International Parks

I headed East from the motel until I hit the ocean. Lubec, Maine is the easternmost spot in the United States. Every business listed this designation in front of it (i.e. the Easternmost Campground in the U.S., the Easternmost Golf Course in the U.S.). It was very foggy but not raining on the drive over. I drove across a bridge and was in New Brunswick, Canada. My destination was the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Roosevelt’s parents brought him there as a child and he loved it so much that he kept coming back year after year. It is also the place where he was stricken with polio. Last November Mom and I had gone to his and Eleanor’s homes in New York so I thought I was pretty familiar with Roosevelt. Whenever I pictured Roosevelt it was always in a wheelchair and I guess I always assumed he had polio since he was a child. It was amazing to see pictures of him hiking, sailing, canoeing and enjoying the outdoors as a young man.I spent a lot of time at the park because it was gorgeous. Everything was so perfectly restored. I watched a video and then myself and a couple other guests were escorted over to the cottage by an interpreter. It was a self guided tour but there were interpreters everywhere that gave a little spiel and answered questions. I loved these interpreters. Although it’s jointly administered by the U.S. and Canada the interpreters all wore blue skirt suits (instead of ranger uniforms). They also spoke in a very interesting dialect. I realized how far north and east I was at that point. I can’t pin it down but it was a very interesting way of speaking that I had never heard before. I walked around the grounds and saw some gorgeous flowers and another cottage that is not open. I peered through the windows though. I walked down to the beach and saw where the majority of Atlantic salmon is born. They have large pens in the ocean and there was an exhibit on the lifecycle of Atlantic salmon. I decided to take the time for one hike. From the cottage I could see the Friars head-a stone chimney along the ocean. I thought the hike was listed as round trip but it was apparently one way. There were also no written signs just pictures. I followed the sign of a picture of a rock and was soon walking along the sea shore where the rocks were covered in some sea snot that was slippery as hell. I turned around and follow the trail in the other direction. It was oddly humid and in the 60’s so I was quite warm and had no water as I wasn’t expecting it to be this long of a hike. I finally made it to an overlook with some exhibits. It was there I learned that Friar’s Head is only seen from the sea shore and only hikeable at low tide. Being from inland, I had no clue when high and low tide were. Whatever.Oh well. At least I’d seen it from afar at the cottage. I then headed back on what I thought was a loop trail. It wasn’t. I turned around went back uphill and trudged back to my car- where I realized that overlook was accessible from the road.I drove over to Herring Cove Provincial Park. There was a beach and not a soul in sight. I made the most of it and played around in the ocean and took some great pictures. I found an old antifreeze container that had washed ashore and used that to prop my camera up on. Thanks sea garbage! I then went back into Roosevelt Campobello Park and drove the carriage roads. I went out to the farthest overlook and it was freezing and covered in fog. The exhibits said seal can usually be spotted but I didn’t see any. The atmosphere was kind of spooky so I left. After being stuck behind some truck on the carriage roads I made it back to the U.S. Border. I stopped and chatted with the officer for a few moments because I was confused about the time. Apparently New Brunswick observes Atlantic Time so I was an hour ahead. But the U.S observes Eastern Time so I was back on schedule. (I thought this direction from Jack was funny) My next stop was Saint Croix Island International Historic Site. Well first I had to find the place. I saw a sign so I drove down the road and it spit me back on Route 1. So I turned around and drove back and saw a sign for the NPS Offices. I figured the driveway next to that would be the entrance but no it was just the driveway to someone’s home. I turned around and finally found the entrance. As the NPS website says “The site is focused on establishing a quiet atmosphere of respect meant to promote contemplation of the heroism and suffering of the French colonists in 1604–05.” So basically there’s a 5 minute walk down to the water and there’s various statues along the way. There’s an overlook of the island but you’re not allowed to go there because of its fragile nature. It was definitely the oddest NPS site I’ve been to.

I continued up Route 1 and it was gorgeous. The sun came out and the leaves were beautiful. 8 miles of the road is called the Million Dollar View. I don’t know if it was quite that sum but it was just nice to see sunshine. I then headed over to cross the border back into New Brunswick. I’m not sure if it was due to the size of the facility or the fact that I was traveling along but I got grilled! Because I wanted to go on the scenic byway I ended up crossing over at a very remote border station. I pulled up and rolled down my driver’s side window. Well the lady approached my passenger side window so I rolled it down and she asked me the basic questions. I told her I was going to Hartland (about an hour away) to see the World’s Longest Covered bridge. She asked skeptically “you came all the way from New York to see that?” She then asked me to go ahead and pull over, shut off my engine and pop my trunk. I did and I could hear them rustling around. She then asked me about school. I paused for a minute. The only sticker on my car says “I support America’s National Parks”. There’s no indication that I’m in school (other than my youthful appearance) so I thought it may be a trap. I said no, I graduated and I work full time. She then asked “when was the last time you spoke to an immigration officer?” I told her I had cross the border a few hours ago at Roosevelt Campobello so I guess it was then. After I showed her my map indicating my route and how I had ended up at that obscure border crossing she let me go after warning me that I could not come back through this border crossing because it would be closed. I understand these people protect their country’s security but it’s sometimes frustrating to deal with them. I moseyed on down back roads through some gorgeous scenery. I drove across the bridge and parked at the visitor’s center to take some pictures. It was so pretty. The sun was starting to set and it was such a quiet little town. I walked across the bridge and back (which took a while). I headed back out of town to find my hotel. What’s funny about the bridge is that it’s one lane and there’s no light so you basically have to look at the other end and see if there’s another car coming and hope they see you coming. I was originally going to head north out of New Brunswick and cross back over but it looked like a small town on the map so I went back across the Hartland border crossing. I didn’t want to take the chance that I would drive all that way and have the border be closed. Plus I wasn’t sure if border crossings were on Atlantic or Eastern time. This crossing was much easier and the guy even said “welcome home”. No agent has ever said that to me before. It was nice. I headed up to Presque Isle, Maine where I had Hampton Inn reservations. The sunset was stunning. I hadn’t seen that nice of a sunset in a long time. On the drive I was flipping through the radio and heard the Jeopardy theme music. Apparently in Maine they play Jeopardy on the radio! When I got to the hotel I turned on the TV and got to see the end. How cool is that!? I think the Hampton thought I was some VIP because they treated me so nice and gave me a king corner room. Quite the upgrade. The hotel also had free soup and salad for dinner which was a nice relief from my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

More Acadia

It rained on me the entire night at Blackwoods. My tent is pretty watertight but a few leaks came through. The rains stopped by morning although it was still really cloudy and foggy. My first stop was Jordan Pond House. The house had a bunch of tables set up to look over the pond and is apparently nestled into a valley surrounded by twin peaks called the Bubbles. However, thanks to the fog I only saw about as far as I could throw a stone. It was oddly peaceful though. Further on down the road I saw a sign for the Bubbles and I figured if I couldn’t see them from the bottom then I would hike to the top of the darn things. When I got to the top of North Bubble the winds were whipping the fog around and what I thought was a stream turned out to be the edge of the pond and I realized how big Jordan pond was. I excitedly hurried over to South Bubble (less than a mile away) hoping that by the time I got there the fog would have lifted even more. I was rewarded by a stunning vista and finally saw the entirety of Jordan Pond. It was gorgeous. I’m so glad I hiked the Bubbles and the trail was really easy. I saw a sign for Pemetic mountain trailhead that started across the road. It was only .6 miles so I figured it would be the same as the Bubbles. Not in the slightest! The trail was marked by blue spray paint on a rock covered mountainside. What wasn’t slick, wet rock was slick, wet leaves. I even got to a point where I saw this sign.

Really!? Those are my only two options, ravine or ledge? I chose ravine because I figured if I were to fall my body wouldn’t have far to go. It was a narrow gorge, covered in wet rocks and moss and slimy ladders. I made it through that and then the trail finally had some stairs built around the rock. I finally made it to the top and was greeted by this awe inspiring vista. Obviously the fog and clouds that had blown off the Bubbles had blown over onto Pemetic. I was pretty angry at this point. Plus this was no loop hike and I had to go down exactly the way I just came. It was worse going down because I just kept sliding. I adopted a crab walk and by the time I got to the bottom I was wet, bloody and my hands were raw from constantly grating against rocks. Ugh. I hadn’t planned on hiking so much but with the clouds I wanted to give Cadillac Mountain as much time as possible to clear up. Cadillac is the highest point along the N. Atlantic seaboard at 1532 feet. This was my view

It was absolutely brutal. I ran along the trail just to say I did and tried to take pictures but there was nothing to take pictures of. I raced away in my car because the wind was blowing so hard I feared it would knock my car over. I had a heck of a time just navigating myself against the wind. I was done with the 27 mile loop road at that point so I headed over to the lesser known side of Acadia, the Schoodic Peninsula. It’s visible from the loop road but you have to drive 40 miles to get there. I made one quick stop at Somes Sound. It is the only fjord in the contiguous 48 states ( FYI a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity). The sun came out and it was beautiful! I didn't know what to expect from a fjord but it was lovely. The drive was warm and sunny but as soon as I pulled into the border at Schoodic, the clouds descended again. I didn’t mind as much this time because there were so few people. I saw maybe 20 people the whole time. Schoodic is just a 6 mile loop drive but it’s worth it. The rocks and waves were calmer and it just seemed a much gentler place. Of course this is where I harshly injure myself. I drove out to Schoodic point and was rejoicing at the sun that was coming out. I took as many pictures as I could of the sun on the water. I was walking along the long line of rocks on the coast when I went to lower myself down onto a rock and somehow slipped and slammed face first into a crevice. I somehow managed to not hit my face but my right arm and leg were not so lucky. I immediately sprang up (lest anyone who somehow saw think I fell into the ocean) staggered a few feet and then collapsed on a rock in tears. Dang that hurt! On the bright side I did manage to find a lobster claw to take home as a souvenir. I had planned to do one more hike and I did it despite my throbbing pain. It wasn’t as bad as Pemitcan but not as easy as the Bubbles. The rain started moving in just as I got back down and I headed out to find my campground. Thanks goodness I hadn’t made a reservation for this one. I had wanted to get away from Acadia to get a head start on my trip to Canada the next day so I found a campground along the way. Let me set the scene: it was dusk, raining, and the driveway was covered in rain filled potholes. There was a truck parked in front of what I assumed was the office. I parked, got out and went up to the door. It was dark and locked so I figured I’d just grab a site and pay later. I drove around the campground and there wasn’t a soul in sight! It was beautiful, being right on the ocean, but I didn’t see so much as a seagull. I debated the wisdom of staying. I figured since I just needed a place to crash for the night I would take the spot closest to the bathroom/showers since there was a light. I went to the bathrooms which were ok and then I peered into the showers and that’s when I decided there’s no way I’m staying here. The area was dark and there was no light switch only a thing that looked like a timer on the wall, there was an odd token thing in one that looked half broken, and the token thing in the other was disabled and had electrical wires spewing out of it. No way. I ran to my car and hightailed it out of there. This whole time, I never saw the occupant of the lone truck parked out front. I drove on to the next town and got a room at the Red Barn motel.There were actually cars in the parking lot and I saw an elderly couple so I figured I’d be safe. My room was actually really nice. It was huge and there was a sliding glass door that opened to a deck and a view of the river beyond. I really enjoyed it and would recommend the Red Barn (despite the overabundance of cats everywhere).

Acadia National Park

I wasn't expecting it to be so warm camping. I wore my Under Armour to bed and woke up in the middle of the night because the bottoms were cutting into my skin. Apparently I got too fat for my Under Armour. I stepped outside to go to the bathroom and was amazed at how warm and bright it was. The moon wasn't that bright but there was a glow to the warm air. The other mishap of the night was thanks to Vern (my cot). I enjoy him for his ability to convert to 6 different positions. However, I like to be in control of those conversions. In the middle of the night he decided to fall down into Position 5! After packing up in the morning I headed out to Bass Harbor Head lighthouse. It's the only lighthouse you can drive to Acadia. It was tiny and really cute. There was a little house and a lighthouse keeper still lives there year round with his family. My next stop was Pretty Marsh. It was beautiful. It's a picnic ground and there was no one else there. I scurried down the mountain to the rocky shores and it was absolutely quiet and still. All I could hear was the occasional sound of a loon. I could have stayed there a while but I still had to make it to the heart of Acadia. First though, I had to stop in Bar Harbor. It was a bustling touristy town. There was even a massive cruise ship docked off shore. I wandered along the waterfront and bought some blueberry iced tea and post cards. I was eager to get away from all the old people on tour buses. Acadia's main attraction is the 27 mile loop road. I meandered along, stopping at overlooks along the way. I parked at Sand Beach to do some hiking. In researching this trip I came across two insane trails in Acadia. Both featured iron rungs and climbing along cliff faces. I passed on the Precipice trail just because it was rainy and driving by I couldn't even see the mountain. I thought I could handle the Beehive though. It actually wasn't as scary as I thought. There were iron rungs nailed into the rock and I had to be very careful with the slipperiness from the rain but I relied on my arms a lot to haul me up. The views were incredible. I started heading back down the loop when I saw a sign for the Bowl. It wasn't too far away so I walked over that way. It was a really pretty pond surrounded by forest. It actually reminded me of Rocky Mountain National Park. I continued on to go back to Sand Beach when I saw a sign for Gorham Mountain. I had planned on hiking this anyway later but I figured I could come in from the back way. The views were amazing as well despite on and off rain. I finally made it back down to the loop road and decided to hike the Ocean Path down to Otter Point. The Ocean Path parallels the loop road and allows more opportunity to take some turnoffs and go play around on the rocks. At one point I saw people rock climbing down towards the ocean. Insanity! I also came across one point where there were washed up lobster points. This was the only place I saw them which I thought was odd. Thunder Hole wasn't very noisy because the tide was low. By the time I got to the end of the Path I realized it was a 2 mile walk back to my car. At least it was fairly level. Sand Beach was amazing because it is the only beach with sand in Acadia. I asked an older gentleman to take my picture and he asked where I was from and then patted me on the arm and wished me a happy trip. How nice. I hiked a lot but because it was around sea level so it was very easy. It started raining more so I decided to head to Blackwoods campground. I misread the map though and what I thought was a turnoff was actually a bridge OVER the road. It took me a bit out of the ways but oh well. Despite all the rain I had an amazing day. Maine just has this atmosphere that it so cool. The coast is rocky, the waves are pounding, the weather is temperate, the buoys are dinging, the foghorns are sounding and the loons are calling. I love it.

100,000 Miles and Counting

I woke up at the hotel and turned on the news and found out that there was an earthquake 10 miles north of the hotel. This now makes 2 earthquakes in 6 months that I've been through that I haven't felt. Dang it! Anyway, I got ready and headed out for the day. Along with National Parks, I can't pass up a scenic byway, so I planned to go on a couple and I found one that was only a mile long in Manchester, NH. Apparently I hadn't written myself very good directions because I ended up dead ending at some ball park in a shady part of town. Oh well. I struck out east on the Independence Byway and turned left when I hit the ocean. The New Hampshire coast (all 18 miles of it) was beautiful. I walked along the sand in the Atlantic surf collecting some shells. I took the Coastal Byway all the way up into Maine and the houses were gorgeous (although most were for sale). Very ritzy. Although the coast was beautiful the drive was terrible. It was a Sunday and there were tons of tourists walking and driving around. I like to avoid interstates though so I stuck it out all the way up to Freeport. I went over to the Desert of Maine. I knew it was a tourist trap and would cost money but I thought maybe I could get a picture for it. It was all fenced off and I just caught a peek through the gift shop. It looked like someone just bulldozed some sand in the forests of Maine. I left there and went to L.L. Bean. I knew Freeport was associated with L.L Bean but after going there it's obvious L.L. Bean OWNS Freeport. There's a hunting and fishing store, home store, bike and canoe store, retail store, and outlet store. I went through all of them and ended up buying a coat at the outlet store. I can't resist a great deal. I headed up Route 3 to get to Acadia. On the way, my car hit 100,000 miles. Ever since I started planning the trip I knew I would be hitting the mark somewhere on it so I kept an eye out. Such a milestone. It's kind of sad actually
Acadia was a weird park. Most of the parks out West were started as whole tracts of land but Acadia was cobbled together by summer people donating land. I kept waiting to drive into the park because I kept driving through residential areas. I drove to Seawall campground and set up my tent and had some dinner. It was still light out so I walked across the street to check out the ocean. I'd never seen tide pools before and I had a good time walking over the rocks and seeing what was down there. It was too cloudy for a good sunset so I went back and settled in for the night.