Maine - 2003
Updated: 11/30/08
Acadia National Park (Bar Harbor, ME)
Bar Harbor, ME ... surrounding area ...
Boothbay, ME ... surrounding area ...
Fort Knox State Park Historic Site (Prospect, ME)
Maine Maritime Museum (Bath, ME)
Oceanarium Bar Harbor (Bar Harbor, ME)
Acadia National Park (Bar Harbor, ME)
We used a shuttle type bus for our tour of Acadia's Loop Road. The weather was not fully cooperating. It could not make up its mind if it was going to rain or shine. These are a couple photographs made from the bus.
Sand
Beach is the only sand beach on the island. It is really a mixture of sand and
crushed shells.
Rock is more common in this area of Maine's coast.
Our
tour guide called the large rock on the hillside 'Bubble Rock '. According to
him, many attempts to push it down the hill have failed.
The bus stopped at Thunder Hole. It is a shallow oceanside cavern into which the surf surges compresses and bursts out with an explosive force and a concussive sound. We were there at low tide with little surf so the effect was minimal.
Views from Thunder Hole ...
The fog was settling in or maybe it didn't leave. This was our view on the way up Cadillac Mountain.
This is what we saw from the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Not much!
Our tour ended in Bar Harbor so we stayed around another day. We are very glad we did. The following views were worth it. When we arrived at the summit of Cadillac Mountain the fog was still heavy. As we stood there talking to another couple about our trip yesterday, the fog started to clear.
View of Bar Harbor ... from the summit ...
It
looks like the fog is rolling up the side of the island.
More views from the summit ...
While
we were there a men's choir of trained voices, sang our God Bless America.
It gave you goose bumps.
Bar Harbor is a tourist area. With retail shops of imported stuff to local artist items. Fred thought this bench was a good idea.
An interesting site in Bar Harbor is Bridge Street. At least it is at low tide. At high tide it is under 12 feet of water.
This 4-masted schooner could be hired for a cruise.
While having lunch of the pier we saw the difference between cruise ship tenders and fishing boat tenders.
Bar Harbor, ME ... surrounding area ...
But the more interesting to us was the area around Bar Harbor. It is called Mount Desert Island.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
This
fisherman's memorial was dedicated to the fisherman of Bass Harbor.
This
has to be one of the smallest post offices.
Seal Cove, ME 04674
Seawall
Picnic area ...
Somes Sound is the only fjord on the east coast of the United States. A fjord is a long, deep and narrow valley carved by glaciers and flooded by the sea. We were there at low tide so it had some areas of mud at the shoreline.
Bath has been an active center of shipbuilding since the 1600s. Nuclear naval vessels and merchant ships are now built at the Bath Iron Works.
Now, this is a LARGE crane.
They were building two destroyers while we were in Bath.
This
floating dry dock is capable of lifting a huge naval ship.
Boothbay is another very busy fishing harbor.
The view from Boothbay's Fisherman's memorial was beautiful.
The
town had a footbridge connection the two side of the harbor. It was a fun walk.
It would have been prettier at high tide. We really thought the muddy shoreline
left by the receding tide was not nice looking and it smelled.
We
have all heard you should build your house upon a rock. Well, halfway across the
footbridge, someone did.
It was in Boothbay that Mary Lou had her best lobster. Here is how she got it - from boat to plate.
Boothbay, ME ... surrounding area ...
We find ourselves attracted to state parks. Frequently, the states have acquired prime property and make it accessible to the public.
This is Popham Beach State Park. It was a park with an east, middle and west view. The wind was churning up the west side.
This looks like high sand bluffs - they are 10 inches tall.
On
our travels we ran across an interesting fort. Different than any we had seen
before. It was Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec River. The massive
granite stone work was very impressive. It is
one of a series of forts protecting the homeland.
This fort is in its natural state. Later we visited a similar fort that is preserved by the state and has a visitor center and its history documented for the public. It is Fort Knox, also listed on this page.
Fort Knox State Park Historic Site (Prospect, ME)
The
pentagon shaped fort is located on 125 acres overlooking the Penobscot River. It
was the first and largest granite fort built in Maine. It was built between 1840
and 1860. Actually, when work stopped in 1869, the fort was not completely
finished. Congress appropriated nearly one million dollars over 25 years.
This was an early example of tax dollar at work. It was garrisoned by 20-54
troops during the Civil War and 575 troops during the Spanish-American War.
However, no enemy ships ever appeared on the Penobscot or threatened its towns
during these wars.
The fort had mounts for 135 cannons but no more than 74 were ever on site.
A ten inch Rodman cannon is big.
The flag looked great against the blue sky.
Maine Maritime Museum (Bath, ME)
The Main Maritime Museum is a ten acre site on the location of a 19th century shipyard where large wooden sailing ships were constructed. The Maritime History Building had a large collection of paintings, ship models and artifacts. They also have a model of the shipyard as it looked in the 1800s.
The launch site is still visible today.
The buildings demonstrated early shipbuilding methods - from drawings to actual construction. Early shipbuilders made a scale model of the ship first, the same process is used in automotive manufacturing today.
Oceanarium Bar Harbor (Bar Harbor, ME)
All
over the east coast you see thousands of these buoys. At the end of the rope
attached to the buoy is a lobster trap. The color on the buoy is identification
of the lobsterman and must be on his boat also. This yellow and white buoy
belongs to the owner of the oceanarium.
The oceanarium was a fascinating place. It is the Maine lobster museum, marsh tour and lobster hatchery. They have a special license permitting them to possess, study and grow lobster fry through stage three of their lives.
There is an agreement among Maine lobstermen to not keep egg laying females - they cut a "V" notch in her tail. This tells other lobstermen to release her to maintain the Maine's lobster industry into the future.
No
eggs
Many eggs
The
hatches are maintained in plastic tanks by date. The first tank is from 9-23-03
hatch.
Because the lobsters favorite food is lobster, air is bubbled through the tanks so they do not have a chance to attack each other.
This
lobster in an inch long. It is temporarily in a 3" round pipe so we could
get a good look at it. They move too fast in the tanks.
The
staff determined that when they returned the hatch to the ocean by dumping them
at the surface, fish got most of the hatch. So, a high tech method was
developed. They use a cooler with a hose so they can release the hatch at the
bottom and along a wide path as the boat moves. It works, most of the little
lobsters can hide in the rocks right away and have a better chance of survival.
Lobster traps have changed over the years. The first traps were mostly netting material. Later, more wood was used. Then, wire traps were developed. The red door in the wire trap lets the little lobster escape. Each commercial lobsterman is licensed for no more than 800 traps. With the help of a boatsman, he can check 400 traps a day.
This is what they look like in real life.
There is also a Oceanarium Southwest Harbor which is a Marine Aquarium and Fisherman's Museum on Mount Desert Island.