The Maine Coast

A final view of New Brunswick

As we left New Brunswick, I took a picture of an exit sign showing what is available at the exit.  The signs have pictures and I really don't know what they are trying to depict.  The spinning wheel probably means that there is yarn or wool available, but what does the pot with a hand under it mean?  It is a common sign that has baffled me for days! Perhaps it indicates a creamatorium.

The day we left was cloudy with flat light.  Not the best for taking pictures.  We drove through many sea coast small towns on our way to Acadia National Park.  The towns are remarkable for their old picturesque houses two feet from the narrow roads and the ever present church steeples.  The leaves in Maine were showing full spectacular color in the dull gray light.  We camped for three days in Acadia at the Sea Wall camp ground for the last three days it was open in 2010.  It was a pretty, secluded and very deserted place to camp.  We walked to the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse, but couldn't see much of the view because of the fog.

Rock erotion demonstration!

Lovely day!

We took a day trip to Bar Harbor which is obviously dependent on tourism for its income.  Almost all of the businesses were gift shops, B & Bs, restaurants and bars.  Lobster heavily influences all menus and gift themes.   We walked up and down the main streets and viewed the harbor.  I especially loved seeing an old tall ship boarding tourists for a cruise as a modern cruise ship motored out of the harbor.  We didn't go to the top of Cadillac "Mountain" (at 1528 feet tall, us Washingtonians have difficulty calling it a mountian) as it was covered in clouds and we would not be able to see the views.  The sea shore is quite rocky and beaches are limited.  We had lunch at one nearby restaurant offering free internet.  I had the most wonderful lobster bisque I could imagine.  Mike had a BLT with two very skinny pieces of bacon and a few pieces of tomato skin.  When he complained, the waitress told him that the skins are tomato too.

Birch bark canoe

                                                                   Old and new

                                                        Lobster town USA

                                                                      More birch bark canoe


When we left Acadia, we went to Camden and camped in the Camden Hills campground.  I found the campground to be delightfully beautiful.  We arrived in rain that lasted through the day, but the next day was the kind of sunny autumn day that I usually only dream of.  And!  There was an arts street fair in town.  I loved Camden.  While it is a tourist town, much like Bar Harbor, it seems to have worked a little harder to maintain its northeast charm.  We strolled through the art booths and saw some incredible local talent.  We succumbed to locally made ice cream cones and soaked in the sun in autumninal bliss.

                                                                 Tamarack/Larch changing

                                                         Light house

Friends

                                     I didn't realize that the Civil War was called the Great Rebellion.

The Thinker!

                                                     
Camden Hills also has a "mountain".  It is around 900 feet tall and does provide beautiful views of Camden and the surrounding seas.  In the park we also saw many people walking horses up to an "event" though we never quite discovered what the event was.  They did not have saddles with them, so if they rode on the trails, they did it bareback.  We left Maine with saddness and I would love to go back!  In the Spring, Summer or Fall that is.  Visit Camden!  You will love it!

Maine

We entered Northern Maine, driving south from Quebec on a beautiful sunny morning. We continued south until Guildford in mid-Maine and then turned east heading for New Brunswick. We will return to Southern Maine after visiting Nova Scotia. The woods quickly showed more maple trees than we had seen, and the maple trees are beginning to turn yellow and orange. The woods continued throughout our cross-Maine drive. They are thick and have many types of trees including pines, cedars, birch and maples. We climbed many hills and coasted down the other sides which gave us many views of the beautiful forests.

Green like this takes lots of rain! (or snow)

Moose warnings are posted continually on all of the roads we traveled, but we saw no moose. Lakes and rivers are numerous so that waterfront property is available in many places. The first night we stopped at an abandoned rock quarry to spend the night, and heard people nearby either hunting or target practicing nearby. (There were many moose tracks and some scat.) The next afternoon, we drove by a garage sale that appeared to have many tools. Mike turned around, unable to pass up the opportunity to peruse tools ( he claimed to need tools to repair the spare tire). The sale was being held by two men in Lee, Maine. One of the men had a moose antler which did enchant me, but he wanted $250 for it. The other man was the local fire chief, paramedic, garbage collector and a permanent garage sale operator. He not only had a tool Mike needed to rotate the tires, but also had a used tire that Mike bought to use as a spare. He advised us that we could park behind a public storage facility for the night which we did. Later he came by and took Mike to use the fire department’s compressor to fill the tire. Again we met some very nice people. He informed us that it was bear hunting season and that this was a very popular sport. We saw several men, dressed in their hunting finest the next morning at a gas station/store. I wouldn’t mess with the men or the bears!

Do these warning signs count as promises?

Unique yard art!

You don't see these in Washington!

Look at the small covered passage between the house and barn.

I picked up a real estate pamphlet to see how expensive it would be to live in Maine. There are many advertisements for properties priced at $90,000 that look desirable. Waterfront properties with acreage are available for $150,000. One listing had 80 riverside acres for $60,000. And the over $300,000 that one pays in Western Washington for reasonable accommodations buys luxurious and/or large quarters. I would really consider moving to Maine if I didn’t know that a lot of snow is coming! (Not to mention that it is quite a distance from family and friends!) The towns we passed through were very quaint. The houses like those in Ontario and Quebec, hug the road. Churches all have tall spires which leave no question as to the religious purpose of the buildings. It is all very charming.