Maine

-
Maine 
Friday, September 19, 2017

We arrived in Winter Harbor, on Friday, September 15.  It was a gorgeous ride through the mountains of NH, 
with vibrant colors along the route.  Arriving at the waters of Maine, reminded us of how much we missed the 
ocean!  We haven't  gotten to see ocean since Alaska!

The campground we're staying at is on the Schoodic Peninsula, the "quiet" side of Acadia National Park.   
The town of Winter Harbor, is on an inlet that opens up into the Atlantic.  Our trailer is backed up with a view 
of the inlet.  It is so quiet here, except for the boat/ship horns and the calls of the gulls!  There are lobster boats 
anchored right off shore. 

We are just under a half mile from The Park entrance where we have hiked, biked and picnicked several times.  
Watching the waves crash against the rocks at Schoodic Point is a relaxing hypnotizing event.  Especially with 
"Jose" stirring things up out in the Atlantic.

One of our first Maine experiences was to drive with Heidi and Mark to Bar Harbor.  We walked around the 
town and had lunch.  Our first Lobster Rolls!  



We had reservations on a nature/sightseeing tour boat.  Unfortunately, the fog and choppy seas forced the 
company to cancel all cruises.  Here is an example of the pea soup of that day.  These are Seagulls on rocks 
with the ocean behind them....

We went to plan B and entered Acadia National Park, on the Bar Harbor side.  

What a gorgeous park!  We began driving the scenic road, marveling at the views!  We took the road up to 
Cadillac Mountain, and were wowed by the vistas!  
The altitude of 1530 ft. elevation is the highest along the North Atlantic Seaboard.  According to Acadia NP facts,
 it is also the first place to view a Sunrise in the US, October 7th - March 6th.
 



















Bar Harbor

















The only problem as we saw it and experienced were the large crowds and traffic in Bar Harbor.  The town was 
crowded with the many visitors from all over this country and abroad.  Coupled with the several road 
construction projects entering Bar Harbor, it was enough with the just one time visit.  It made us feel extremely 
happy and grateful that we stayed on the Schoodic Peninsula.  
Frazier Point floating dock


Schoodic Point:



















We ate lunch at Schoodic Point, sitting on these rock formations.  It was probably not the best idea, with 
Herring Gulls (Sea Gulls), hanging out.  As you can see, Mark was being closely watched.  What transpired, 
will forever be known as "The Schoodic Incident!"  




This gull, swooped over, like a flash, and snatched Mark's ziplock bag of pretzels!  We were concerned about
the bird eating the plastic, so Mark gave chase!  It was a sight.  Some words were exchanged between 
Mark and the bird.  It was not pretty.  The people around us were thoroughly entertained!  The gull flew off 
with the bag.  Mark sat down to eat.  AND you're not going to believe this, but, the gull came back with the 
bag!  He dropped it behind us, unopened!  Frustrated with the hard to open seal, no doubt.  Mark=1, Gull=0  

On one of the several hikes in Acadia, we took a trail along the coast and in heavy wooded pines.  Not a bad 
sight along the way.












More to come on Maine Part II....





Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2017 at 3:47 PM

    Once again you did a great job; the photos brought back the great memories of the views and of course the infamous "Schoodic INcident."
    hal

    ReplyDelete
  2. Patrick PecotSeptember 25, 2017 at 7:03 AM

    Ummm.....I think the gull wanted Mark to open the bag....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Masked Bobwhite Quail

-
Image
Masked Bobwhite Quail As mentioned in previous blogs, one of the missions of the Buenos Aires NWR, is to reintroduce this endangered bird. One of our many jobs here is to care for this bird once a week.  There are other volunteers that are the primary care givers.  They perform many tasks daily in providing care to the “pens”; where they grow before being released into the wild.  Others also fill in like us, making sure the quail have food and water daily. There is a display pen near the visitor center where several quails are kept for public viewing.  The flight pen is for staff only access and is about a mile away from the visitor center.  The birds here are banded and reintroduced to their natural habitat before being released into the wild. Locked and electrified fence to discourage predators, providing access to the flight pens. Immediately upon entry into this fenced in area, one must step into a Vircon bath to disinfect our shoes.   There is one mor
Read more

Buenos Aires NWR

-
Image
Buenos Aires NWR First a little history of this area, the following is a summary, directly from the Buenos Aires website: In the 1800's, the Altar Valley was an open grassland teeming with large herds of pronghorn. Masked bobwhite quail calls filled the early morning summer air. The grasslands blanketed the landscape, uninterrupted as far as the eye could see. Pedro Aguirre, Jr. came to this location and started a stagecoach and freight line that would connect Tucson and the mining towns of Arivaca, Arizona, and the town of Altar in Sonora, Mexico. He built a homestead here in 1864 and named it Buenos Ayres, or "good air," because of the constant winds found there.   Aguirre was the first person to develop artificial sources. He began by constructing a large reservoir near the head of the watershed at the confluence of the Lopez and Compartidero washes. With water in place, cattle industry exploded.   But the cattle industry suffered a setback. A severe drough
Read more

The Sonoran Outpost

-
Image
“The Sonoran Outpost” Just a few pictures to show you the neighborhood in which we live.   Yes, it’s a compound, surrounded by a chain link fence, topped with razor wire.   An electric gate allows access for us.     We call it, home!   You can see our truck, marking our site. Baboquivari Mountains Home! In addition to the volunteer RVs, there are several mobile trailers here.  One of them is called the Community Center.  We use it for our twice monthly Volunteer Potluck dinners, and it contains the laundry room as well. The other trailers are temporary housing, for staff biologists and wildlife specialists.    
Read more