Quoddy Head St Pk & West Quoddy L/H Maine 6/27/10

Diverse landscape: quiet forest and the unparalleled rocky coast.

A stop at High Ledge. Looking DOWN into clear, cold water! Enlarge to see Lighthouse.

After our picnic, Jimmy points to mama eider ducks with lots of babies. Another beautiful cluster of Beach-head iris.

Quirky ladder! Light built in 1858. Been to Westernmost, Southernmost & now Easternmost US points.

Ah, lucky us, another fine day for hiking - today it's to Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine on the eastern-most point of land in the entire USA, and its unique candy-striped lighthouse. We tramped the 2-mile coastal trail, a balsam-scented, flower-bedecked, up-and-down path with sweeping views of the coast and Grand Manan Island across the channel. The cool morning gave way to warm temps and we got hot. Nevertheless, this trail ranks way up in our Top 10 or maybe Top 5 favorites! We returned to Smartie by way of Thompson Trail, a somewhat boggy, shaded and fern-lined wide track, and then went on to the Bog Trail - followed by a walk to the Lighthouse (tower is closed). Put a few miles on the ol' feet today, but we came home raving about the day.

East Quoddy Head Lighthouse, June 26th

We had to climb up and down and all over to get to the picturesque lighthouse in the distance.

And finally, to round out this day, we drove to the east end of Campobello Island to check out the lighthouse. We had to wait for low tide at 6pm/ish - the lighthouse is only accessible at low tide. High and low water level differentials today were over 21' -- pay attention! We watched porpoises caper in the water as loons and eider ducks dipped underwater for their supper. A terrific ending to a very full day....

Hiking on Campobello Island --June 26th, 2010

After touring The Roosevelt Cottage, Jimmy and I picnicked on a bluff, and then we set off from Raccoon Beach to Liberty Point. We didn't quite make it. The gymnastics required for this trail tuckered us out and we turned around at the Sunsweep Sculpture -- 3.8 miles R/T. This trail required precision footing or we faced a broken ankle or a good shoe soaking, but, even so, the views were outstanding, and we had fun!

Getting lunch ready.

 Trail morphed from a gentle grassy track (above) to acrobatic madness (below)!

Pointing to Rose-root Sedum.

 Breathtaking coastline.

Far below us were Common Eider ducks: Boys, girls and babies.

It's a joy to be out here! 

Double-toed track now!

Pretty Beach-head Iris (above and below).

 

We're learning to convert, and it's fairly easy.

Sunsweep Sculpture (our turnaround point) -- it's named for the long, quiet, Canadian-US border that lies under the path of the sun as it crosses the sky from east to west.  Made from polished black granite, it is a symbol of international friendship.  Quite beautiful.

A stellar day for sure!

Roosevelt Campobello Internat'l Park, June 26th

From our Cobscook Bay St Pk campground, we drove a few miles to the town of Lubec, Maine, where we crossed a bridge to Campobello Island and, just like that, we were in New Brunswick, Canada and in the Atlantic time zone!

The Roosevelt Cottage on FDR's "Beloved Island."

Above and below.

 FDR's pipe and hat!

We wanted to tour The Roosevelt Cottage, FDR's magnificent 34-room summer home, open to the public free of charge. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945 and America's 32nd President, spent many enjoyable vacations on Campobello Island in New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy. Roosevelt Campobello International Park was created on Jan 22, 1964 by a treaty between Canada and America as a memorial to President Roosevelt. It's Canadian soil that has become part of America's heritage.

The Cottage, built in 1897, has nearly 100% original furnishings from FDR's time, quite amazing. The entire tour was very moving. Outside, scenic vistas overlook the islands and shores of Passamaquoddy and Cobscook Bays in NB and Maine. The International Park is 1,134 hectares - woods, bogs and beaches where FDR tramped as a child, a young man, and as President. Google it to read more about it!

Down East, Maine - June 25

Established in 1937, Moosehorn NWR was named for Moosehorn Stream, a waterway within its boundaries. This is obviously a misnomer: Moose have antlers, not horns! While camping in Cobscook Bay St Pk, which is within the NWR, we hiked the north fork footpath for a couple of miles, hopscotching over rock-strewn streams, skirting the lake above, but we saw no mooses. We know they're around and about tho, 'cause we saw their droppings, smack in the middle of the footpath!!

Camden Hills St Pk ME 6/23-24

Across Highway 1, is a trail to the ocean and we set off shortly after we set up camp. We knew thundershowers were predicted and the sky was cloudy, but off we went nevertheless, sans umbrella. Yup, when we were as far away from shelter as we could get, we heard thunder and rain fell, but not much and we didn't melt or evaporate - and we had a very nice walk along this rocky coast, listening to the surf and loons offshore.

After dinner in the cool evening air, we drove to the top of Mt Battie enjoying spectacular views of Camden and its harbor, watching pleasure craft return from sea and a schooner sailing south. As I milled around up top, I stumbled upon wild Maine lowbush blueberries - oh joy! Jimmy retrieved a container from the car and we picked enuf little berries to liven up our breakfast cereal for two days! Happy days!

Spent part of the next day walking around in Camden. Bought three more Robert McCloskey children's books... all dealing with delightful Maine. Nice stay in Camden Hills St Pk!

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - 6/22/10

Many people in the Booth Bay Harbor/Southport area recommended we visit this Gardens, so we decided to give it a go. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens opened on June 13, 2007 after 16 years of planning, planting, and building - only three years ago! Our first stop was at the Kitchen Garden Cafe, where we enjoyed a fine lunch (using herbs and lettuces from the Burpee Kitchen Garden!). Now comprising close to 250 acres, the property boasts nearly a mile of tidal salt water frontage and is one of a very few waterfront botanical gardens in the US (with a change of tide roughly every 6.25 hrs and a difference of 10 feet between high and low water levels in the Boothbay region). Jimmy & I and Nannie & Bubba spent several enthralling hours strolling thru colorful gardens, hiking an uplands path, and down along the coastal trail. Truly a beautiful place, second (in our opinion) only to 100+ year-old Buchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada! Rob, you would love it here!

And they're still planning, planting, and building - a good thing for us all!

Southport ME 6/20 - 6/22

Quintessential New England -- boats, harbors, lobsters and relaxing at water's edge....