we hiked up the day before.

One of the surprises about Maine is the prolific Winter Berry bushes that grow wild all along the roads.  I planted three of these bushes in my back yard last year and I hope they provide our yard with some winter color.

Our next hike was the gentile walk around Jordan Pond which is a 3.3 mile hike. This pond is 145 feet deep with crystal clear water and the reflections were beautiful.  This valley and the spaces between the mountains were carved out by the glaciers that covered this area 13,000 years ago

We started out counter clockwise and thus didn't see the sign that indicated the trail was under construction.  After some difficult rocky sections we finished the last 3/4 mile on planks that were raised above the soft shoreline.

Finally after our walk around the Pond, it was getting close to 4:00 so we decided to head to the top of Cadillac Mount which has a real road instead of a trail made of rocks.  We made it to the top just as the sun was setting and got amazing views of the coast of Maine as the sun set.

Wednesday was forecast to be a rainy day, so we decided to search out two more lighthouses that were nearby.  The first one was Marshall Point lighthouse which achieved some fame as being the lighthouse to which Forrest Gump ran to reach the Atlantic coast.

We also decided we needed to experience one other Maine event during this trip, lobster.  We bought a live one and followed the instruction for fixing it.

I have to say it was not a fun experience and one we will not do again.  Putting a live animal into boiling water just isn't something we enjoyed regardless of the claims that lobsters do not feel pain.

On our last day we went north again to  Camden Hills State Park and hiked up Bald Rock Mountain.  It was another 3.6 mile hike, but the elevation was 1100 feet.  Once again we climbed up rock steps or over or around rocks to get up the mountain.   The trail climbed through a mixed hardwood forest that eventually got us to the top of the mountain.

But once again the view was spectacular.

With my telephoto lens we could see Acadia National Park which was about 40 miles away

And the coast line with the islands were spread out in front of us.

We even found a natural tripod to use to do a selfie with my camera.

And to end this, here is the final sunset we saw from our bridge to the mainland on our last drive to our home for the week.

We enjoyed the trip so much that Max has already made reservations for week long trips next June and October (both with out-of-season cheap rates).  All I have to say is that Maine Rocks.