The Journey is a Wild One: Maine Downeast- December 11, 2011 - Reversing Falls, Red Granite Beaches, Wreath Factories, and Blueberries

Acadia at Schoodic Peninsula - View towards Mt. Desert Island

I am up and out of the hotel by 8:45. It is cold outside, 25 degrees. I am most thankful that the LL Bean Outlet was open last evening. My newly purchased long underwear are doing their job well this morning. The sky is blue, not a cloud in sight. The smiles begin. I grab a cup of steaming coffee and head out. My plan is to drive up the coast on US 1, taking side trips to specific places of interest along the way. I love days like today, with no set itinerary, no set time frame, exploring where I please when I please.

Ruth & Wimpie's

Just after leaving Ellsworth I pass Ruth & Wimpie’s - Home of Wilbur the Lobster. I had planned to eat dinner here tonight, but signs indicate that it closed for the season last evening. I am disappointed; it looks like a fun place to dine. I travel on. At the town of Hancock, I veer off of US 1, down to Hancock Point. My mother's family are Hancocks, and I wonder if any residents are relatives? I take Carter’s Beach Road, passing vacation cabins and homes, referred to as camps by locals.

Carter's Beach Road - Hancock Point

I turn onto Carter’s Beach Road and am now at the edge of Frenchman’s Bay. The view is beautiful, blue islands rising out of blue water into blue sky. I am facing into the morning sun, so photography is difficult, but I sure do appreciate what I see.

I follow the road back up the peninsula to US 1 again, and continue my trek north, or way down east, as they say. I see a sign for Tidal Falls Preserve and veer off the highway once again. How can I ignore a sign for falls? I find myself at Frenchman’s Bay Conservancy at Tidal Falls - or Sullivan Falls, as they are also called, where I learn about reversing falls.

Sullivan Falls

Sullivan Falls is found at the mouth of the Taunton River, where it enters Frenchman’s Bay. The geological structures of Falls Point, which juts out into Sullivan Harbor, causes rapids to flow in one direction during high tide, but another direction at low tide - thus, reversing falls. Sullivan Falls has the distinction of being the largest saltwater reversing falls on the east coast. The rapids are only moderate during my visit, and I find I am as interested in the birds on the water as I am in the water.

Common Eider (not my photo)

The birds appear to be the Common Eider, stocky, thick-necked birds, the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. I think they are beautiful. They are too far away to photograph well, but I enjoy what I see. Then my fingers and my nose begin to freeze, and I decide to move on.

As I travel I realize that this part of the coast is composed of fingers, fingers of land jutting into the sea, as the sea in turn grasps the edges of the land with its own. I occasionally glimpse the water and far islands from US 1, but to get to the edge of the water I must travel down the side roads, down the fingers, which is my plan. My next stop is to be the section of Acadia National Park that is located on Schoodic Peninsula.

Acadia at Schoodic Peninsula

Most of Acadia is located southeast of Ellsworth, on Mt. Desert Island. This is the section of Acadia that is most visited by tourists. But a section of Acadia is found across Frenchman’s Bay, at the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and that is my destination. I head down Hwy 186 through the village of Winter Harbor. Along the way I pass homesite after homesite in which a boat is parked next to stack after stack of lobster traps and buoys. These aren’t small boats, rather large, lobster-fishing sized boats. I’d like to take some photographs, but the lobstermen are obviously home. I don’t want to make someone suspicious then angry, so I take note and travel on.

Icy water, Acadia at Schoodic Peninsula

Soon I enter Acadia National Park at Schoodic Peninsula, and I am thrilled at what I find. A one-way road runs along the coast, bounded on one side by spruce-fir forest, by the waters of Frenchman’s Bay on the other. Across the Bay I see Acadia, including Cadillac Mountain, and the Prospect Harbor Lighthouse. The shore here is composed of rocky outcroppings of pink or red granite. It is so cold that I pass one inlet that is partially iced over. A two-way road branches off and takes me to Schoodic Point and the Schoodic Education and Research Center.

Diabase dike on left

At Schoodic Point, I can walk out on the granite ledges, down to sea level. The wet rocks are very slippery, and I choose to venture only so far. An interesting geological feature here is the presence of diabase dikes, large veins of dark basalt that intrude into the granite. And though the granite is called red or pink, it looks orange in the strong morning light.

Rocky Beach at Acadia

This area is fairly isolated, and I see few other adventurers. Continuing on the one-way road, I stop at beaches composed of cobblestones and smaller rounded rocks in rainbow hues. In the distance are forested islands edged by granite, all tinged blue in the cold winter day. Though I, too, am tinged blue by the frigid temperature, I cannot resist exploring this marvelous land. I wander among the cobblestones, atop the outcroppings, and beside the water. I find myself breathing a bit more slowly and a bit deeper. I lose track of time. I enter a relaxed state that seems to come to me on days like today, when I am given the opportunity to explore the natural world. It is restorative.

I return to US 1 and head north again, passing through some fairly bleak landscape dotted by small villages: Goldsboro - more homes with boats, traps and buoys; Steuben; Millbridge. The village of Cherryfield boasts itself to be the Blueberry Capital of the World, and I realize that the barren fields of bushes along the side of the road are wild blueberries!

Worcester Wreath Company

I am delighted when I pass through Harrington and see a large white wooden building wrapped in a red ribbon with a bow - the Worcester Wreath Company! I am more delighted when I learn that no balsam trees are cut down to make the wreaths, rather the tips of the branches are used, and these regenerate every 3 years.

Wild Blueberry Bushes - Roque Bluffs State Park

First Class friend Mick had told me about Roque Bluffs and Roque Island, so I am delighted to see a sign for the turn to Rocque Bluffs State Park. I am disappointed when I arrive and discover that the part of the Park having automobile access is very small, and the beach area is only a hundred yards or so long. The bluffs are not accessible by car. One serendipitous find is that the bushes edging the beach are wild blueberry, and they are covered in red berries.

Centre Street Congregational
Church - Machias

Heading back to US 1 again, I soon enter the largest of the towns or villages I’ve seen since Ellsworth. Most of the villages I've passed thus far do not have a gas station or convenience store, much less a grocery store. This one, Machias, boasts a grocery store, pharmacy, Dollar Store, and a Mickey D’s! I am taken by Centre Street Congregational Church, with it’s tall white spire. I smile when I next pass through East Machias and see an almost identical version, First Congregational Church. I think they must have used the same architect.

First Congregational Church
East Machias

I am disappointed when I realize that it is dusk by 3:15. We are so far north and so far east that night falls quite early. I pass through countryside I’d like to explore but cannot, because of timing issues. By the time I arrive at the Passamaquoddy Reservation, the sun is setting. By the time I arrive in Eastport, it is dark.

Eastport appears rather quaint, and I want to explore further. I stop in at Raye’s Mustard Mill, the last remaining stone ground mustard mill in the United States. Raye’s, originally built to supply the sardine industry, uses a cold-grind process developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Mustards produced here have won numerous prestigious awards across the country over the last ten years. I purchase some mustard for Christmas gifts, then head into town. I note the large statue of a fisherman and the historical marker that indicates Eastport was once the sardine capital of the world. By the late 1800's, there were 13 sardine canneries. Mick is right, this is Cannery Row! It is too dark to see much, so I decide I will probably head back up this way again tomorrow. As for now, I head back to Ellsworth.

Donna