Dixfield, Maine

Note:  This is a "blast from the past" post as we work our way backwards to catch you up on our previous destinations. Please remember that we will not be doing any current postings for the next couple of months as we're visiting with family and friends in California.

Visited September 26-28, 2020

By Marty

 

From Bar Harbor we drove about three hours to the northwest and away from the coast to Dixfield, Maine. Dixfield is in western Maine just 40 miles from the New Hampshire border. On the drive and the ensuing days we were treated to our first full blown leaf peeper scenery!

 

Mountain View Campground in Dixfield.  We practically had the RV park to ourselves and, as you can see, we had an unobstructed view of the "mountain".

We only had two days in western Maine so we made the most of them. On Sunday we drove to New Hampshire for a hike near Mt. Washington. Sorry to say but no moose were observed on our gorgeous drive.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at a small reservoir along the way.

Our destination was the Tuckerman Ravine trail at the base of Mt. Washington. It was pretty cool to hike on the Appalachian Trail!

Mt. Washington, at 6,288', is the highest peak in the northeastern US. Mt. Washington is famous for its weather extremes. The highest surface wind speed ever observed by man, 231 mph, was recorded there on April 12, 1934. The lowest temp ever recorded at the summit is -47 degrees, without wind chill! In July the average temp is a mere 49 degrees.

The day of our visit Mt. Washington was forecast to be in the clouds with cold and gusty wind all day. Therefore we elected not to drive or hike to the summit.

For a view from the top and some interesting history about Mt. Washington check this out:

 Mt. Washington

This little frog is lucky he didn't get stepped on, blending into the trail as he did.

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire the trails are notoriously rocky and tree root studded.

Our hike to this overlook gave us amazing views of the incredible Fall color.  We hit the jackpot! And the photo doesn't nearly do it justice!

A short video of the panoramic view from the overlook:

More stunning colors on our drive back to Dixfield

It was late in the day when we came around a bend to see the sun setting behind Mt. Washington.

 The quintessential New England small town church in the Fall

 

On our second day in Dixfield I headed out on my own to explore the area further and look for more photo opportunities.  I was not disappointed! The church photo above and all of the photos below were taken on the same day, making this the biggest bang for the buck photo day of our trip thus far!

And a small town New England church has to have a cemetery behind it, right?

While I do appreciate the sentiment, as illustrated below in the ever so clever bit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:  "I'm not dead yet!"

Monty Python: Bring out your dead...

Remember that this was heading into our first Covid winter.

 

Walking between the corn rows video. Pair this with some ominous music and you've got a short trailer for a horror movie:

A few random headstones in a field that I just happened upon.

An unattended roadside stand selling pumpkins and other produce. Payment is on the honor system. You put your payment in a small metal box attached to the wall of the shed.

I wouldn't dream of fiddle-heading here! Or anywhere else for that matter...

Wait... what is fiddle-heading anyway?  

From Wikipedia:

Foraged from the ostrich fern, fiddleheads are the fern plant's young shoots that look like tiny scrolls popping out of the dirt. Only available for a short window of time during the spring, they are a delicious delicacy with many devoted fans who can hardly wait for fiddlehead season. Fiddleheads are foraged from the wild in certain parts of the U.S. and Canada where they're also most often consumed. Some foragers sell them to markets, making them available to more people. Best when simply prepared by sautéing or steaming right after harvest, fiddleheads offer a charming taste of spring for simple dishes.

To see what a fiddlehead looks like and learn more:

More about fiddleheading

I really enjoyed exploring this covered bridge. My enjoyment level did diminish somewhat when I slipped from a large rock into the water to my waist while getting some photos. Fortunately my phone did not get wet.

Undeterred by my soaked trousers the next stop was for lunch and a beer at the Sunday River Brewing Company.

Did I take a wrong turn?

Nope...  These are actual town names in western Maine and eastern New Hampshire. I had read of this in my New England research months earlier and made it a point to seek out this road sign. If you look closely at the left margin you will see Big Foot lurking in the background.

Nature called as I drove past a State Park. Our blog is generally apolitical, but this one I couldn't resist...

Bar Harbor, Maine

Note:  This is a "blast from the past" post as we work our way backwards to catch you up on our previous destinations. Please remember that we will not be doing any current postings for the next couple of months as we're visiting with family and friends in California.

Visited September 22-25, 2020

By Janell

On our drive out to Bar Harbor (or "Bah Haba" as the locals say), we stopped at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory and at Fort Knox in Prospect, Maine. (There's no gold at this Fort Knox however). More on Fort Knox in a bit.

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge is the tallest bridge observatory in the world, and it offers 360° views. In 2006 this replaced the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, which was built in 1931 and in use until severe cable corrosion was discovered in 2003. The words "severe cable corrosion" and "bridge" are a scary combination in one sentence.

Views from within the Observatory:

Marty's sister, Mary, was planning to meet up with us at the bridge and then join in our travels starting with our next campground in Bar Harbor, Maine. Unfortunately, she was delayed and thus went up in the tower after we had already moved on to Fort Knox. 

Apparently, we lucked out with our trip up/down the tower: the elevator broke down while Mary was at the top, and the staff refused to let the patrons use the stairs down (without explanation other than that there was a 300 lb. door at the bottom, and the fire department would need to be called). Finally, one patron had had enough and insisted on using the stairs anyway; which they all ended up doing, accompanied by a staff member. They then found out that the stairwell exited directly onto a lane of the bridge(!) (not below in the parking lot level, as one would have assumed), and that is why the firefighters had to be called -- to stop the bridge traffic.

Mary's visit to the tower took two hours . . . and ours, about 15 minutes.

Now about Fort Knox (which is essentially right next door to the Penobscot Bridge).

Fort Knox was built between 1844 and 1869, and it was made entirely of granite (most previous forts used wood, earth and stone). It is Maine's largest historic fort and was established to protect the Penobscot River Valley against a possible future British naval invasion.

For more info on Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge visit this link: 

Fort Knox Maine

looking across the Penobscot River from Fort Knox

Both the small town of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are located on Mount Desert Island. At 108 square miles, Mount Desert Island is the largest island off the coast of Maine and the second largest (behind Long Island, New York) on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

We hiked South Ridge Trail up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Cadillac Mountain, at 1530', is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place to view sunrise in the USA. 

No, we did not go up in time to see the sunrise. Didn't even try. 

Wait, where's the trail?

Much of the trail looked just like this. 

Question: Can you find the trail marker above?

Answer: It's a swatch of blue paint on a rock in the lower left quadrant of the photo.

It was a little windy at the top!

We embarked on a sunset nature cruise in Bar Harbor. It was fun and educational. The cruise line's Naturalist talked to us about the history of Bar Harbor, the marine life and even the summer "cottages" on the cliffs.

This is a replica of a lobster (No real lobsters were harmed for this photo.)

Egg Rock Lighthouse

We pedaled our bikes for about 20 miles through Acadia National Park on Rockefeller's Carriage Roads. The scenery was gorgeous, the weather of the day superb, and these carriage roads are closed to motorized traffic -- so we didn't even have to think about cars. Nice!

In the early part of the 20th century John D. Rockefeller Jr. was upset by a decision to allow automobiles onto the island, and he set out to build a 45-mile long series of roads on which all cars would be banned. Nice job, J.D.!

The fun is just beginning ...

Enjoying the ride!

In the heart of Acadia National Park one can find Jordan Pond House. We pedaled our bikes right up to it.

Marty and I have fond memories from 2012 when we were here with our Finnish friends. The restaurant had many tables set up on their lawn, and servers came out to wait on us and bring us lovely lunches. It was like something I'd imagine the Kennedy's might do; or at least something I might see in a movie. 

Those were non-Covid times, of course. Fast forward to 2020, and there wasn't a single table on the lawn at Jordan Pond House. There was a long line of people trying to buy a basic lunch from a counter; then trying to find anywhere they could to park their butts to eat it. No Kennedy or movie ambience whatsoever. 

Good thing we'd come prepared with our sack lunches this time. We sat right on the grass like school kids. 

More sites along the carriage roads:

Downtown Bar Harbor is fun and charming. There are lots of shops, restaurants, fun things to see and an enjoyable walk along the waterfront. We dined outdoors á la picnic table-style for lunch at this place and liked it well enough to come back a second time. Their lobster bisque was delish! 

We dined on lobster rolls from a sandwich counter while enjoying this view from a bench in Agamont Park.

We drove past this beautiful red vine display many times. Each time I thought, "we need to get a picture of that", but we never did. Thanks goes to Mary for snapping it on one of her adventures. (I'm sure there are a few of Mary's photos that I've used in the blog; I hope she doesn't sue us or want compensation.) Maybe she'll be content with heartfelt gratitude. Thanks Mary!!

Enough said!