Showing posts with label Maine. Show all posts

Day 45:  Presque Isle, ME to Quebec City, QC
Along the border of Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec is an area along the Saint John River valley known as Madawaska.  Long ago when only the native peoples lived in the area, they named it Madawaska, the land of the porcupines.  Then French fur traders arrived and set up a trading post in Madawaska.
When the Acadians, French settlers in Nova Scotia, were forcibly deported by the British military in 1755, some made their way to the Madawaska area and built their homes along the banks of the Saint John.  A short while later, at the close of the eighteenth century, French-Canadian colonists from Quebec came to Madawaska and also settled to farm the lowlands. Families joined together into one hard-working community living contentedly on either side of the river. 

In 1842, after an extended border dispute, a treaty was devised making the Saint John River the border between the United States and Britain's North American colonies, which later became Canada.  And so, with a single stroke of the pen, thousands of family members were split into two different nations.  But the border has not separated the huge extended families ranging through the valley.
In the town of Madawaska, Maine, the Acadian Cross is a memorial to the Acadian pioneers who settled in the area.  A grove of trees planted in honor of the pioneer families borders the perimeter of the memorial park.
Each tree is designated with a marker indicating the family for whom the tree is planted.
The town treasures its Acadian heritage, and banners in the design of the Acadian flag decorate Main Street, joined today by U.S. flags in honor of the American celebration of Flag Day.

Another celebration was underway in Madawaska, ME, today by some motorcycle riders.  When we visited the town's Four Corners Park in search of a letterbox, we met Bob from Texas who is participating with a friend in the Motorcycling Association's USA Four Corners Tour for long distance touring riders.
Four towns are designated as the most northeast (Madawaska, ME), northwest (Blaine, WA), southeast (Key West, FL) and southwest (San Ysidro, CA) in the continental U.S.  The challenge of the event is to complete a visit to all four corners of the U.S. on a motorcycle within 21 days, regardless of inclement weather, need for mechanical repairs, sleeping, dining, or any other issue which may arise.  Bob, a proud member of the Iron Butt Association, has done this tour before.  In fact, he has ridden his motorcycle more than 400,000 miles and hopes to make it to one million.  He even rode his bike from Texas to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle.  He and his friend were taking the obligatory photos in the park before they took off for their last corner, Key West.

In Sainte Basile, New Brunswick, just across the border from Madawaska, Maine, we stopped at a local cemetery to-- yes, to look for a letterbox.  The box is located at the foundation of a chapel in the corner of this cemetery which dates back to the eighteenth century.  When we arrived, two local brothers and their friend were busily caulking and repairing the little chapel.
Because stealth is one of the cornerstones of letterboxing conventions, we were not able to search for the box. However, we did enjoy a conversation and visit with the brothers, who had built the chapel themselves and whose English speaking skills were much better than our French.  They have many ancestors and relatives in the cemetery, and this is a labor of love for them.  A few years ago, their extended family held a reunion in Sainte Basile and celebrated mass in the little chapel.  We also learned from them that the people on the Canadian side of the Republic of Madawaska do not consider themselves Acadians but Brayon since they have ancestors from both Acadia and Quebec. 

A very interesting day and we made it to Quebec City around 6 p.m.

Daily Stats
Miles driven:  294
High temp:  67 ° F
Letterboxes:  5 (+ 1 hitchhiker)
Cheap gas:  $2.999/gallon! (in Maine)
Dead moose:  1 (victim of encounter with truck)
Long distance motorcyclists:  3
Rusty farm implements:  763
Time zone:  Eastern
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Day 44:  Fredericton, NB to Presque Isle, ME
To get from Fredericton to Quebec City, we opted to go through northern Maine.  The adjacent areas of New Brunswick and Quebec are mostly small towns and rural areas, so when we found a hotel we liked in Presque Isle, Maine, we decided to stay there overnight.

On the way, we stopped in Hartland, New Brunswick, to see what is called the "World's Longest Covered Bridge." At 1,282 ft long, the bridge was built in 1901 by citizens frustrated by the long wait for the government to decide whether a bridge was needed over the St. John River in Hartland. Construction costs were funded by tolls until the structure was purchased by the province in 1906.
To control traffic across the single-lane bridge, each end is equipped with a stop sign. After stopping, one looks to determine whether a vehicle is coming through the bridge before proceeding.  A simple but very effective system.

The gnats were heartless in Hartland, the worst we've seen on this trip.  Swarms of them accosted us the moment we opened the vehicle door and stepped out.  They were relentless in their efforts to get close to you.  We searched unsuccessfully for a letterbox commemorating the longest covered bridge. Whether we might have found it had we not had so much "assistance" from our persistent companions is anyone's guess.

When we stopped at the border crossing into the U.S. at Houlton, Maine, we were questioned briefly by an immigration officer, as we expected-- where were we from, where born, what were we bringing in from Canada.
What we didn't expect was that while we were being interrogated, another officer opened the tailgate of our van without notice and began searching through our belongings, including opening a cooler in which we had some food.  Since no one ever told us why this was done, we could only surmise that the officer conducted the search as a matter of habit.  We're guessing his last assignment was at the Mexican border and he was checking to see whether we were trying to sneak some Canadians over the border illegally.

As we wound our way up U.S. Highway 1 in Maine, we were treated to another superlative sight, the largest complete three-dimensional scale model of the solar system in the world.  Built by the people of Aroostook County, the model is 40 miles long and has a scale of 1:93,000,000 miles. The model extends along Route 1 between the campus of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where the 49' 6" sun is located, to the Houlton Information Center at the end of I-95, where little 1" Pluto is on exhibit.  (The model was completed in 2003 before Pluto lost its planetary status.)

After checking in at the hotel in Presque Isle, we got our laundry done and, thumbing our nose at the rain, we headed up to Caribou to search for a series of eight letterboxes created to commemorate the once thriving community of Grimes Mill.  The stamps, depicting various buildings which had been in the town, were carved and planted by the great great granddaughter of one of the founding fathers of Grimes Mill.  She brought to life a community we would have never heard of had we not been letterboxing.

Another place we visited today seeking a letterbox was the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, where we spent about half an hour musing over their collection of farm equipment on exhibit.  Taking a lead from Woodie, we're offering a contest here.  Wonderful prizes await the person who can identify this piece of farm equipment.

Daily Stats
Miles driven: 186
Planets visited:  7
Gnats removed from mouth, eyes, nose and ears:  17
Red barns:  131
Letterboxes:  9
Rainbows:  1
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Ellsworth, ME to Calais, ME

Before leaving Bar Harbor, we just had to decipher an intriguing letterbox clue:  "While in Bar Harbor, you should ask around for a magic trail that will allow you to 'walk on water.' Once there just follow the path and look for the tree in this photo. Box is about 4.5 ft from the ground. Be careful or your magic trail will disappear!"

We were mystified until we heard about Bar Island.  Part of Acadia National Park, Bar Island is off the coast of Bar Harbor in Frenchman Bay.
At low tide, the island is accessible by foot or by an all terrain type vehicle across a natural gravel land bridge.  So at low tide yesterday afternoon, we walked across Frenchman Bay to the island and, yes, we did find the letterbox!  (The photo above and the one below are taken from the same spot in Bar Harbor.)
We watched the time carefully after the harbormaster told us he had to rescue 28 people from the island last year who walked over at low tide, let too much time pass (there's about a 3 hour window) and couldn't get back because the tide had come back in. 

Driving from Ellsworth to Bangor today provided additional evidence that things are not always what they seem.  The towns are 28 miles apart and we were traveling on U.S. Highway 1A.  What we expected to be a 35 minute trip turned into almost 90 minutes because of road construction.
Maine's climate makes its roads subject to extreme wear and tear.  In the winter, water gets into small cracks and fissures where it freezes, expands, melts, refreezes, expands and so on. This causes potholes to appear more quickly and in some cases larger areas of the surface break up. 

So when repair is needed, they sometimes just start over.  Large sections of U.S. 1A have been taken down to the gravel roadbed.
The cost of progress!  Maine struggles with highway maintenance due to its sparse population.  With federal highway aid based on population, Maine receives about the same funding as New Hampshire, even though Maine has more than twice the highways to maintain.

In driving extensively in Maine from Kittery in the south to Calais in the north, we observed only one example of road kill.  Thus, we saw no vultures in the state either.  Why?  Maine's highway roadsides are also almost litter-free.  Nice!  Very nice!
More than 90 percent of Maine's land area is forested. Driving across Highway 9 between Bangor and Calais today we had ample opportunity to observe this for ourselves. Most of this 100-mile stretch of Maine is forest, forest, and more forest, with a few tiny hamlets dotted along the way. On most of this span, the road and power poles are the only evidence of any human intervention.  Occasionally, there are expanses without even the power lines.  No small wonder that Maine's official nickname is the "Pine Tree State."

The state's other nickname, the "Land of Remembered Vacations," is also well deserved.  The rocky coast, the quaint villages, the fishing boats, and so much more leave one wanting to return to this beautiful state. 
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Bar Harbor, ME & Northeast Harbor, ME
Along the shore in Bar Harbor, there's a rock that's just sitting there defying gravity.  Nearby tourists can book a room at the Balance Rock Inn.
If the Balance Rock or one of the numerous other inns lining the shore in Bar Harbor is a bit too pricey, tourists can book a vacation cabin or cottage.  There are hundreds in and around Bar Harbor.  Prices begin below $35 per night.
 
The Margaret Todd, a 150-foot schooner, cruises among the islands of Frenchman's Bay, taking tourists to view sights unseen by landlubbers.
And, of course, there are the whale watching cruises for tourists.  For a mere $56, you can go for a ride with some other tourists and harrass any whales your captain may find.
You may even get to see a whale if you can elbow your way to a viewing spot through the other tourists.
After your whale watching cruise, you can probably find a place in Bar Harbor to buy some souvenirs.  Ship replicas are very popular, as are lighthouses.  And you can find any item with an image of a lobster-- from pajamas to mugs.
Some of the souvenir shops have so much to offer tourists, they have to display some items on the ceiling.
No tourist can leave Bah Hahbah without having some lobstah.  Dozens of lobster pounds are available, and of course most every other restaurant will be delighted to serve any tourist their own version of lobstah. 
The wise tourist will also spend some time in nearby Acadia National Park.  Hunters Beach would be a scenic choice.
While there, one can check out the amazingly smooth rocks on the beach and wonder how they took on such shapes.

Daily Stats:
Miles driven:  63
Letterboxes:  8
High temp:  80° F
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Bar Harbor, ME & Acadia National Park
Like so many before us, we were drawn to the natural beauty of Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island off the Maine coast.  Ranked the second most popular U.S. national park in annual visitors (behind Great Smoky Mountains NP), Acadia was the first national park east of the Mississippi River and remains the only national park in the Northeast.
Hearing so often about Acadia's rocky shores and granite mountains, we have long looked forward to a visit.  The park did not disappoint.  Driving around Park Loop Road brings one to one scenic vista after another. 
This loop road was built and financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., when he and other wealthy Easterners bought land on the island and built lavish summer "cottages."  Rockefeller also financed, designed, and directed the construction of a network of carriage roads throughout the park. 
The network encompassed over 50 miles of crushed granite roads, which were painstakingly located to present a series of scenic vistas displaying the island at its best.  Seventeen granite bridges and two gate lodges were included in the system, most of which is still maintained today.  Today visitors can traverse these scenic routes by foot, bicycle, snowshoe, or cross-country skis.
Not all of Mount Desert Island is in the park and not all of the park is on the island.  We had some opportunities to letterbox on the island, and this had to be one of the most scenic places where we've stamped in.  It certainly had one of the best views.
No trip to Mount Desert Island would be complete without a visit to Bah Hahbah.  Once an exclusive resort for wealthy industrialists, Bar Harbor now welcomes all tourists.  At first glance, the village bears an uncanny resemblance to Gatlinburg or any other town which has focused its economy around tourist trade.
 
The streets are lined with souvenir and novelty shops selling t-shirts, tote bags, hats, jewelry, toys, and other authentic Maine items made in China or Vietnam.  Unlike Gatlinburg (and like Jackson Hole), the trinket troves are interspersed with small art galleries and trendy boutiques.  Since we're not easily amused by shopping, we happily bypassed it all.

Daily Stats:
Miles driven:  98
Letterboxes:  9
Scenic vistas:  64
Rocks:  1, 452, 890
Lighthouses:  1
Souvenir shops:  382
High temp:  80° F
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Portland, ME to Ellsworth, ME
Since we arrived in Maine, we have seen an occasional sign advertising "Fiddleheads for Sale"-- sometimes outside a store, sometimes at a roadside stand.  Our initial reaction was, "Aren't fiddleheads some kind of fern?"  Of course, we dismissed that idea and thought maybe they were some kind of crab (yes, it's fiddler, not fiddlehead).
Finally today we were in a grocery store that had fiddleheads for sale in the produce department. We had the opportunity to talk with the produce manager who informed us that fiddleheads are the unfurled fronds of a young fern harvested for food consumption.

Fiddleheads are a traditional dish of northern New England (predominantly Maine) in the United States, and of Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada. Though available regionally in some supermarkets and restaurants, fiddleheads aren't cultivated and are available only seasonally. In rural areas, fiddleheads are harvested by individuals in early spring.  We didn't buy any today.  Maybe another day.

Driving from Portland to the Acadia National Park region today, we came through the village of Searsport on Belfast Bay where we chanced upon a spectacular vision...a gorgeous field of dandelions at the Captain A.V. Nickels Inn. 
This grand old house was built by Captain Albert V. Nickels in 1874 for his wife, Elizabeth McGilvary, and their five children, later increased by three more. Captain Nickels was commander of several ships during his career including his last ship the infamous ''Iroquois'' built for her speed by Captain Nickels father-in-law, William McGilvary.
The old home has been used as a bed and breakfast and inn, once popular for weddings since it has a waterfront location.  It has changed hands several times in the last decade and is now offered for sale again.

We were quite impressed with two series of letterboxes we found today planted by the same person. Both were in state parks built around 18th or 19th century forts.
Both series commemorated features of the particular fort's history or construction.  The stamps were well done, the clues were just challenging enough, and we got walking tours of both parks.  Perfect!

Another unexpected find today was the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.  The original bridge (in the background) was built in 1931 with a main span 800 feet long. Called the most beautiful steel bridge when it opened, it was found to have serious structural faults in 2003 when Maine's DOT was in the midst of a major overhaul of the bridge. Severe corrosion was discovered in the cables, which had been hidden by protective sheathing. Engineers determined that the bridge could not be saved and a replacement would be required.
The Penobscot Bridge was built using new design technology which not only protects the cables but allows them to be inspected and even replaced individually. The cable goes down the center of the bridge with eastbound traffic on one side and westbound on the other.
The Penobscot Bridge site also is home to the Penobscot Narrows Observatory in the top of the west tower, the first bridge observation tower in the United States and the tallest public bridge observatory in the world. The tower reaches 420 feet (42 stories) into the air and allows visitors to view the bridge and the Penobscot River and Bay.  (As is probably obvious, the photo above was taken from the tower.)

   Mailbox of the Day
Daily Stats:
Miles Driven: 177
Letterboxes: 11
Lighthouses: 1
High Temp: 65° F
Gas: $2.79
Dandelions: 11,893
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Portland, ME
Another day in Portland, we spent the morning relaxing while getting laundry done (the washer and dryer were doing most of the work). By early afternoon, our batteries were recharged and we went out looking for... you guessed it...lighthouses and letterboxes.

We found both right here in Portland.  Spring Point Lighthouse was our first stop.  When we arrived and Dianne got a look at the lighthouse, uh-oh!  It was a rematch.  Another lighthouse with a breakwater approach.  The good news:  this one was much shorter at 900 feet.  The bad news:  it was waaaaaay more treacherous and uneven than the Rockland breakwater.

No chance Dianne would be making this crossing.  Nope.  Not gonna do it.  Ken had no qualms, of course, and walked right across the breakwater to investigate the lighthouse and take some terrific photos.  Meanwhile, back on shore...can you find the chicken in this picture?
Enough about breakwaters, except to say that later at the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, we did find the kind of breakwater that everyone can love-- short, pretty level, the blocks of stone close together and evenly spaced, and best of all, a fence/handrail.  Woo hoo!  Dianne 2, Breakwaters 1.
Bug Light Park on Casco Bay, where we found this wonderful breakwater, is known as a great place for flying kites.  When we arrived around 5:30 p.m., we found what we would call a kitemaster at the park.  Though he never revealed his age, Hank told us his interst in kite flying had begun 68 years ago.  Growing up on the Massachusetts coast, he also spent lots of time sailing, so he knows the wind intimately.

Hank flies kites at Bug Light Park often because there is a large empty field which is at sea level.  This prevents the winds from shifting in a way that would cause his kites to dip into the water.  He uses 2,000-lb. test line because he flies some very large kites.  Only one was still up when we arrived (pictured below), though he had just brought in and packed up several larger ones.  "That one's just 9 or 10 feet wide," he said.

The largest of his sizable collection of custom-made kites is a 20-foot circle with a 90-foot attachment.  He also flies a kite stack with 25 kites, which is 100 feet long with a 1500-foot tail. 

Not surprisingly, Hank has a trailer full of kites and equipment. Several other kite flyers were around and it was clear that Hank is the alpha of the Portland kite group. 
He would have happily continued talking to us about kites and sailing for another 45 minutes, but the day was waning and we still had a couple of letterboxes to search for.  We also wanted to visit the park's shipbuilding memorial.
Bug Light Park is located on the site of the old Portland shipyard.  From 1940 to 1945, this shipyard built more than 250 cargo ships for military use, first for Britain and later for the U.S. as well. 

As we were leaving the park, we saw a beautiful schooner sailing into the bay. Hank told us that this 88-foot schooner Wendameen is available for day sails or overnight trips. She was built in East Boothbay, Maine, and launched in 1912, completely restored in the 1980s. Wendameen is certified for 14 overnight passengers plus crew or 49 day sail passengers.

Daily Stats:
Miles Driven: 20
Lighthouses: 2
Letterboxes: 4
High temp: 68° F
Laundry loads: 2
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Rockland, ME & St. George, ME
In our continuing quest to visit Maine lighthouses, we had Rockland Breakwater lighthouse on our list of places to go today.  By the mid-1850s, the town of Rockland had become a major industrial port.  After a number of severe nor’easter storms caused considerable damage to waterfront structures and businesses and to ships in the harbor, it became clear that the port needed a protective breakwater and lighthouse.  In 1880, Congress approved funding for the Rockland Breakwater, a project that took 18 years and mre than 700,000 tons of granite to complete.

It sounded interesting. Plus there was a letterbox on the shore nearby! At seven-eighths of a mile long from the shore to the lighthouse, the breakwater sounded like a great place for a walk. We're thinking there will be guardrails and maybe a nice boardwalk on top.
Wrong!  No boardwalk.  No guardrail.  And nearly a mile long across water.  Dianne's worst nightmare.  But OK.  It looks pretty wide.  Just stick to the middle and everything should be fine, right?  Let's face our fear head-on and just do it.  (Of course, Ken had no fear.)
And by the way, it's not just that Dianne has an irrational fear of water (after a near drowning experience as a child and never being able to learn to swim despite repeated classes).  There's also that lifelong klutziness, which leads to innumerable stumblings over every other rock or root on hiking trails.  The breakwater's surface was anything but smooth, and this was not the place to stumble.
Add to that the occasional gaping hole ("Maybe someone was standing on that rock and it fell!") and the constant sound of the water lapping against the rocks (sounding like "I'm coming to get you!").  It was quite a stressful situation, maybe more so for Ken because the fear stimulated a bad case of chattiness for him to listen to (the kind that makes you want to buy the "I'm Talking and I Can't Shut Up" t-shirt).

We finally made it to the end and got a good view of the lighthouse.  That's when Dianne was jolted with the realization that this adventuree was only half over!  But, but, but.....
No, there's no place to spend the night and go back tomorrow.  Don't see any rescue boat sailing in.  The ferry definitely will not stop here.  Time to face the fear again and finish the journey.  Twenty heart-stopping minutes later, one last look at the beast that we had conquered.
How did it manage to look so serene after the battle?

More Photos from Today
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