Knowing there was so much more to explore in the National Park we vowed we would return to Mount Desert Island after we visited the only mainland section of the Park, Schoodic Peninsula and the breathtaking Schoodic Point. We drove the Schoodic National Scenic Byway from Hwy. 1 at Sullivan down 186 to the Point and up to Gouldsboro passing classic New England fishing villages. The blueberry barrens turned the hillsides into canvases of color almost before the autumn show began. But we were so pleased to see the foliage beginning its turning of the seasons. One of the most interesting geologic features of the Park is in best evidence here – long, narrow outcrops of black rock called dikes. These were created by molten magma seeping into the cracks of Acadia’s fractured granite where it hardened. Consisting of a fine-grained, softer substance called diabase; these dikes are the youngest of the Island bedrocks and stand in sharp contrast to the lighter colored granite.
‘Schooding’ ever eastward we headed into the “DownEast” region. By the best accounts the term “down east” derived from sailing days when ships from Boston sailed down wind in an easterly direction. This part of Maine consists of idyllic fishing villages and classic lighthouses situated along a majestic, crumpled coastline. I finally understood why any map of the area shows hundreds of islands, coves, bays and waterways. The glaciers of the last Ice Age piled thousands of feet high when they met the sea and the shear weight fractured and cracked the rocks. Then as they receded the release broke the land even more. Time and tides have worked their wonder of over thousands of years leaving breathtaking seascapes and shorelines. We ambled from Schoodic Point down Hwy.1 to Cobscook Bay State Park and the campground. The name comes from the Indian word for “boiling tides.” Here tides average 24 feet, with some running 28 feet. This was a quiet, serene little State Park with a rather odd welcoming committee.
It was because of these tides that we decided to find Reversing Falls where the water goes up as well as down. They were fascinating because they are the result of the tide coming in and falling over a ridge of rocks out in channel. Then as the tide goes out the flow is reversed and falls in the other direction over the same ridge. You can sit on the shore and not only see the waves and ripples but you can hear them. At high tide everything is ominously silent then you begin to hear small gurgles and see little swirls; it steadily grows louder until the falls and the roar are back. We had so many sweet hours watching and photographing the bald eagles, ospreys and seals there. This was the last really good day our dear buddy Bo was to have. He was a gleeful puppy swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, chasing and chewing sticks, just joyfully wearing himself out. Perhaps it was then he knew he was leaving us, for in just two more days he was gone.
We followed Hwy. 189 out across the FDR International Bridge to Campobello Island International Park on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. With the signing of an international treaty in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson created the Park as a memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and as an affirmation of the friendship between the two countries. From 1883, when FDR was one year old, until he was stricken with polio in 1921, he spent most of his summers on this beautiful island. Throughout his life he retained his love of the island and its people, and drew strength from his visits and from his happy memories of his “beloved island.”
The Roosevelt Cottage is a magnificent 34 room residence exhibiting an architectural design known as the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th century. Built in 1897 by Mrs. Hartman Kuhn it was purchased by FDR’s mother, Sara, in 1909. Comfort and simplicity, primary design components of the summer cottages of the era, are evident throughout the home. FDR had a well designed wing added to the cottage in 1915. In 1980 the Park Commission adopted a logo for the Park based upon FDR’s own design for his presidential matchbook covers. The letters “FDR” form a sailboat, representative of his favorite pastime.
We drove out to one of the farthest points eastward that we could get, without putting pontoons on the Pod, to photograph East Quoddy Lighthouse.
We had heard that the local cuisine at Family Fisheries on the island was the best so we stopped for lunch. Frankly, we both found there was just too much batter fried everything! It was still fun, though. Undaunted, we headed out to Quoddy Head State Park to photograph West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. This red and white striped light is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the country. It stands on the easternmost point of the United States mainland. The first light was built in 1808 by order of President Thomas Jefferson. The current light was completed in 1858 and automated in 1988.
We spent the next day in camp doing some maintenance to the Pod and keeping an eye on the Bo. We soon decided he needed to be seen by a vet and headed over to Machias and the Vet Hospital. We wandered through town and photographed a few things like the pre-Revolutionary Burnham Tavern. We parked in the hospital’s parking lot while we waited for the test results on our guy and, well, you know the rest of the story.
Needless to say we did not want to spend much time in Machias so we shot directly over to Harrington and the Sunset Point Campground. It turned out to be a very sweet 30 acre private campground that provided us with just the right atmosphere to process our great loss and to wait out the potential Hurricane Kyle?? being forecast for the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia. Conversations with the locals led us to be comfortable that we were not in any danger as the little bay we were on was quite sheltered. Plus they were telling us that 70 MPH winds were no worse than “the ‘Nah-Eastahs’ they get in the winter ‘round these herah pahts”. They were right and all turned out to be fine!
End of part 2, part 3 coming soon.
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